The Process Of Minimising

I’m currently in the process of getting into a more minimal lifestyle. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a few years, but never found the time/effort to actually do.

You’re probably wondering why I’ve been wanting to do this. I’ve always been interested in data logging and efficiency, to the point where I probably spend more time planning than I do actually working. I realised this a few years ago when I first heard about Nicholas Felton on the podcast 99% Invisible. He used to do the Feltron Annual Report, logging data about his time and activities. This, combined with The Minimalists podcast, is when I realised I was doing it wrong. My time management was out of place, I wasn’t really putting 100% into everything and my room was way too cluttered.

So that brings me here. Partway through my journey to get rid of the unnecessary things in life.

Why?

I’ve noticed that I spend a lot of time unnecessarily looking through snapchat stories, closing and reopening facebook repeatedly. I decided I need to stop.

I spend so long each day deciding what to wear, factoring in weather, yesterday’s outfit and even how happy I’m feeling. Despite this, I know that I only pick the same few items of clothing, with the others left in the wardrobe representing the person I used to be, when I made the mistake to buy them.

What?

I thought the best place to start would be digitally since I always have my phone on me and its a lot easier to get rid of things that don’t cost you money, only time. I probably spend at least 8 hours a day on a screen and realised decided that this was higher than I’d like so this gave me the idea to cut this down first.

My next area of life was my room & bathroom. So many unworn clothes hung in my wardrobe. Instead of asking myself the question “What can I get rid of?”, I used the 90/90 rule – “Have I used this in the last 90 days? Will I use it in the next 90 days?”. This was a lot easier now since I’m at University so I’ve taken the essentials with me. Everything left at home I can pretty much live without. I also started asking myself the question “Which of my friends would like & get better use out of this?” which helps both parties benefit from this and makes it easier for me to give up, since I know it wont be giving to waste. Anything not given to friends or relatives, i gave to charity.

How?

The first move I made was actively making the choice to get the 16GB phone instead of 64GB. This set an initial challenge to keep my apps and data down. Having this limited amount of storage made me really question the apps I downloaded and if they were completely necessary. I already don’t have the facebook or reddit app – they’re both fully functional on the mobile site (and not having the icon tempting you all day long is also a bonus).

I then started with what was giving me least value in my life: Reddit. I know for some people it can be useful and interesting to learn things about your hobbies etc, but I don’t think that 250 subreddits was necessary. I unsubscribed from 200 in about 10 minutes. This now means that I’ll spend more time looking at the things that actually interest me and I wont spend as much time on it, since there’s less content that’s relevant to me now.

My boyfriend (super into minimalism) then suggested removing Facebook friends. Honestly, I had so many that I never speak to or don’t ever really want to. This was my next step, my first criteria was to remove anyone I wouldn’t say “Hi” to, if I passed them in the street. (I realised there was one friend who I had seen when we were 4,600 miles away from home — and we didn’t even talk then.) Secondly, I removed people I only had added out of courtesy (ex’s mum, classmates etc), who I didn’t particularly get on with and didn’t need to keep. Then people from freshers who I didn’t really know, or even remember.

Next was Snapchat. This was strange, so many people that I never talk to would watch my stories and honestly, I would watch theirs too, mindlessly. I decided that if I didn’t have them on Facebook, I probably didn’t really need them on Snapchat, since its a lot more intimate, time consuming and you can find out a lot more about their lives. I also removed accounts of “famous” people (Arnold Schwarzenegger &c.) since they weren’t bringing value to my life either. I reduced 215 “friends” into 61. I then proceeded to do the same with Instagram (following 283 down to 233), Twitter (following 115 down to 84) and my contacts (123 -> 97). Sorting out your social media is also a good way to bring up memories from your past and share them with someone else. Emails — I unsubscribed from everything I could that I didn’t need. I’ve been using Inbox for a while now, so that doesn’t notify me when the emails are detected as “Updates, Purchases or Promos”.

Worth it?

Definitely.

Im currently not spending tooo much time on my phone doing useless things. I’m now feeling good about it but not sure how long this will continue for…