Ever feel overwhelmed by all the stuff in your life? Minimalism is a way to cut back and be more mindful about what really matters.
It’s like taking control of your time and energy.
By simplifying things, you get stuff done faster and free up time for what you really enjoy.
Less stress, more living!
Here are nine minimalist habits that can save you tons of time:
Ready to dive in?
1. Get rid of 1 thing every day
Here’s the challenge: each day, pick one thing you don’t need anymore.
Maybe it’s something that just sits there, doesn’t make you happy, or doesn’t fit your life anymore.
Then, get rid of it.
Just one thing each day.
Think of it like a spring cleaning for your stuff, but spread out over time.
Here’s the deal: most of us have way too much stuff.
We think it’ll make us happy, but it often doesn’t. By getting rid of things, you’ll start to feel:
- More relaxed: Your home will feel less cluttered and more peaceful.
- More focused: You’ll have less stuff distracting you and more mental clarity.
- More mindful: You’ll start to think more about what you buy and if it really adds value to your life.
Want to make it even more fun?
Challenge a friend to do the same thing!
First one to miss a day loses.
2. Build a capsule wardrobe
Imagine having a closet filled with clothes that all go together, so you can easily put together outfits without even thinking about it.
That’s the idea behind a capsule wardrobe.
It’s about having fewer clothes that you really love, instead of a bunch of stuff you hardly ever wear.
Believe it or not, people spend an average of 17 minutes every day trying to figure out what to wear. That adds up to 4 full days or even 6 months of your life wasted on just picking an outfit!
So, let’s get this capsule wardrobe thing going.
Here’s the plan:
- Figure out how many items you want to have in your closet (maybe 25 to 50).
- Go through all your clothes and see what you’ve got.
- Pick a few colors that you really like and want to wear a lot.
- Keep the clothes that you love and that go with your color scheme.
- Donate the rest of the clothes that you don’t need or wear.
It’s that simple!
3. Buy high-quality things
Okay, let’s talk about money rules.
One of mine is “Buy the best and keep it as long as possible.”
It might sound weird, but cheap stuff usually ends up costing more.
Here’s why:
- Hidden costs: Cheap stuff breaks easily, so you’re always paying to fix it. Good quality things last longer and often have warranties, so you spend less on repairs.
- Performance: Cheap things might not work well, slowing you down. Better quality things work better and make life easier.
- Replacements: You’ll have to buy cheap things again and again, which adds up. High-quality things last longer, so you buy them less often.
- Customer service: If something goes wrong with a cheap product, good luck getting help. Quality brands usually have great customer service that saves you time and hassle.
Let me give you an example: I have around 40 pieces of clothing, and they’re all from 3 brands.
They weren’t cheap, but because I have a small wardrobe, I could invest in quality stuff that feels good and will last.
I spent more at first, but I’m saving money in the long run because I don’t have to keep buying new clothes.
So, here’s the takeaway: invest in quality things that last, and you’ll actually save more money in the end.
4. Unsubscribe from emails
Here’s a crazy fact: we spend almost a third of our workday dealing with emails.
That’s about 120 emails a day, and we’re checking our inbox around 11 times every hour!
That’s 88 times during a normal workday!
So, let’s get real: is your inbox actually helpful or is it just wasting your time?
Time to find out.
Here’s what to do:
For every email you get, ask yourself, “Is this really useful?”
If it’s not, hit that unsubscribe button!
Don’t just leave it unopened or delete it – that’s just delaying the inevitable and clogging up your inbox.
Unsubscribing is like breaking free from annoying emails.
It gives you more space to focus on the things that are actually important.
So, get ready to click that unsubscribe button like it’s your job.
You’ll be glad you did!
5. Streamline your finances
Let’s face it, managing money isn’t always fun.
But I’ve got a secret weapon: automation.
Instead of manually paying bills and moving money around, we can set things up so our money works for us in the background.
This doesn’t mean completely ignoring your finances, but it’s more like being the supervisor, not the worker.
Here’s the plan:
- Automate your monthly bills: Don’t worry about remembering due dates, let your bank take care of it.
- Cancel those unused subscriptions: Seriously, do you even use that streaming service anymore?
- Automatically invest: Set up regular contributions to your investments, so your money grows without you having to think about it.
- Save without trying: Have a portion of your paycheck automatically go into a savings account.
Don’t worry, this isn’t complicated!
You don’t need fancy spreadsheets or anything.
First things first, take a good look at your money situation.
Once you know where you stand, you can automate and adjust your financial moves.
You can group your bill due dates, use auto-pay, even automate your budget!
I’ll be honest: my money is completely on autopilot.
I want to spend my time thinking about the big picture, not stressing over little details.
And you can do it too!
6. De-weaponize your device
Our phones can be like little time-suckers if we’re not careful.
But don’t worry, we can tame them! Here’s how:
- Set screen time limits: Tell your phone how much time you’re willing to spend on it each day.
- Grayscale mode: Make your phone screen black and white. It’s not as fun to look at, so you’ll use it less.
- Turn off notifications: Unless it’s super important, silence those notifications. They’re just distractions.
- Make apps harder to open: There are apps that can add a little delay before opening an app, making you think twice before mindlessly tapping on it.
- Delete time-wasting apps: If you’re not using an app or it’s just for fun, delete it.
- Organize apps into folders: Group similar apps together, so you can find them easily.
- Set time limits for specific apps: Give yourself a certain amount of time for social media, then close it down.
- Use “Do Not Disturb” mode: This is a great way to silence your phone when you need to focus.
- Keep your phone away: Out of sight, out of mind, right? Leave your phone in another room when you don’t need it.
I’ve tried a lot of these tips myself.
I set daily time limits for social media, I put those apps in folders, and I use “Do Not Disturb” all the time.
It’s made a huge difference!
Let’s make our phones work for us, not the other way around.
7. Prune your to-do list
Here’s a smart quote from businessman Tim Collins: “If you have more than three priorities, then you don’t have any.”
What he means is, if you’re trying to do everything at once, you’re not really focusing on anything.
It’s like trying to juggle too many balls – you’ll probably drop them all.
So, how do you actually get things done?
Make a to-do list, but keep it short and sweet – only 3 to 6 items max.
Then, figure out which ones are the most important and tackle those first.
Make sure those tasks are part of your daily schedule.
If you need a little more help, try the Ivy Lee Method.
It’s pretty simple:
- Write down the six most important things you need to do tomorrow.
- Rank them in order of importance.
- Start with the first task, and don’t move on to the next one until it’s finished.
- If you don’t finish everything, move the leftover tasks to tomorrow’s list.
That’s it!
It might seem simple, but it’s a super effective way to stay focused and get things done.
8. Use the 2-Minute Rule
Hey, have you heard of the 2-Minute Rule?
It’s super handy!
Here’s the idea: If you can do something in two minutes or less, just do it right away. Why? Because the longer we put off small tasks, the bigger and more annoying they seem.
Think about it: we know what we can handle today, right?
We know how much energy we have and what else we need to do.
But tomorrow?
Who knows what might happen!
You could have a bad night’s sleep, an unexpected meeting, or even get sick.
Life throws curveballs, and it doesn’t care about our plans.
So, if we knock out those quick tasks today, we’re saving ourselves from a pile-up of little things later on.
It’s like keeping the pipes clear so everything flows smoothly.
And that way, we can focus on the really important stuff without getting bogged down by a bunch of small, unfinished tasks.
9. Build an idea capture system
Imagine if our minds were like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, filled with machines that create amazing things!
There’d be problem-solving gadgets, creativity stations, and even idea-making printers.
Pretty cool, right?
But here’s the twist: our minds are great at coming up with ideas, not holding on to them.
If we try to keep all those ideas in our head, it’s like clogging up the machines in our mind factory. Nothing else can get done!
To prevent that mess, we gotta catch those ideas as they come!
Any time you have a thought that seems interesting or exciting, write it down somewhere.
You can use apps like Notion or just your phone’s notes.
It’s like having a handy bucket to catch all those awesome ideas before they slip away.
Conclusion
That’s it! 9 minimalist habits that can save you a ton of time. Hopefully these examples and ideas give you a taste of how awesome minimalism can be!
