Simplification Challenge
Part 2: Results and Reflections
Results of the challenge
For seven days, I worked hard to find out what aspects of my life can be simplified. I experimented with different ideas, and researched on what makes for a simple life.
I am happy to announce that the results of the challenge can be found here:
This document is not only a logbook of what I have been through for the seven days, but also contains a list of recommendations for me to be able to lead a simpler life, after collating what I have learnt from the duration of the challenge.
Since these are my personal notes, there may be some terms that are not explained well. If you have any questions concerning that, feel free to drop a comment to seek my clarification.
My reflections on simplicity
I have now thought of simplicity as being the most efficient way of doing things. Before this challenge, I was unsure about the definition of simplicity, and how it would be beneficial to my life. Thanks to this challenge, I can appreciate how much I am lacking in simplicity and how it does wonders to my well-being - I worry less and get more done instead.
This journey has been a difficult one, because my commitments and training left me with little time to work on the research and to try out some of the ideas I have come up with for this challenge. Having to juggle between the different things I wanted to do was frustrating, so I came up with a kind of a weekly roster to help me keep track of the things I am doing. Having a routine to follow can be useful for people who are involved in a lot of commitments and side jobs.
This image shows the roster I follow for all my commitments that I have in my free time. I did this in the form of a checklist in Google Keep, and included emojis to help me add some quick remarks to some of them (for instance, the pin emoji marks what I am working on for the day) since Keep does not offer much customisability for its notes.
This challenge has also helped me learn that the lack of simplicity is caused by a variety of psychological factors, many of which can be found in the list of recommendations (^ link above ^). By recognising them and overcoming them, I can look at things more straightforwardly and be more flexible in my response to different scenarios. For example, I have very little control in the training that I need to do when serving in the military, but instead of wasting my time and energy in trying to futilely reject whatever needs to be done, I can choose the mentality and the effort that I want to put in instead. This kind of mindset brings out the best in me, and allows me to see difficulties in a much more positive and a productive way.
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