the brief guide

less TV, more reading
less shopping, more outdoors
less clutter, more space
less rush, more slowness
less consuming, more creating
less junk, more real food
less busywork, more impact
less driving, more walking
less noise, more solitude
less focus on the future, more on the present
less work, more play
less worry, more smiles
breathe

(a brief guide to life – zenhabits.net)

I usually find stuff like this to be cringeworthy. ‘Less worry, more smiles’ is the kind of thing I’d expect to see on a fridge magnet at the house of someone who believes it to be a profound message.

Sometimes it’s good to find a list like this though, and actually give the suggestions some thought. I’d have to agree, for example, that I should eat less junk – it’s obvious, but I don’t ever make a serious effort to eat better.

Food for thought.

Mr Sutton is the founder of CultofLess.com, a website which has helped him sell or give away his possessions – apart from his laptop, an iPad, an Amazon Kindle, two external hard drives, a “few” articles of clothing and bed sheets for a mattress that was left in his newly rented apartment.

This 21st-Century minimalist says he got rid of much of his clutter because he felt the ever-increasing number of available digital goods have provided adequate replacements for his former physical possessions.

[ … ]

The tech-savvy Los Angeles “transplant” credits his external hard drives and online services like iTunes, Hulu, Flickr, Facebook, Skype and Google Maps for allowing him to lead a minimalist life.

via Cult of less: Living out of a hard drive – BBC News (Link added by me. ‘Mr BBC’ is funny about inline links for some reason.)

I’m really conflicted about stuff like this. I would love to de-clutter my life and live out of a backpack in a minimalist apartment, but in reality I’m a magnet for clutter. I don’t know where I would be without bookshelves, piles of magazines and boxes of toys and gadgets.