How to be minimumist
What is minimumism, and what can it do for you and your team? In this Medium, we’ll explain how.
Minimumism is the science of having fewer things and painting them mostly white. It’s about freeing your mind of the stress of thinking about other things painted other colours, so you can make the most of the time you have right now, or as we call it in our Minimumism Awareness Sessions, The Now.
Are you in The Now right now? Probably not. Later in this article we’ll show you how to find The Now, and when to use it.
First, let’s talk a bit more about minimumism.
Take a look around you. Do you need all those things? Do you need a big pot of pens, or just one pen? Do you need that computer and a phone? Maybe you could throw your computer away. Why don’t you do that right now? Just pick up the computer and hurl it through the window. You could do that and become almost completely minimumal in just seconds. Although wait until you’ve finished reading this Medium first.
True minimumism means throwing away lots of your things. The more things you get rid of, the better you are at minimumizing. Your goal should be to have as few things as possible, without actually dying.
True minimumism is about finding that zen state of Being, without Owning. When you own things, they actually own you. The more things you have, the more you have to think about the things all the time, and about upgrading those things when things go wrong with the things. Don’t let your things own you! Own them back! The more you own your things, the more in control you will be. This is zenism. When you’re in control of your things, you decide which of them is useful and which of them isn’t.
A famous person on the internet once said: “Don’t keep anything useful or beautiful in your home LOL.” Throw away all the useful and beautiful things first of all. Then you can work your way through everything else, until you’re left with the least useful and least beautiful things, just one of each. Paint them white, if necessary. Now you’re a minimumalist.
You can apply the same thinking to design.
Next time you ask your IT department to design a new website, why not suggest that they look at some of the Mediums on this site, or other Mediums on sites like Tumbler or Facebook. You’ll notice that mostly, the actual text of the Medium is surrounded by plenty of white space. This helps the Content to breathe, which is more minimal. (“Content” is a word that basically just means ‘Mediums’ but when they’re on other websites, such as your Corporate Intranet.)
Whether or not you have to write a Medium or a Content, it’s worth investigating some of the better ways to write “distraction-free”. Using Word, for example, means you might get distracted by the Internet that’s on your desktop. One tip is to right-click on Internet and click on “Delete”, then you won’t be tempted to use the Internet when you’re supposed to be writing, because of course you’ve just deleted your Internet.
The more you think about minimumism, the more minimum you can be in many other aspects of life. Do you need your car? No, just walk to work. Do you need your TV? No, just go for a walk. Do you need your walking shoes? Of course not.
Once you discover minimalisation, you won’t want to stop being it. You might find yourself telling members of the family how to be more minimaled, or perhaps getting your colleagues at work to follow your example. You may encounter some resistance but don’t lose faith: you’re more minimalism than they are, so you are in the right. If they don’t see the value of throwing away all their things, simply throw away your friends’ things for them. They will thank you for it eventually.
Always look for The Now. The Now is the feeling you get when you sit quietly in a dark room, perhaps with an apple.
Close your eyes and think about the apple. If you have eaten the apple, think about something else that’s in the room with you, such as a light fitting or air conditioner.
Focus on the apple or light fitting or air conditioner. Empty your mind of all other thoughts and cares and worries. All that remains is you and your apple (or light fitting or air conditioner). Form a relationship between you in your mind. Say these words (but not out loud): “I am with my apple (or light fitting or air conditioner). We share the same space. We need nothing else but each other. And actually I don’t even need the apple (or light fitting or air conditioner).”
Then hurl the apple, or whatever it is, out the window.
This is The Now, the state of calm consciousness that helps you completely understand your understanding of minimalistism. When you’re in The Now, you’re more minialist than you were before. You can do anything. You are empowered by your knowledge of existence within space. Ultimately, that’s what being minimalsim is all about: knowing that, when it comes down to it, there is only you and your few special objects that are the most least useful.
Don’t forget that when you have found The Now and completed your minimumism training, you’ll be able to claim your free “I’M A MINIMUMALIST!” Swag Bag, which includes Minimumism-branded backpack, keyfob, spare keyfob, set of six multicoloured pins, 500 Mini Minimumism postcards, Minimism pen, clipboard, and 36-piece dinner set.
For more advice about the Pretend Office minimalistism consulting course for business, call us on 0207 or send a Medium to our Twitte
