Make a list of your top 4-5 important things. What’s most important to you? What do you value most? What 4-5 things do you most want to do in your life? Simplifying starts with these priorities, as you are trying to make room in your life so you have more time for these things.
I am by nature a listmaker, so I've been chomping at the bit to get this one done and more than a little weekend brainpower was wasted - productively utilized? - thinking about this. Because I get it. Most of us have a tendency to get mired in things that don't really matter or if they matter a little, for instance keeping things neat and tidy, they don't go very far toward contributing to those four or five important things.
Of course, when I was mulling item one over, I got all caught up in headspace semantics. Are we talking personal or professional? Can I make two lists, one for each? What about pie in the sky dreams that I ought to be actively working toward - do those count? But hello, the whole point of this project is SIMPLICITY. To distill things down to manageable levels and then pure essence, so I'm pretty sure I'm already failing a little bit and it's only the first day!
Oops?
With that in mind, I'm challenging myself to jot down five items right now. First thing that comes to mind instead of something super polished and well thought out. This is an exercise to get us thinking, sure, but my tendency is to overthink and to very carefully position myself in an appealing way. Maybe through this project I'll discover that what I want out of life and how I want to live does not have mass appeal, and that's okay. I'm 31 years old, hey, so I think I can deal with that.
My list:
1. Spending as much quality time with my daughter and also my husband as I can.
2. Doing more of the things that make me happy, which is sometimes actually work and sometimes messing around with cloth or painting my furniture.
3. Having enough money and resources to feel secure.
4. Enjoying the pleasures of being alive, like eating good food or sitting in the sun and getting lots of fresh air and exercise.
5. Finding contentment in what I am doing and distancing myself from the stuff that gets in the way of contentment.
P.S. - Check out Amy's Day 1 post over at her blog Vegparadise, and Lella's intro blog over at 31 and holding!
Christa, I like the way you organized your list around feelings/outcomes, rather than specific tasks/activities. It's a nice perspective!
ReplyDeleteYeah, well you know me! Doing is not the problem... feeling content is!
ReplyDeleteI'd go even simpler and list things like:
ReplyDelete1) son
2) husband
3) clean house
4) nice yard
5) reasonable transportation
I don't really have an issue with time in general, since I'm not a full-time worker outside of the home. I do have an issue with "quality" time, like spending time playing with my boy instead of hanging up his laundry.
I think those are definitely the simplest to achieve, Nikki, but do they also reflect hopes and dreams? I think those are important, too, less important than wants in the present, maybe, but still nice to acknowledge.
ReplyDeleteI just purchased this book called Simplicity Parenting because I have been thinking a lot about these issues you have been writing about. I wish I had a blog so that I could join you on this 72 day journey.
ReplyDeleteYou can blog here if you'd like to - it's open to contributors! If you're interested, drop me a message at christa d terry a gmail!
ReplyDeleteChrista, I get what you (and everyone else) are saying about the wants, hopes, dreams, etc... but I was taking the instructions to a totally literal place. "What’s most important to you? What do you value most?" In fact, I thought about blogging about it, but then I figured it would add an unnecessary layer of complexity to my life [insert goofy emoticon here].
ReplyDeleteBrass tacks! I like it!
ReplyDeleteMaking a difference in the world: Graham’s Foundation, my family and my close friends
ReplyDeletePersonal self-expression: writing, singing, golfing, playing hoops, speaking, connecting
Personal well-being: plenty of sleep, working out, good food and drink
A safe, functional and clean house: provides a space that our family can feel comfortable, work and play and call “home”
A happy and fulfilled wife and daughter: nothing makes me happier than to see my daughter grown and develop and to see the joy that my wife experiences during those “moments”
Christa, what makes this is great is everyone's different take on this. :) I'm really glad I didn't read anyone else's until I finished mine. Otherwise I think I would've been more influenced by your idea of "First thing that comes to mind instead of something super polished and well thought out." Instead I went with over-thinking and possibly over-complicating (which are both art forms in my book). So many great posts though. :) This is awesome!
ReplyDelete@Nick Awesome list!
ReplyDelete@Mitch Ha ha, you and me, turning a simplification exercise into something absolutely complicated. Right on!