What Does "Simple Living" Look Like?

All of this talk of "simple living" and "simplifying" has got me in a tizzy. What does it actually look like? Is it even possible? Or is life inherently messy and complicated? Is "simple living" actually a unicorn? Like... it doesn't exist?

There are certain things that certainly "simplify" life... like automatic bill payments and recurring events in calendars. But do they actually contribute to a "simple life"? Probably not... if we really wanted a "simple life"... we would sell everything and travel the world. Although... while that may simplify some aspects of life, it complicates others.

So, what does "simple living" even mean? Perhaps it means that we spend less time on activities that take a lot of energy/time but give low fulfillment. Or we find someone else to do those things. Like mowing the lawn... not a lot of fulfillment in that and it's a hassle... get someone else to do that? Or cleaning the house? Although I do get some fulfillment out of that. When I do it... the trick is just getting me to the point of doing it.

Perhaps "simple living" is just less... less of everything. Less appointments. Less stuff in the calendar. Less work. Less chores. In exchange for more fun?

I used to think that computers would simplify life... hah! And digital cameras? Hah! So much "easier" to send photos and store things but... simple? Nope... not at all. Not when you have 10,000s of thousands of photos cluttering up your hard drive. 

And that is an important distinction... simple does not mean easier. Sometimes the simple life is a hard life. So is it really "simple" living that I want or an "easy" life? And if life is easy... without challenges... does that just atrophy me?

The AI Weighs In on Simple vs. Easy

I thought I would ask the ChatGPT AI the question...

"Making life "simple" means reducing complexity and removing unnecessary complications, while making life "easy" means minimizing effort and avoiding difficulty. While the two concepts are related, they are not the same thing.

Simplicity focuses on removing distractions and reducing the number of choices you have to make, making it easier to prioritize what's important and make decisions. It can help you stay focused on your goals and reduce stress.

Ease, on the other hand, often involves delegating tasks or relying on external resources to handle things for you. It can make life more convenient and comfortable, but it may not necessarily lead to personal growth or a sense of accomplishment."

Yes... that is exactly the question I am pondering... do we really want a life of ease? Or are we looking for a simple life? Because a simple life would get to the point where we don't need to delegate things because we have eliminated the things that complicate life. 

So, perhaps the real question is... what would a simple life look like for us? In our situation. How can we simplify things as much as possible?

How to Make Life Simpler

Now, I know this isn't rocket science but... given the tizzy we are in... or I am in... it bears repeating.

1. Declutter: This is a no-brainer. Get rid of the things that are taking up space in the house (and the hard-drive) that are no longer used. And won't be used in the future.
2. Minimize Commitments: This requires me to identify what are the key things I want to keep in my life and to prioritize them. I think this is where "easy" comes in as well. If I want to spend more time hiking... then maybe it's time to de-prioritize house cleaning and delegate it to a cleaning service.
3. Focus on the Essentials: Similar to the one above... prioritize the things that matter the most to me and avoid getting bogged down in non-essential tasks. There are a lot of things that I do which are "nice to have done" but are they essential? Maybe not.
4. Establish Routines: Yep, routines help avoid decision fatigue and make things go smoothly.
5. Limit Distractions: Like social media and the news sites. Because they do suck up an inordinate amount of time and energy. If I say I don't have enough time for things... and then spend hours watching TV... that doesn't... quite... jive.
6. Automate tasks: Yes... like paying bills and grocery shopping. Although... during the pandemic I would go to Superstore to pick up my online order and end up sitting there for 45 minutes waiting for them to bring it outside. I am not sure that automation always simplifies things!
7. Simplify your finances: This could be helpful - rather than having bank accounts in 3 banks... and multiple credit cards... pull it way back and consolidate all of these. Maybe. I don't like having all eggs in one basket but not sure that 6 credit cards, all with different banks, are really necessary!
8. Get organized: Oh yes... this is a big one. My list of "to scan" papers has been growing larger every week and... tax season is always a stress. If I scanned regularly... tax season wouldn't be so bad. But it's a tedious task and so I put it off... even though it would make my life simpler... it isn't necessarily easy.
9. Prioritize self-care: And this makes sense too - taking the time saved from all of the earlier ideas... I make time for exercise, meditation, and spending time with family and friends. It reduces stress and makes me more able to handle the complexity of life...

All of these seem to have one thing in common... reducing stress. Consolidating things so there is "less" to worry about. "Less" stuff to take up mental energy. So it is for me to look and see... what are the main things that are causing me stress. Because it's going to be different for all of us. And really... I should clear the decks and then start with #9 - Prioritizing Self-Care... because when I neglect that... things start to fall apart quickly.

How to Make Life Easier

When you do a search for this on Google, you find a lot of the same ideas as above... ways to make life easier overlap quite a bit with making life simpler. But there are a few extra ideas...

1. Delegate Tasks: If I have done the above items... and re-evaluated my calendar and my priorities... I might decide that lawn-mowing is not a good use of my time. In which case I could get someone to come and mow the lawn. I am trading money for more time. Is it a worthwhile trade?
2. Stop Procrastination: Ugh. Again?!! Still?? Yep. Because the things that I procrastinate on really complicate my life eventually... and everything becomes harder when it is pushed and pushed and pushed into "tomorrow". Procrastination just makes life harder than it has to be.
3. Plan Ahead: Yep, this is a good one. Do some meal-planning for the coming week. So we aren't standing there 30 minutes before meal-time wondering... "What are we going to eat". There are lots of ways to create efficiencies that make life "easier".
4. Clear Emotional Space: This is one that bogs me down a bit. Forgiving people. Letting go of toxic relationships. Letting go of old grudges. 
5. Grab some Perspective: Compared to most of the world... we have incredibly easy lives. We don't have to carry potable water for miles. We don't have to scrounge for firewood to heat our food. We can communicate easily via email, phone, text. That helps to put things in perspective. And a daily gratitude habit might help as well...

The Nubbin at the Heart of This

Well... I see that I have some work to do. Before I get to the exterior stuff "out there" though... I think it requires me to start with the interior stuff first.

Step 1... get my self-care back on the front burner and stop nudging it to the back burner.

Step 2... clear some emotional space and practice some gratitude.

Step 3... stop procrastinating

I keep thinking that if I make the exterior of my life "simple" and "easy"... then that will reduce my level of stress. Truth is... if I don't handle the interior stuff first... then exterior changes aren't going to make one jot of difference. Less Stress is an inside job...  Sigh...

End each Day by Parking Downhill

We live on a hill, one of the steepest (if not the steepest) hill in our city. It's got a 27% gradient which is very steep!

Now, we live near the bottom of the hill, and not on the steepest part, which is better in the winter, when people can't even drive up the hill... but living near the bottom is not so good for my morning walk.

Walk Uphill or Downhill?

When I walk out the door... I am faced with two choices... go uphill or go downhill. Going straight, and level, is not an option. Many days, I face a mental block on my morning walk. I really, really don't want to have to grunt uphill right off the bat. I can do the slog to the top in 8 minutes but... those 8 minutes are a grueling, wheezing realization that I have turned into a winter slug!

So, sometimes what I do is... I'll just head downhill... it's easier, it gets the juices flowing and my muscles get limbered up. I may then circle around the block and start slogging up the road one street over (longer but with a gentler gradient). But first... a bit of downhill is much appreciated and makes the morning walk less of a chore... and more likely to actually happen.

Parking Downhill in the Woods

When I worked in the bush, we'd drive down these long logging roads into the wilderness. At the end, where we parked, we would always, always, always, get the truck turned around so it was parked facing in the direction of home.

Maybe it's a bear chasing you... or a forest fire... or a wounded companion... or it snows while you're out in the bush. The last thing you want to struggle with is a 5 point turn as you go back and forth, back and forth, trying to get turned around in the right direction.

Plus... if you go a bit too far and get stuck in the ditch... at the start of the day, you have waaayyy more time to get that figured out than at the end of the day when you're tired and it's getting dark. Oh... and if the battery died while you were out in the bush... it's a lot easier to push the truck forwards down the hill to get it started than to push it backwards down the hill (does that even work?).

Just another example of... park downhill... make it easy on yourself!

Parking Downhill for Productivity

I came across a productivity hack (which you know I love) the other day. The idea is to "park downhill" every evening. Not just the car either.. this works with projects or your desk or... whatever.

We aren't always at our most alert in the morning... so gathering up everything that we need the night before is just smart. The documents... the office bag... make a lunch... make sure your keys are on the key rack... get your exercise gear together. A little preparation the night before means that in the morning... you'll be parked downhill and everything will go much more smoothly.

With projects... it's a good idea to end the day in a "fun" spot. With something that you will find engaging and interesting and... dare I say it... easy.

I've been struggling with proofing a document that was translated from Polish to English using Google Translate... It's a bit of a slog but I can park downhill by telling myself the night before that I'll just start with the headings... and then the photo captions. That is easy. I can do that no problem. And once I've done that... then I'm already on a roll (having parked downhill) and can tackle the actual text.

Another idea... for those of us who work from home... is to have the document that we are going to be working on the next morning, open on the desktop. And nothing else. It's so easy to get distracted by all of the open tabs... so eliminate the distraction and make it easy.

Part of why parking downhill makes everything so much easier is that it eliminates decision points which are often energy draining. Decision fatigue is real... even in the morning... there is nothing worse than waking up in the morning and not being clear on what project is going to be tackled next. At least... there's nothing worse for me. I usually end up frittering the day away... so parking downhill just makes sense.

Even with this blog... if I can have a topic picked out in my own head the night before, then I am set for sitting down in the morning and writing. I'm parked downhill.

If... on the other hand, I don't have a topic picked out... it is a struggle in the morning because "I don't know what to write".... and it's pure gruelling uphill grunt work. No fun.

These might all seem like small things... but it's the small steps that make things easier.