Today I have a clearer idea of what I want to bring into my life, be it objects or responsibilities. I’m happy and content with what I have. My home has just the right number of things, I plan and rethink my purchases to make sure they are truly needed. I carefully consider new projects and responsibilities, and I’ve learned to say “no” more often. Saying no to new purchases, saying no to people, saying no to social invites. Minimalism has been a great tool for me.

So why I’m talking about minimalism?

I’m thinking about minimalism in my productivity tools/system. I tend to overcomplicate things, and right now I feel like I’m trapped in my own GTD system. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, but I could never pinpoint the issue.

These are my thoughts right now:

• I want it to be stupid simple and easy to add any type of item to my Inbox, both on mobile and on desktop. I want zero friction.
• I want to be able to easily capture digital items into my Inbox in its entirety. More apps integrations (I’m mostly thinking about mobile and web browser here).
• I wish my to-do app could handle more information, so that I wouldn’t need to manually add a link to an external drive, for example. I have lots of external stuff I use with my tasks.
• I wish I had more flexibility in creating folders and buckets. I never bothered about that too much in the past, but now I want some degree of freedom.
• I wish I could have more notes options for my projects/tasks, so that I didn’t need a separate file to track these notes (and consequently having to manually add links).
• I want to be reminded of things and I want them to be synchronised both in mobile and desktop.
• I want to be able to send a Rocketbook scan image to my to-do Inbox.
• I want the option to organize Projects in Kanban style.

Considering all those points above, it was clear to me that the app Todoist is a suitable candidate, because:

• It has excellent Inbox features, capture is easy and accessible in any device, including the universal keyboard shortcut in the desktop. I love it!
• Has email to Inbox option.
• Has space for notes in markdown, with the possibility to attach files and images.
• Has excellent reminders and recurring tasks options.
• Has integration with the Rocketbook (which I’m using a lot!)
• It is visually pleasing and easy to use.

Simplifying my Todoist setup

So, I’ve tried Todoist before and it didn’t work out that well. But now I realize why it didn't went well: I was overcomplicating the setup.

I’m going back to basics, thinking about the building blocks of GTD and I’ve changed my mind about one crucial thing: I will stop linking next actions to projects. That alone is a huge simplification! And that was creating most of my issues with Todoist: I never liked the way that projects are nested and shown. Also, having too many filters creates a lot of complexity! But what if I simplify this whole thing? That’s what I’m on this week.

I’m letting go of over-organization in favor of ease of use. Sometimes simplicity comes from how stupid easy it is to use something and still being enjoyable.

—-

Post 22/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #Productivity #apps #GTD #Todoist #minimalism

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

And I realized that we had 3 active video streaming subscriptions: Netflix, Amazon Prime and Curiosity Stream+Nebula. After some reflections with my partner, we decided to let go of Netflix and Amazon Prime. Why?

We watched a total of 19 shows and movies on those 2 platforms last year. We already saw all the shows we were interested in catching up, such as: Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, The Expanse, The Witcher, One Piece, Good Omens, Wheel of Time. Honestly, we weren’t that interested in continuing watching future seasons for most of them. And looking at the catalogue for other things to watch we weren’t that thrilled.

Add that to the fact that Amazon Prime will start showing adds and they will charge more to have an ads-free experience. For Netflix, we were already paying the option with no ads. That’s roughly a total $340 CAD a year (not including the increase for Amazon Prime with no ads). We’ve decided we could use that money (and the time!) to get and do more of what we truly love: books for me and video games for him.

We are still keeping the Curiosity Stream subscription with Nebula. Both of them are totally ad-free with interesting enough content to entertain us. I’ve been wanting to watch more documentaries on Curiosity Stream so minimizing our video streaming options will help with that.

We always have the Public Library to borrow movies and shows. We don’t mind waiting to get a hold of a movie. We watched only 7 movies in 2023, so we are not big movie consumers anyway.

So, yeah, a little bit of digital minimalism to start the year! It’s always nice to use technology more intentionally and mindfully. And at this moment of our lives, we just want less distractions and more focus on what brings us most joy. 😊

—-

Post 66/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #digitalminimalism #minimalism #attentionresistance

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

We still don’t have a sofa so our living room looks quite bare right now.

And…you know what? I like it!

I think it’s nice when a room has decor and things hanging on the walls, some of them are really well done. But I don’t see my own space being that busy. First, because I’m frugal, I will never know exactly what to buy and how to coordinate everything. I usually go for practical furniture, that serves a purpose. Second, I don’t like to spend time cleaning stuff. The more items I have the more I need to clean, organize and maintain. I like to live with less. I like to live with the essential. Third, furniture and decor cost money, I don’t like to spend money on things that will not bring value to my life.

I plan on getting a sofa for this room eventually, mostly for the times when we have guests. I still prefer to watch movies or read on the armchair, it’s way better for my back than a sofa.

But for now, the books in this bookshelf are all the physical books I own. They are mostly text-professional related books with no digital alternative or because it was required to have the physical book to write an open-book exam. There are also a couple travel mementos, a thermometer with humidity meter and some reference material from both me and my partner.

This weekend I did some organization on the bookshelf with a few boxes, I filled in two of them, the third one is still empty.

Moving from a one-bedroom apartment to a small townhouse was a huge upgrade for us in terms of having separate spaces. No more having to coordinate time for cooking (which is noisy) when one of us is having a conference call or being distracted by the TV when I wanted to read and my partner was watching a movie. We have our little corners in the house now.

At first I thought that because of the extra space in the townhouse I would turn into a hoarder and start buying all sorts of furniture to fill in spaces to be filled with stuff. But, almost 6 months in, we still have empty corners and empty closets, and that’s okay. I like the minimalist vibe. I hope it stays that way.

#minimalism #house #journal

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.

Noticing objects and material stuff around us is easy. It’s visible. We can plan decluttering sessions and visibly see space getting created. Now, what about intangible stuff? Information? Thoughts? Memories? Worry?

I don’t have excess material possessions anymore. Everything I have is enough and fills my needs. That doesn’t mean I live with less than 100 items, it just means I have what I consider is enough for myself and my lifestyle. It’s not about restrictions, it’s about eliminating the superfluous.

But I’ve been consuming and accumulating a lot of digital stuff over the years: hundreds of clipped articles on Evernote, guides and manuals I never read, RSS feeds from dozens of sites, articles to read saved on Instapaper or Pocket, dozens of newsletters cluttering my inbox, social media feeds.

It took a while, but I opted out of many of those digital things and now I think I have only what is meaningful to me:

• I subscribe to 5 newsletters now, having unsubscribed from dozens in the past months. This amount is not overwhelming to me right now. It feels manageable.
• I cancelled my Instapaper subscription. I had this idea that I would build a digital library with my notes and all the articles I read over time. I realized it was not important to me. I had more articles than I had time to read them. And the list of unread articles made me feel anxious. So I decided not to collect articles anymore. I much rather read a book.
• I unsubscribed from dozens (if not hundreds) of RSS feeds. I kept 5 blogs and 1 comic strip (Dilbert) that I still enjoy reading once in a while.
• I don’t use Evernote anymore. It was too easy to just collect stuff. If I want to take notes I use Standard Notes. Creating > collecting.
• I stopped listening to a few podcasts. From a list of 15+ podcasts I was subscribed to, I decided to stick with 5 of them. And I don’t feel obliged to listen to all of them. I look at the feed and decide if it is an episode that interests me, otherwise, I just delete it.
• I stopped using social media.
• I cut down the time I spent watching YouTube. I still enjoy some science-related channels, but since I stopped using social media, I don’t feel the pull to go to YouTube anymore.
• I still read books. That’s one type of information that energizes me. And opting out of all the other forms of digital consumption gave me more time to enjoy reading.

I've simplified many aspects of my life already. Little things like creating a uniform for myself (black pants and a shirt) to go to work make it super easy to get dressed up. I don't waste energy in the morning choosing this or that fashion trend. It’s liberating. Same thing with my breakfast: I eat the same meal every day. It's automatic: I prepare my omelet in the morning and that's it.

I feel like I have more headspace now. It’s a subtle change, but it’s there. Things are slowing down in my mind. I don't crave newsfeeds anymore. On the contrary, I cringe when I see any type of random automated endless newsfeed now. I feel calmer. I feel like I can make decisions. Even the smallest ones were hard for me at times: What should I choose from the sandwich menu? Which phone call should I make first? Which book should I read? What do I want for dinner? It’s all clearer now.

I've regained my love of reading. And my ability to read for long hours. There is space now!

#noisymusings #journal #minimalism

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

🎈 Things I write about :

Sections:

🎨 #NoisyMusings: a little bit of everything 📂 #Productivity: organization, methods, apps, GTD 📚 #Books: everything book related

Some Topics:

#apps | #Nirvana (the app, not the band) | #Todoist | #GTD | #MSTodo | #notes | #journal | #journaling | #BookReview | #ReadingList | #Reading | #ReaderGoals | #BookWyrm | #TheStorygraph | #weeknotes | #podcast | #GTDnotes | #100DaysToOffload | #projects | #goals | #DnD

#internet | #socialmedia | #attentionresistance #minimalism | #digitalminimalism #outdoors | #Hiking | #winter | #iceskating |#skiing |#music | #heavymetal | #puzzle | #health | #tech | #linux

I will be moving abroad next month (in 23 days to be exact) and I’ve been evaluating my possessions and minimizing since 2015. By then, I just wanted to live more intentionally and get rid of excess stuff. I wanted to travel light, with only a carry-on. I wanted to have a capsule wardrobe so that I needn’t waste time deciding what to wear in the morning.

These are all normal things everybody desires when they discover intentional living or minimalism.

I’ve read more than a dozen books about this topic since 2015.

I've read countless blog posts and articles about living with less, wasting less and choosing to own only the essential.

I started meditating in the mornings.

I started practicing yoga.

I've sold almost all my physical books, I've sold all my CD's, I donated clothes, shoes, towels, magazines, pens, notebooks.

I've scanned all the print photos I still had with me and recycled them. It was a huge pile!

I did the Minimalism Game for two consecutive months and got rid of 902 items in 59 days (February and March, 2017).

And I wondered if that was enough. Deep inside I felt that I wasn’t touching the surface of being really intentional. I felt all the benefits though. I am a much happier person. I have less anxiety, less stress. I remember to breath deeply in the middle of the day. I can focus.

Now, due to our future big move overseas, I started to sell and donate things that I thought were essential to me. As I am getting rid of furniture, electronics and even domestic appliances I am realizing that these things are not so essential after all.

This month I am selling big things. An office cabinet. A drawer cabinet. A sofa-bed that was “just in case we had visitors”. A kitchen mixer. A blender. A high quality office chair. All these items were in my daily routine (except the sofa-bed, which was really a “Just In Case”). They were essential to me! But after not having them at my disposal, I noticed I can live without them. It's not that bad!

I am feeling powerful, in a good sense. I can be as light as I desire. Each day I am filled with a sense of achievement and freedom. It's funny, though, it's one of those things we can't really explain, just feel it.

So, if you want to truly experience essentialism, try getting rid of something that you use routinely. Or, get rid of some container item. Containers often hide unused paraphernalia. You will realize that most of the stuff in that cabinet wasn't important at all. Eliminating the container made me rethink all that was inside it, because now I had to decide if I really wanted to keep it. And if yes, where would be its home?

I realized that even after years minimizing I had too many full containers. And I don’t need them to live a happy life.

#minimalism

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

The first month was a success, as you can check out here, here and here.

The sweet thing about the game is that it gives us momentum. It breaks the inertial state. And it provides a sense of progression. You start slow, with one item, and you comfortably go adding one more item to the previous amount until you reach day 15. Then things start to get more challenging. But you’ve prepared for it, you’ve been training and so you put your fears aside and continue on the quest for more items to let go.

When I finished the first month, which were 28 days, I looked at my stuff and saw that there were more items to purge. I was not done with my plan. It was natural for me to go for a second round.

The second month of purging: March, 2017

My plan was to declutter the following categories of stuff:

• CD’s — data/backups;
• Clothes;
• Shoes;
• Old Printed Photos (needed scanning);
• Kitchen utensils;
• Certificates;
• Business cards;
• Old Medical Exams. Some of these things have been on my to-do list for years. I could never take the first step to start dealing with my old printed photos and backup CD’s. It was a task that was time consuming and needed some preparation, such as: sorting thorough the stuff, verifying what I still wanted to keep, digitizing or making a digital copy and throwing away the rest.

It turns out I digitized the selected photos (using PhotoScan), I copied to the cloud the selected data from my back-up CD’s and recycled everything. I didn’t feel the need to keep any of the printed photos. I simply let go. And it felt good.

During the last few days of the game I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish it. I made a huge effort to keep going, since the digitizing task was laborious and time consuming. But I kept the focus and the goal in mind. I discovered it was easy to go on and learned that we should never underestimate the amount of paper we accumulate!

And that’s it! I finished this second month with 496 items less in my life! And if I sum up with the February challenge, it was 902 items in 59 days.

It’s amazing how this exercise builds a “letting go” muscle inside of us. I caught myself leaving the “just in case” mentality to embrace what brings value to my life. The challenge helped me go through old memories that I thought were attached to the material possessions I kept, when in reality, the memories were inside myself.

I am grateful for this journey! It gave me the discipline to keep going! I would like to thank the accountability groups on Facebook The March Minimalism Challenge and Minimalism.org: Online City that supplied daily inspiration and strength :)

Now I’ll stay low for a while to evaluate what to do with the empty space that resulted from this purging and enjoy the process!

#minimalism

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

So, my February Minimalism Game is now complete! That means I had a daily task of looking at my possessions and deciding which ones no longer were adding value to my life…

…That means I trashed, donated or recycled 406 items!

The habit of critically analyzing my stuff got easier day by day. I started to wonder why I held on to each particular object and weighted its importance and usefulness to me. The weird thing is that I remember each one of the 406 items. I have memories about them. I know where they came from. Some of them traveled 1,105 kilometers with me when I left my hometown and moved to Brasilia in 2007. But, oh, well, they are just stuff! They have served me once but now they are just stuff.

Most of the items were paperwork. I have spent some hours of February digitizing stuff too because there were some documents I wanted to keep a digital copy. I finally dealt with a memory box I carried with me since college that contained old postcards and letters (Day 21). I kept the digital images of the important letters to me, the hard copies were recycled. And the box is gone too because it wasn’t useful to me anymore.

Here’s the daily log of my last days:

Day 19: Mostly paperwork, small address book, notepad, speaker manual, a folding cloths board, an old PC game that was lurking around.

Day 20: 16 CD’s and wristwatch stuff: metal container, bill of sale, manuals.

Day 21: Mementos day! So, I had this wooden box that I kept the letters and postcards my husband sent me when were were dating. I took a photo of them and decided to let go. I would never actually open the box. It was something that brought me good memories, but I realized don’t need to own the physical letters to remember these moments! They are inside me already!

Day 22: Why so much paper? I cleaned up old paid bills, old pay stubs from my first job (why was I keeping those? 15 years ago! Gosh…) and just paperwork…Are you also surprised/overwhelmed by the amount of paper you keep?

Day 23: Some more paper, a safety helmet that I will donate, 2 paper clips, 3 boxes of leads, a mechanical pencil, 4 technical books, a notebook sleeve, a pen, a binder and some other random stuff.

Day 24: Toiletries! Forgotten mini soaps, toothbrushes, combs and shampoos and samples of creams.

Day 25: Mementos from a trip I made to Sweden in 2007 (postcards and tourism booklets), notebooks, expired medicines and other small stuff.

Day 26: Lots of paperwork, mostly notes from a course, 3 maps, empty CD box, CD sleeves and an old back-up CD I no longer need.

Day 27: I went through my medical exams folder today. I digitized the important ones. Result: a huge pile of paperwork that can go to trash. And also plastic sheet protectors.

Day 28: Last day !! 12 books, paper and office supplies.

Conclusion and plans

It was a great experience and I want to continue! There were areas in my office that I had planned to unclutter and organize years ago. With this game I finally got the momentum I needed to face the task!

It was challenging, tho! After day 20 I had to spend more time checking my stuff and judging their value. Since there were lots of paper, I had to evaluate each sheet individually to check if they were some irreplaceable important document I had to keep.

There are still unexplored areas that I want to dig in further , so I will start again next month! Some of the areas I want to check out are:

• CD’s (old backups of my personal files since 2002);
• Clothes;
• Shoes;
• Photos (needs scanning);
• Digital files;
• Kitchen utensils.

And thanks to all the people at the online Facebook group Minimalism.org: Online City!! Their inspiration did not let me give up!

So Month 2 here we go!! Have you tried it?

#minimalism

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

The “Gamification” Effect

This is when the game starts to become challenging. After day 10 the selection of items is not so fast anymore. You see, I didn’t have a box already full of stuff previously collected to donate/trash/sell. Each day I go through my stuff and select which items will go away that day.

And since I didn’t have previously collected items, I started to plan ahead my game every week. I know which areas I can go through the next day and I even separate the next number of stuff so that I can deal with it the next morning. And this “gamification” keeps me working! It’s less likely I will find an excuse and let the decluttering for an undetermined day in the future.

When I reached Day 18, I started to think that I wouldn’t get to the end. But there is always one more pile of paper, some books here and there and CD’s. I discovered a drawer full of CD’s. I knew I had them, but I didn’t remember how many. I used to back up my data on CD’s before having external hard drives. I had old PC games I no longer play. I had CD’s with MP3’s before there were streaming services. I had old electronics! I had installation CD’s and manuals of a computer I no longer own! So many obsolete things!!

So far, I got rid of 176 items :)

Here’s the daily log of Days 10 to 18:

– Day 10: Office supplies and my Kindle manual that was still lost and forgotten inside a folder. – Day 11: I’m still going my office stuff. – Day 12: Old tech documentation day: I still had manuals and installation CD’s of an old computer of mine (AMD Athlon 6000, 2Gb Ram, Nvidia GT 8800GT). It was a powerful machine for the time… I really can’t believe I still had all this stuff… – Day 13: Empty CD cases, paper, envelopes, a notepad…more office stuff. – Day 14: Today I gathered books! Some literature, a brand new Chronicles of Narnia (I plan on reading the e-book version), a used travel guide to Portugal, dictionaries and educational ones. I have not opened a physical dictionary in years! – Day 15: Electronics day! Old gadgets, a broken digital camera (I think I kept it because it was my first semi-professional camera and I used it a lot!), cables, an old mouse, empty boxes. – Day 16: Random — 6 appliance’s manuals, 4 hair acessories, 2 participation medals (10K runs), another old swimming google, broken sunglasses, old make-up and a bag. – Day 17: 3 old forgotten card decks, souvenirs from the year I graduated from university (unused pens and keyholders), CD’s and other miscellania. – Day 18: 10 CD’s, a pile of old paperwork, 1 envelope, 6 technical books.

Now the real challenge will begins!

From now on, I will have to get rid of 20+ items a day! Well, I have a plan: I still have CD’s and old photos. The difficult part is that I want to go through the data CD’s to see if I want to keep something. Just to be sure, because in reality, I haven’t looked at those CD’s in maybe 10 years! And the photos, I will digitize them before recycling.

So, plenty of work ahead!

To be continued on Part 3.

#minimalism

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

The game is meant to create momentum while decluttering and eliminating the feeling of overwhelm when you want to tackle a great number of stuff. You can either donate, sell, or trash the excess stuff. By the end of the 30 days, if you keep it up, you’ll have 465 less things in your life.

In my case, since February has 28 days, I’ll have 406 items!

This will be a three part post!

Why have I started it?

I’ve been into a minimal mindset since 2013. It’s a long process, and I started to get rid of unwanted or forgotten clothes and shoes at first. I realized I was hanging on to too many items that didn’t correspond to my life style anymore. I had shoes I never wore. I had old clothes that were setting in my closet forgotten. First, I’ve decluttered my wardrobe. Then my CD’s, my books and my kitchen utensils. But I still had other areas of focus I wanted to tackle. I have office supplies, old electronics, mementos and miscellaneous stuff I want to go through. So, I thought the Minimalism Game could give me the right amount of incentive to start up this process.

The first 9 days or 45 items less cluttered

I started my challenge on February 1st, 2017. It was a Wednesday. And I started with an item that had some emotional value to me. I thought it could be a great way to start this process of letting go.

This first item showed me how much I tend to hold on to material possessions that no longer serves me. Why is that? Well, it was a wooden pencil holder my mom decorated for me many years ago. Probably more than 15 years ago. I used it for a long time, but last year I decided to replace it with a simple mug. I got rid of old pens that were cluttering my desk and so the old pencil holder got too big for my taste. So… I let it go.

During these first 9 days I’ve mostly got rid of office supplies, paperwork and miscellaneous stuff. I’m opening drawers and cabinets to find out which forgotten and unused objects are lurching inside. I found out that I have plastic holders everywhere! And paid old bills also! Bills from 2013 that surely don’t have any purpose by now. (Please, don’t judge me!). In total, I got rid of 45 items so far :)

Here’s the daily log of my first 9 days:

• Day 1: an unused pencil holder that my mom decorated for me many years ago;
• Day 2: not functioning printer cable and earbuds;
• Day 3: an old facial cream, an unused plastic holder and a small cloth bag;
• Day 4: paperwork I no longer need (an early draft of my master’s dissertation) and 3 old city maps!
• Day 5: One empty pen, more paperwork, “Just in case” office plastic holder and 2 empty packings;
• Day 6: I opened a drawer this morning and it was amazing how there were forgotten miscellaneous items in there;
• Day 7: 2 piles of old paid bills, a swimming google I no longer used (I think it was leaking), 2 travel toiletry bottles, a comb and another plastic holder. I keep finding plastic holders everywhere. That’s weird!
• Day 8: Miscellaneous!! I am not sure why, but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find 8 items! Well, it was easy when I peeked inside some drawers and doors…
• Day 9: Office supplies, 3 tweezers (who knows why!), paid bills, headphone manuals. And that warned me that I have many more electronics manuals lurking in my office…

So far, so good!

I am really enjoying it because of the momentum this game is giving me. Everyday I discover more things that I no longer use. But since we have a numeric goal per day, I do not feel anxious about having to deal with them all at once. And the accountability feature works well for me.

I’m sharing my challenge with 4 other people on the online Facebook group Minimalism.org: Online City. It’s a very supportive group of people wanting to live a meaningful life with less.

It’s worth a try!!! Now onward to more 19 days!

To be continued on Part 2.

#minimalism

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.