The real reason minimalism is growing so popular so fast
If you like the idea of minimalism, but find yourself not yet quite ready to commit, here’s some good news — you don’t have to.
This may sound surprising, but there are no rules. It’s all personal.
In fact, when you first try minimalism, it’s a bit like baking your own birthday cake. You can flavour, design, and shape it exactly how you like it.
And although everyone’s experience with the minimalist lifestyle is different, when long-term minimalists are asked to name their favourite benefits, they reveal a pattern.
The top popular minimalist habits on each of their lists are…
There are 3 kinds of mistakes humans make.
I didn’t want to leave yet.
“Look, it’s getting late,” my friend said, “I’m not going all the way back upstairs. I’m too tired.”
“But I haven’t even said goodnight to Con. Let’s find him first.”
“We can call him from the car,” said another friend with a smile. The others were already headed towards the back exit.
Reluctantly, I followed. The venue was too much pain to get back home from alone. But I hated it, as I always hate being dragged away from a night that hasn’t ended yet.
And this time, the piercing feeling was a signal…
Minimalism doesn’t have just one definition — you can make your own rules.
I have been a raving fan of The Minimalists ever since their book Everything That Remains gave me the final nudge to quit my corporate job in 2017.
While waiting for the release of their new documentary Less Is Now, I returned to the coffee-stained pages of that book. The faded highlights in sections I’d marked surprisingly brought back vivid feelings. This book once helped me realize a change was possible.
And it also reminded me of what minimalism is not.
Minimalism isn’t about echoing rooms, empty cupboards, or worrying if owning ten t-shirts is still minimalist. Forget about rules…
And how most people habitually train their brain to resist focus altogether.
Sometimes my brain can be frustratingly irresponsive, even when I do everything right. I close the door to my study and leave my phone on the other side, along with the cats. I close all browsers except for Soft Murmur and prepare my notes.
Yet my brain just won’t focus. And soon I find myself distracted by the only thing I didn’t hide or remove, like the overflowing camera roll unwisely iClouded to my laptop, or dust on the top bookshelves.
And ironically, it was also through procrastination that I discovered Cal Newport’s book Deep Work some time ago. In…
Translated into real-life growth lessons.
I’m sharing a bedroom with someone other than a boyfriend for the first time since my last teenage sleepover. This person is a total stranger. We’re not allowed to talk. Or look each other in the eye.
Our tiny dorm-room is in a converted barn — stone walls, drafty windows, a wonky mirror. The mystery person is sleeping less than a meter from me. The night’s darkness is turning from jet black to grey. I had a nightmare, and have been waiting for the alarm. Any minute now.
A Surgery of The Mind
Vipassana 10-day silent meditation courses have longer waiting lists than London’s poshest…
Love stories need buildings that start them.
My local London council is about to bulldoze the theatre where I met the love of my life.
The Coronet is an old giant. Built strong and solid around a brownbrick railway arch in 1879, many original art-deco features are still preserved in the main auditorium. Charlie Chaplin, who once lived in our area, used to perform here. Later, the theatre was converted to a live-music venue.
There’s nothing wrong with it aside from being a little tired. Ok, it would need spritzing up. But the fact is, the building is so strong it even served as a shelter during…
Build a strong incentive for the week, every week.
Somewhere in the vast universe, an alternative realm exists where everyone loves Mondays. They wake up with a smile, do a little dance, and accomplish everything they have set out to do, without it even feeling like work.
Most of us can only imagine what life would be like on that planet.
One of the greatest human minds once said: “A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem.” It only takes one look inwards to know Albert Einstein was right.
The perfection of means is for the most part a lifelong effort. But removing…
Boosting their traffic can help save lives
What could possibly be better than cute cat blogs?
Cute cat blogs that help cats.
With cat videos forever basking near the top of the viral content pyramid, the entire world loves to be entertained by these amazing creatures to no end. But true cat lovers care about more than just entertainment. We want to see every cat in the world looked after and happy. We want a world where no animals are left hungry and alone.
As per the latest estimate, 10 million cats live abandoned or stray in the UK alone. …
Productivity’s enemy can be creativity’s best friend.
Avoid, avoid, avoid.
It’s all we ever hear about procrastination. Learn to stop. It kills your time. It kills your focus. It’s a distraction. And when your deadline is just around the corner and you need to deliver your absolute best work, procrastination feels like the number one dealbreaker for sure. It is certainly the worst enemy of productivity.
But most people forget about the other side of procrastination. The one with benefits. The kind of procrastination that helped people like Oscar Wilde, Leonardo Da Vinci, Charles Darwin, or even Albert Einstein create their mindblowing work.
But wait, how could…
What to do when your willpower pool dries out.
Make it a habit, they said. You have tried. Make it fun, they said. You have tried. Just push through with it, they said, and boy you have tried.
But your motivation pool is not infinitely full and inviting. The levels fluctuate, the water gets muddy. The struggle gets real.
You are not alone. Many people become advanced avoiders after first trying extremely hard to make exercise work. And if you are not already a happy exercise bunny who jumps out of bed excited to grab the running shoes (how I wish I were!), your willpower alone might not be…
Martina Doleckova
Minimalist with 4 rescued cats and a maximalist book collection. Left a safe 9–5 in scientific publishing to live my life. Fan of alternatives.
