Workflows

Workflows, productivity, automation, to-do, lists: all words I love. I love thinking about efficiency and improving the way I work so that I get the maximum work amount done in the least amount of time. I’m all about working smart, not hard. Over the past year in particular I realised that working a lot does no equal more productive work. I never took breaks, didn’t take a holiday and worked constantly on my project in my limited amount of time. As a result, towards the end I was depressed, unmotivated, burnt out, mentally and physically exhausted. 

I forgot to do the most important thing - look after myself. I lost sight of the bigger picture and focussed too hard. This causes a lot of strain on my brain and as a result I sort of took a step backwards. At the beginning of this year I was super prone to stress, anxiety and mental exhaustion. So I’m still working on rebuilding myself.

I feel like I’ve improved already. I now utilise valuable tools; apps, notebooks, my phone, and organise my life so that I can carve out time for myself when I feel like it. I have to realise that even if I’m missing in action, the world will move on and everything will be ok. It’s important to sit back and take a break sometimes. Do something mind-numbing, relax, and eat whatever. I really like having something like that to look forward to. It’s extremely good to just stop thinking about work for some periods of time. It does wonders and lets your mind “reboot". That might be my word of the month. 

Transit

Commuting is the worst. I know there are “upsides” - a chance to relax, catch up on daily reading/news, listen to music, look at the scenery (I get to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge everyday), but in the end, it’s just a hot, flustering vehicle packed with business men, women, kids and the elderly trying to get somewhere. Like everybody else. At 7:30am on a Tuesday morning. Yes, peak hour. It’s horrible, it’s impatient, it’s angry and most importantly, it’s slow.

I like to think one day I’ll have a great level of patience that has been engrained in me over the many slow journey’s I’ve taken. I’ve already learnt a lot of things about travel:

• Leave early. No matter what, it’s more likely to get you there on time, and you’re more likely to miss rush hour traffic. It’s a big trade-off with sleep, though.
• Listen to music / read instapaper / Facebook - distractions are key, it really makes time fly when you get into the zone.
• Don’t punish yourself/other people. Feeling angry is another way that the public transport system has won. Let it go.

Morning

One of the main reasons I want to start rising earlier is to get a morning routine going. Getting up, rushing out the door without eating/drinking/cleaning anything really bothers me because it’s just a recipe for a bad day. And I’m purposely trying to minimise the chances of that as much as possible.

Today I rose naturally at 6:30am but my selfish brain decided I could do with another ten or so minutes until my alarm (Sleep Cycle) went off. This did not work; I slipped back into a deeper sleep and woke up in a very groggy/tired state. Next time I’ll remember though; if I’m up, I’m up!

Small actions

I’m not the biggest fan of goals; I’ve found them limiting and set up for failure in the past for myself personally, so I’m limiting my “goal-setting” and focusing on doing something I love. Rather than goals, I’m just setting up some small action steps to take over the coming month. I’m hoping for a good result, whatever that may be.

They are:

• Make a healthy lunch the night before and pack it with snacks 2-3 times a week
• Sleep earlier: aiming for 10 - 10:30 on work nights
• No carbs at breakfast or lunch on weekdays
• Write a blogpost or journal everyday (I use the Day One app)

These mainly focus on my health - which is my first and most important priority. I hope after a month these will seem a bit more “normal” to me and help me adjust my lifestyle to suit a busy and hectic work schedule. Already I have adjusted some small changes in the past, such as drinking more water (I have a wonderful Therma S’well bottle which I adore) and I’ve learnt healthy eating habits from people around me. But of course with that came a lot of failure and it’s important not to let that hold you back.

Notebooks

I'll admit it. I'm obsessed with notebooks and organisation. I know it's silly to cling to so many material objects, but honestly, having notebooks around to physically record my ideas, lists and experiences, while practicing the dying art of handwriting, makes me happy. And in the end, minimalism is about reducing your possessions until you're left with simplicity and content, which is definitely something I've found in this area. Here are some of the notebooks I own, which are part of a rapidly growing collection.

But, with all material objects, comes the risk that you will come to depend on external things for happiness; a big danger zone I don’t want to step into. I want to aim to minimise this dependency and instead draw happiness from within and my experiences/relationships with others. Rather than using objects as an immediate, short-term step into feeling content, I need to push them aside and let them play a more complementary role. That is, they help me organise my life and keep it simple, but I don’t need them. I’ll be okay without them.

Letting go

The past few months have been riddled with stress and anxiety. It had an effect on both my work and personal life. At some point then I realised I had lost my sense of self; I used to be incredibly grounded and filled with self respect and self worth, but I feel like I've been off centre and slowly drifting away from the "me" I've always loved ever since. 

This stems from within myself so in order to go back to that feeling I need to work from inside. Forgetting about work, my things, and all the anxiety and confusion. One of the biggest problems I have is letting go. It's something I've always needed to work on and has been rooted since my youth. Letting go, I feel, is one of the most powerful skills I can get better at. I can't count how many times it has held me back from building stronger and healthier relationships. 

So from now on, I'm going to do something about it. Whenever I get that onset of confusion, stress and sadness, I'll try to just let go. 

Melbourne

I recently went on a short holiday to Melbourne. It's an hour flight from Sydney (where I live) and my idea of a low-budget but very enjoyable holiday. I really like the city of Melbourne; I find it more laid-back, open and spacious than Sydney and so many great places to explore and stay. Although the weather was sometimes a major challenger to my daily activities, in general I had a really good time. It was a nice opportunity to reflect on where I want my year to go, what I want to achieve and how I want to live. When I get some time, I'm going to compile a list of my favourite places to visit in Melbourne, which will be ever-evolving as I revisit this great city.

I bought some nice things in markets and shops in Melbourne that I simply can't find here, including a great slim wallet which has significantly reduced what I carry around daily. More about possessions later!

Welcome

Hi!

I'm a grad student that aims to achieve a more minimalistic, simplistic style of living. The definition of minimalism is different for everybody, and this blog will show my angle and interpretation of it as I encounter challenges and successes in the process of simplifying my life.

I want to lessen the material, excess, complex and unnecessary in all aspects of my life: work, study, personal relationships, spirituality and self.