Take a break ...

minimalism x technology

Take a moment ...

to play to write to draw to work to laugh to breathe to craft a plan to read a book to live your life to enjoy a drink to walk in nature to listen to a song to catch up with family to enjoy the little things to act instead of thinking to spend time with others to reflect on what might be to get out of your own head to do what needs to be done ...
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Information Filtration System v1.0

Note: I have had recent success in completely reworking my entire mental model for this idea, so v2.0 will be posted here sometime next week. This new version is incredibly more simple drawing many elements from this initial draft but I believe it to be much more refined and universally applicable. Hopefully v2.0 with be easier to communicate and useful for anyone looking to focus on more productive information processing. For me it's all about the information itself and not the overly co...
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Think

While cleaning up my home recently, I rediscovered a little booklet titled "Think" amongst the clutter. I hope the quotes inspire anyone who might stumble across them. You can only have two things in life, Reasons or Results. Reasons don't count. If you are constantly being mistreated, you're cooperating with the treatment. You don't have to be positive, you just have to be yourself. Trying provides two excuses, an excuse for not Doing. And an excuse for not Having. You...
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5 Phases of Minimalist Optimization

Physical stuff The first phase is the decluttering/purging phase. Rid yourself of items that have not been used in the last 6 months (for seasonal items 1 year). Digital stuff The second phase is a bit more complex than the first. Cleaning up your digital life is long and perpetual process. This phase can be completed alongside any of the other phases. Mental stuff The third phase is as complex as the second but easier to do while completing the second phase and after completing the first p...
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The Speeding Ticket

A speeding ticket? Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone. Fourth time in as many months. How could a guy get caught so often? When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour, Jack pulled over, but only partially. Let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard. Maybe some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror. The cop was stepping out of his car, the big pad in hand. Bob? Bob from Church? Jack sunk farther into his trench coat. This was worse...
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If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him!

This is a copy of my highlights from this book. I have reformatted the original note to publish on Listed. Noted Quote: They are sure there is a right way to do things, though they have not yet found it. Someone in authority must know. Instead of understanding that ideas are merely feeble intellectual attempts to get a momentary hold on the unceasing flux of life, they act as though Nature imitates Art.   If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him! by Sheldon B. Kopp Related/Referenced...
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Thompson Letter

April 22, 1958 57 Perry Street New York City Dear Hume, You ask advice: ah, what a very human and very dangerous thing to do! For to give advice to a man who asks what to do with his life implies something very close to egomania. To presume to point a man to the right and ultimate goal — to point with a trembling finger in the RIGHT direction is something only a fool would take upon himself. I am not a fool, but I respect your sincerity in asking my advice. I ask you though, in listening to...
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Applied Minimalism

Minimalism itself can be viewed as a layered life system … Reduction Routinization Refinement The reduction system is pretty self explanatory. Using a variety of tools and techniques in combination with the other sub-systems a person could build a resilient and self perpetuating system of systems. Reduce, minimize, declutter and trash. Spend little to no time “sorting” or “organizing” as these are just synonyms for shifting and compartmentalizing the real problem. When implementing this su...
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The End of Solitude

By William Deresiewicz What does the contemporary self want? The camera has created a culture of celebrity; the computer is creating a culture of connectivity. As the two technologies converge — broadband tipping the Web from text to image, social-networking sites spreading the mesh of interconnection ever wider — the two cultures betray a common impulse. Celebrity and connectivity are both ways of becoming known. This is what the contemporary self wants. It wants to be recognized, wants to be ...
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Eight O’Clock in the Morning

At the end of the show the hypnotist told his subjects, “Awake.” Something unusual happened. One of the subjects awoke all the way. This had never happened before. His name was George Nada and he blinked out at the sea of faces in the theatre, at first unaware of anything out of the ordinary. Then he noticed, spotted here and there in the crowd, the non-human faces, the faces of the Fascinators. They had been there all along, of course, but only George was really awake, so only George recogniz...
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Remember before you forget

We are buffeted by this and by that Nothing to do with you People you love grow old and die All you can do is remember Before you forget ...
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Information & Media Consumption

How do you consume your information? Your email inbox? Your set of bookmarks and favorites? A stream of RSS feeds? Social media? Television? Forums? Radio? Direct messages? or maybe letters? Is the information audio, video or text based? Is it digital or physical? There are a plethora of mediums and ways to consume information. From channel surfing on your cable box to your streaming subscriptions. From your search engine to your email inbox. Is your information system finely tuned? Well if y...
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Simple Federated Compartments

I've spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect tool that will be able to accommodate innumerable facets of my life and do it in a sensible way. Well let's just say I've wasted a lot of time ... So after wasting a bunch of time seeking the holy grail of software I realized I was being too rigid with my goal for simplicity. It isn't about the number of tools, the platforms or services chosen, it is about how they come together to provide you with a more fluid experience. The less friction we...
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