My Minimalist Day
Tell me, how does your day look like? Or even better, show me your schedule and I’ll tell you what your priorities are.
Many people think they are organized in life, but when they look back and see all the unfinished projects, dreams still waiting, life not fully lived, they know deep inside their hearts they are not truly living. They are just surviving.
Baby Steps
How to escape that? How to live a life of meaning and purpose, a life to be proud of? It’s actually pretty easy. You just start. Make a decision and start. One small step at a time. When babies are small, no one expects them to walk or run right away. First, they crawl, then they stand, and with each little step, eventually, they walk. And then they run. Why then we expect to be different? To change our lives overnight? False expectations often lead to unhappy lives. That’s why baby steps are important.
Change
Change never comes easy. We all need to acknowledge that. If you want to run a marathon, you won’t be able to go out and start running until you finish 42 km. No. That way you can only hurt yourself or hurt your ambition. First, you put on your sneakers and go take a walk in your backyard. Then return inside. The first day accomplished. Congratulate yourself. The next day walk to the nearest park or any other destination you want. After a few days, you can start running. But slowly. Carefully. Not to do too much.
Change is slow, so you also need to be. Many people do too much for the first few days or weeks and then lose interest. They don’t see immediate results and they quit. You don’t want to be one of them. You want to be better. Because you already are. You are different and you are unique. And then one day you will go for a run and finish a marathon. This is how you change your life.
A Minimalist Day
A perfect day in a minimalist life doesn’t start easy either. You built it, slowly, carefully. With every removed item and obligation from your life, one day you were left with only the most important ones for you.
Imagine waking up slowly, letting your eyes open at their own tempo. Grateful for the new day. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining, snowing or if it’s a perfect sunny day. For you, every day is a gift. A new opportunity to change and be a better person. Therefore, cherish every single day, no matter how it starts and how it ends.
Another benefit of being a minimalist is that everything around you is clean most of the time, not demanding your attention. You choose what you do and what you want. Not your stuff, not your spouse, not your boss. Only you. You are in charge of your life and your destiny.
A Day in My Life
Part One
A day in my life looks something like this: I wake up slowly, usually without an alarm because I go to the bed at about the same time every day, so my body knows when to wake up. Then I go to the bathroom and drink 500 ml of warm water. After that, I stretch my body for 5 to 10 minutes. When my physical body is nourished I take care of my mind. I start with breathing exercises, followed by affirmations, and finishing with 20 to 40 minutes of prayer and meditation.
When my body and mind are nourished, I am ready to tackle the 3 most important tasks for me. Usually, they are related to business, writing, or reading. I fast 16 to 20 hours most days of the year, therefore I don’t spend time preparing breakfast.
Part Two
I’m a morning person so for me morning hours are most productive, thus most important. Before the world wakes up, I do most of the things I want to do. Of course, not every day is perfect, but I still try to follow this routine 365 days a year.
I train 4 days a week, usually, around 8 am or 5 pm. Evenings are reserved for my wife, family, and friends. I try to be in bed every day by 8 or 9 pm to get at least 6 to 7 hours of quality sleep my body needs.
You may be wondering how I have time to do all these things in a day? I give priority to what is important to me and my personal growth. But I can tell you a secret. A secret to doing more things in a day than you ever imagined. And it’s simple. Not easy, but simple.
Eliminate everything (from your life) that is not adding value.
All that stuff around you, all the bad relationships, all the non-important obligations. Wipe a clean slate if you need. But do it. You need to take some form of action. If everything is important, then nothing is. You need to guard your time and make it a priority. For yourself and your future.
When you don’t have distractions around you, you can focus on the most important things.
For example, many people have the TV turned on while eating with their families. I was one of them. When I had a plate of delicious food in front of me, I would often glaze my eyes at the TV. The TV grabbed all my attention. Not the food in front of me, nor the conversation with the people most important to me – but TV.
I stopped watching TV 5 years ago. It was robbing me of precious time with my loved ones. Now when I eat, I focus on the food in front of me, on my family, and meaningful conversations with them. We have so much to say to each other and not enough time on this earth to do it. Stop wasting time doing unimportant things.
I’m not saying you can’t have a TV, because TV isn’t inherently bad. TV is a wonderful invention, but we have to be very careful how to use it. Not to let TV use us.
What is your “TV”? What grabs your attention?
To live the life, you have always dreamed of, you must first live a day you're proud of.
Cheers!
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One Response
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