I sit, facing my laptop, at a sleek cherrywood desk that was designed and built by my father. I have a green banker’s lamp — a writer’s talisman I had set my heart on at a young age. In front of me, my art: three white squares with handmade paper flowers glued in the middle.
It wasn’t always this simple. I look back four years, when I wallpapered my office with magazine covers and art. I had kept my pet rabbit pen and bird cage nearby, overwhelming the room with a cloud of ammonia. My bird would scream for attention while I tried to focus. The rest of my apartment wasn’t much better — I had too much furniture, too many wall hangings and closets full of untouched stuff.
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It’s no wonder I did the majority of my writing at a local caf_?.
My recent conversion to minimalism complements my work as a freelancer. But minimalism, for me, isn’t about challenging myself to see how few things I can possibly hang onto. It’s about rearranging my life around my priorities — a practice that even the hoarders with the largest stash could benefit from.
The first and easiest thing to minimize was my physical appearance. I love a comfortable, practical pajama as much as the next freelancer, but I’ve found that having a set uniform has two powerful results: First, I don’t waste any time deciding what to wear. I grab one of two black shirts, and one of my two pairs of pants. I don’t have to rifle through hanger after hanger in my closet, because I’ve whittled down my wardrobe to about 20 items — shoes included, gender stereotypes be damned. And because I wear my uniform during work hours, I get the satisfaction of changing into my beloved sweatpants at the end of the day.
| “Simplifying personal behaviors, like enjoying one thing at a time and being present for important moments, can serve you personally and professionally.” |
The other result of my simplified wardrobe is that I take myself seriously. If those in offices are told to dress for the job they’re striving to have, where does that leave freelancers? We, too, have to dress like the writers we want to become. I don’t envision myself 10 years from now speaking at conferences and promoting my book clad in reindeer print pajamas. Although, then again, that would be kind of awesome. (Will somebody do this, please?)
A Better Balance with My Personal Life
Anyone who works from home knows that it’s difficult to keep personal space separate from work space. I made three major changes to my home environment, each of which has benefited my work life. The first is the most profound: I moved the TV out of the living room. Now, when I’m taking lunch breaks, I sit down at the dining room table and don’t get sucked in to some Full House rerun or episode of Anderson Live. At night, when I’m home with my husband and daughter, we play together in the living room instead of zoning out in front of a movie. This reduction in screen time makes it easier on my eyes and body to sit down in front of the computer, renewed, at the beginning of a work day.
The second change is reducing my kitchen and food supply to its bare essentials — and cleaning up immediately after a meal or snack. Before, I’d dirty up the kitchen all day making coffee, grabbing snacks and fixing lunch. After I picked up my daughter from daycare, I’d be scrambling to keep her entertained while trying to find space on the counter to cut up vegetables. Now, my home is a blank slate when I switch from writer to family mode.
Finally, I cancelled our cell phone contract and replaced it with a land line. Not only are we saving $150 a month, but I don’t get caught up in spontaneous text conversations and the sound quality is much better than my former cell phone.
A Minimalist Mindset
Organizing and getting rid of your stuff does nothing if you neglect the most important environment: your internal one. Simplifying personal behaviors, like enjoying one thing at a time, knowing when to relax and when to work hard, and being present for important moments, can serve you personally and professionally.
This element, for me, is a major work in progress. I inherited Type A tendencies from my parents, who both are constantly moving, improving and achieving. I jolt awake from sleep and immediately start addressing tasks on my mental to-do lists. Even during heavy conversations with my husband, I get up to do dishes. When my husband pointed this out, I stopped, and five minutes later — without realizing it — I was wandering out of the room to start laundry.
Most people have a number of things they’d like to change about themselves, but few make these changes because they are far too complicated or ambitious. I have found that the most effective way to simplify your mind is to choose one thing — the most important thing — and focus on that until it becomes a habit. My first goal was to be fully present when my daughter returned home from daycare. It had been a major source of stress (and irony) that I missed my daughter like crazy during the day, but was so exhausted and overwhelmed at night that I’d ignore her in favor of getting everything cleaned up and ready for the next day.
| “It’s a challenge to think small in a world that’s telling you to go big.” |
Once I mastered this, I tackled a much larger goal: I quit smoking cigarettes. It was difficult to feel at peace when my body needed a constant influx of chemicals. Despite how grueling the withdrawal period was, I now feel an overarching sense of calm.
When discovering ways to simplify your mind, start with the thing that troubles you the most, or disrupts your life the most. It could be as simple as making room for an old favorite hobby, or cutting out an activity that clutters your schedule. It could mean reducing your caffeine intake or doing jumping jacks throughout your day.
It’s a challenge to think small in a world that’s telling you to go big. It also goes against our nesting nature to get rid of anything that we might just possibly use again in the future. And it is scary to eliminate the physical and mental clutter, to strip our environments and selves down to their essences, because suddenly we’re facing reality — no gimmicks, no bells and whistles. You may not like what you see. But without really examining how you’re spending your time, money and energy, you can’t possibly know how to save your time, money and energy. You don’t need to make a giant leap into full-fledged minimalism, but try stepping back from the madness and making a tiny change to reclaim what you really want out of life. You may be surprised at the results.
Amanda Layman Low is a freelance writer and artist. Contact her on Twitter
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