The Smartphone is a Tool
“I’m giving up my smartphone!” somebody will defiantly say as they are striving to live a simple life. And while I don’t disagree that a smartphone can be a huge negative influence on your life, it can also be a great simplicity enhancer. The smartphone is a tool. Just like any other tool, how you […]
Holiday Shopping Guide for Simple Living
The holidays can be a challenge for us simple living people. The pressure to buy gifts for an endless list of people is real, and it’s conflict with personal values of trying not to consume “stuff” can be stressful. But you can make choices to make your holidays simpler. Through some careful planning ahead of […]
Intentional Living
When you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. -Zig Ziglar What are you aiming for? For a long time I thought simple living meant that I should not be a goal-driven person. I should take life day-by-day. Live simply. But overtime I found that the “driftless” simple living definition is very rudimentary. […]
Choosing Focus – 5 Ways to Improve Your Focus
I recently asked a group of people what their biggest challenge to simple living was. The most popular answer? How to stop multitasking and learn to focus. Focus is a interesting concept. We think of it like this abstract thing that requires we have all of the puzzle pieces aligned, and then pop! Out comes focus! […]
Understanding The Marginal Utility of New Gadgets
I used to be a big sucker for new electronics. I liked to own the latest and greatest, and got excited to watch new product announcements. This time of year is especially trying, as the new iPhone and Google phones are announced. New features, new design, all the glitter! Following the launch of a new […]
Follow-Through With Commitments To Yourself
Have you ever had somebody make a commitment to you, then not follow-through on it? Feels bad. Have you ever made a commitment to yourself, then not followed-through on it? Feels worse. There is no better way to build up your self-respect than by holding yourself accountable. Setting goals, determining your values, or committing yourself […]
Who Owns Your Life?
You have one life. Just one opportunity to create the life, and live the experience you desire. If we had just one of something else, we’d be incredibly protective of it, making sure that is used to the fullest. Being sure that it stays in our control, and that we don’t “lose” it… Is this […]
How to Do a Simple Budget
Four years ago we made a financial decision that has had profound positive impacts on our life. That decision has allowed us to eliminate our debt, build wealth, and comfortably start a family. What’d we do? Started budgeting. I would freak out if I had somebody telling me how much money I was supposed to […]
3 Ways to Simplify Your Email
I love email! It might not be something that you hear often, especially from somebody who strives for a simple life, but I do love email. Why? It’s a quick and effective communication tool, and a great place to retrieve information. The key to email is keeping it simple. Here are three ways that I […]
The Art of Productive Worrying
Worry has a bad rap. It’s seen as this unproductive feeling that we have. When we worry about something, we are unnecessarily exposing ourself to the “what ifs”. But what if I told you that worrying CAN be productive? That learning how to address your worries can actually make you a more resilient person to […]