Back To Minimal Living

I am a natural-born minimalist.  But somewhere along the way, distraction cluttered this ability.  It is high time I unearth it and rejuvenate my God-given unconventionality to be the minimalist that I am.

So, I have been working toward changes that will increase my strengths and decrease the impact of my weaknesses.  Slowly but surely I have been re-implementing a minimalist lifestyle as best I can, maintaining greater mental peace, physical clarity in my living space and embracing the apparent impossibility of completely removing my digital footprint from the grid (internet).  I am changing the things I can change, and handing to God the things I cannot change, but still want changed.

These have been my unspoken goals, until now for self improvement:

1. Turn off my smart phone notifications.  (Complete.)
2. Read/Answer personal and work email only twice each day.  (Implemented.)  I have coworkers that break their very fingers to check their emails constantly.  I will let the whole system come crashing down before I do such nonsense.  I check my email, acknowledge a few and move on.  What I get done is what was meant to be done based on my list of priorities.
3. Complete 1-2 minute projects immediately.  (Implemented.)  This is a goal to help me make continuous headway into the mundane daily tasks in my life that I hate, too often due to a lack of intellectual stimulation in some way.
4. Remove physical clutter.  (In Progress.)  The busy day-to-day behaviors I have exhibited for myself have caused my living space to look as if a hoarder is squatting in my home.  This is changing.
5. Remove and organize visible, distracting digital clutter.  (Implemented.)
6. Accept and accentuate my personal rhythms.  (In progress.)  I have a uniquely peculiar view on life due to my unique personality type (INTP).  I have a inwardly concise way of processing information, and thereby lends me to odd inner and outer coping mechanisms for stress.  Further, as a person with such an acute ability to focus, I unfortunately unaware  absent-mindedly and inevitably overlook the practical things of my life .  So I find that I must build simple to elaborate organizational systems to compensate for the basic aspects of my life that become invisible to me, or I forget quickly and easily.
7. Establish a healthy morning routine.  (In progress.)  At present my morning routine is the least synchronous part of my day.
8. Cancel cable/unplug television.  (Completed.)  Today I watched my last movie and television show at home.  I admit that doing this is difficult, but it must happen.  I set a goal to read more books than I have read in all my past years combined.  Truth be told, I am an autodidact so long as their is genuine interest in a subject.  So I will often read for the mere sake of learning.  However, I will still hit the movie theater, while television will remain off now.
9. Keep a to-do list.  (Implemented, but needs improvement.)
10. Care less of what other people think.  (Implemented.)  I normally have little interest for most opinions as it is, especially dubious unsubstantiated, illogical, and/or emotionally-driven statements, rants, or truth-claims.  Let us be composed and reason with all our faculties in tact and avoid vomiting more foolishness into this world with our tongues–me above all must seek to make this happen in my behavior.

In regards to this list, I quite naturally want to begin to live with fewer possessions, keep journaling, spend time alone with God, always seeking inspiration, and take time to pause and reflect upon my motives in order to keep them in check.  My time and resources are a commodity I cannot afford to lose any longer to social media, entertainment, and frivolous material indulgences.  Also, I am learning to respectfully say no to people and to cancel engagements (short and long-term) that bring unnecessary additional complication to my life.

As a person who has already begun the journey of really understanding one’s self–personality and character flaws alike–these are steps that I believe are the right direction for me.