The thing about getting older is how remarkably easy it becomes to lose entire months down the back of the couch. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but the road to good intentions is full of potholes filled with the sticky, sticky tarsands of time.
That’s a loose segue into the topic of good intentions and bad habits and a six month lapse in writing and my ongoing quest to try and apply the principles of minimalism to bits of my life that are getting away on me (spare room, and multiple suitcases of unfinished projects I’m looking at you).
Minimalism is the new Hygge in aspirational lifestyle circles (and one can’t help but marvel at the bold irony of the stacks of products and literature directed at making your life, dear consumer, more streamlined, clutter-free and insta-perfect).
Side note: I recently spotted a Lagom brand of kitchen appliances, which stirred movement in the cynical pits of my Gen X soul.
But I’ve also been thinking of it in terms of how it can be applied as an approach to moving past that legacy of half-started plans and half-finished projects and scaling back in some areas so that I have the time and energy to devote to that elusive bucket list.
This change of focus has been spurred by a few events. In part triggered by reading this article a few weeks ago, and also a series of events that has left me feeling like I’m a bit between chapters at the moment. I lost my most beloved pooch towards the end of last year and it threw me into a period of extreme inner turmoil. I found myself examining interpersonal issues and the inadequate coping mechanisms I’d adopted to deal with them, alongside why I have so many clothes in my closet that I never wear. Long story short – I was a bit of an emotional wreck.
So my aim this year is start working on doing more of less. To avoid the temptation to start new hobbies and instead work on the projects I’ve left waiting. To get better at the things I already do. To get rid of what no longer serves me and make space for what I need in the life I’m living today.
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