Can minimalism make you more productive?
Start with these steps and see the difference
Ever thought who’s responsible for your productivity? If you are listing neighbours, friends, relatives, colleagues, and many more reasons around you, please walk up to a mirror and stand there for a minute. Yes buddy, you saw it right! It’s you who holds the reins of your productivity and none else. And if you are still thinking why you need to be productive, then let me remind you that you’ve got just one life to live!
So here’s a self-propagating productivity secret that you can be implemented right away, that too by yourself.
Minimalism is a tool used to rid yourself of life’s excess in favour of focusing on what’s important so you can find happiness, fulfilment, and freedom.
This means selecting and focusing on the few things that are in complete alignment with your life’s vision based on intentionality. And as a result, it forces improvements in almost all aspects of your life.
Simply stated minimalism is the process of identifying what is essential in your life and eliminating the rest.
Our modern lifestyles are far from minimalist. With so many distractions around us, we are often so consumed by phones, social media, podcasts, television, etc. that we find it difficult to create time and space to enjoy the simple things in life, like spending time with our loved ones, exercising, getting creative, cooking, or just being productive.
Being overwhelmed by physical, digital, and mental clutter leads to anxiety and an overall sense of dissatisfaction born out of the unproductive lifestyle. Thus we end up not creating value nor generating sufficient income to take care of ourselves and loved ones.
More internet, more cars, more clothes, more parties, more romantic partners, more alcohol, more television, more news, more negativity, more social media, all these have created a sense of getting busy without any concrete output.
The process of minimising is both challenging and empowering. Saying no is a tough skill to acquire, but one that honestly lets you live life on your terms.
These are some actionable steps you can take to apply minimalism as a tool to enhance your productivity. (Pro tip: Do not procrastinate.)
1. List all current commitments that you have.
2. Prioritise them in order of their essentiality.
3. Start eliminating your least-essential commitments one at a time. Think about what’s adding value to your life.
4. Every week (or month if that suits you), start this process again until you’re only doing things that add the most value.
5. Say no to things that don’t move you in the direction you want to be going. Say no to things you don’t want to be doing.
6. Always ask yourself “Do I need this?” You’ll be surprised how many times you’ll say no.
Wait not, declutter your life today by using this simple yet powerful tool called ‘miminalism’. Less is more!
