Minimalism

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minilamism

“Hey man, I don’t want anything, I am a minimalist!”

We all know people who are minimalists by fashion. It is trendy to consider oneself a minimalist. Minimalism is a sequential process and this is how I approach it. Before you start throwing things out of your life, please consider:

  1. Reduce waste: this includes food, water and noise.
  2. Something new replaces something old: only buy new things if you can justify them with getting rid of the thing you are replacing. Recycle, donate, or discard it completely.
  3. Prioritize repair over replace: if something breaks, try to fix it, replace the broken part, or have it repaired. Of course it should make financial sense.
  4. Wood over plastic: wood can easily be repurposed, needs basic tools to manipulate, beautiful, fun, and satisfying to work with.
  5. Buy used over buy new: where it makes sense, buying used helps reduce waste, helps the seller, and puts more money in your pocket.
  6. Sorting problem: how to know what you really need and what is just taking up space. This solution comes from computer programming. I can explain this with an example. Say you have about 10 pair of clothes in your wardrobe and you are not sure what to get rid of. Start by placing the clothes you use often on the right side of the wardrobe. Over time, you accumulate all the clothes you use on the right and you can safely get rid of the clothes on the left. If you haven’t used it, you don’t need it.
  7. Now you can start throwing stuff out: this is the fun part. Consider donating and recycling.

So before you start throwing things out of your life, consider the first three steps I outlined above.

Standard Operating Procedures

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SOP

The Scientific Process

I come from a science background so I am a strong believer in the “scientific process”. You can search for the textbook definition of this term, but this is what it means to me:

The scientific process is an iterative system of solving problems by: understanding the core of the problem, taking notes from previous similar problems, documenting the steps involved, and identifying the underlying principles while arriving to the solution.

A scientist and a person who thinks scientifically are not necessarily the same person. The latter would find ways to apply the scientific process in the real world day to day life.

Algorithms

Organisms are algorithms.

-Yuval Noah Harari

An algorithm is a shortcut of accomplishing a task without having to re-discover the process again. The process is iterative and the algorithm is a “living document” – constantly evolving.

Systems vs. Goals

Everyone has a goal, and most people accomplish their goals. But the real smart cookies think in terms of systems, not goals. A goal is something you accomplish and it is gone. But a system is long lasting. It helps you be more efficient by automating the thinking process – which is the most time consuming part. As discussed so far, a system is meant to be iterative and over time evolves into a beautiful process – a well oiled machine that runs smoothly.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

Now I get to the main point of this article: what is an SOP and how it will help me develop my algorithms or systems?

An SOP document is used in a science laboratory as a recipe to operate a specific equipment, or run a specific test. It is a very powerful living document meant to make the operator’s time more valuable and save the company money. This is the “systems thinking” idea vs having a goals mindset. The idea is to automate your life and put the routines to a script. This gives you more time to focus on the big picture and allow you to creatively think of the tasks that matter the most.

So how can I apply this SOP to my daily life? Well it’s quite easy.

Master SOP List

Create a spreadsheet of SOP documents that you need to refer to for daily and routine things. An example of some SOP document ideas are below in Appendix 1.

Keep this “SOP Master List” file in a master folder where you will house all your SOP documents.

SOP Template

Create a Mater Template SOP document. Here are some of the elements that are needed in a SOP:

  • Title must be descriptive to explain what the document is about without having to open the document
  • Purpose section: explains the reason for this SOP and where it is used for
  • Summary of changes: this is a table that lists the changes made to the document, with a date and purpose for the change. This is in reverse chronological order with the most recent change on top. This section can also be at the end of the SOP
  • Table of contents: this is optional – if you use Microsoft Word, there is an option to label each section with a heading, including sub-sections. Then change the view of the document to show “Navigation Pane”. This allows you to display the table of contents on the left side of the page and is clickable to jump to a section – very handy
  • Use tables, diagrams, handwritten or hand drawn items, links to web, etc. Anything that will help you explain to yourself what you are trying to say
  • Referencing other documents: this is important – you will have situations where you want to refer to another SOP or a document. Keep this other document in the same master folder and give it a descriptive title

DNR (Do Not Repeat)

In programming there is a convention for writing good clean code – DNR. Do not repeat code. The same is true in writing SOP documents. Minimalism is beneficial.

Cloud Storage

A practical tip that takes this SOP idea to the next level is to have these SOP documents available on your phone by storing it on the cloud and syncing it to your PC and all other devices. There are numerous cloud storage options out there – I personally use a combination of them for various things. This allows you to view and edit the SOP documents any time on your phone, for example. This is very handy.

Living Document

Finally, remember this SOP is a living document. The system works only if there is a way to constantly evolve and improve. This evolution can be done on the fly as needed, or having a pre-scheduled time slot, example once a year put in the calendar.

The whole experience is quite liberating as now you have created some free time by increasing efficiency.

Have fun!

Appendix 1

Some SOP examples:

  • SOP for morning routine: “insert further explanation here”
  • SOP for cloud storage:
  • SOP for daily goals:
  • SOP for passwords:
  • SOP for investing:
  • SOP for address and phone number changes:
  • SOP for monthly expense tracking:
  • SOP for traveling:

 

Vacation Productivity Themes

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vacation

I think we can all agree that vacations are great! We get some time off, relax, unwind and forget about the work/life responsibilities for a while.

For ones who are habitual of their routines and actually enjoy having daily tasks and goals, vacations may seem like cheating or have a sense of guilt.

If that is you, there is a rather neat hack that may help elevate your vacation to the next level: have a “Vacation Productivity Theme”.

Commute

If your vacation involves a long commute, either on a plane, train, boat, or on the back of a giant tortoise, that’s fantastic. Plan ahead for this dead commute time by setting solid goals. Try to make these goals of the “proactive” nature, rather than “reactive”. For instance, working on your book or brilliant idea would be an example of a proactive task as it involves higher level thinking. Instead, answering emails would be reactive.

Theme

Think of a general “theme” for your vacation. Because, it is unfair to limit yourself to just the commute time. There are other times during your holiday when you have the opportunity to work on your goal(s). Therefore it helps when planning for such a vacation to have a theme or multiple projects to be accomplished in chunks. Remember this is different from work because you chose to do this at your leisure.

Other Examples

Vacations are just one example, others include: waiting at the doctors, waiting in a long line, waiting for someone to show up for the appointment you have, listening to audio books during your car commutes, etc. The idea is to make your time worth your while.

Ending the trip

At the end of a trip, journey, allow time to contemplate about the trip just completed, deliveritibly allow white space to reflect. This normally never happens. As soon as the trip ends you jump on your car and head home.

Benefits

What will likely happen when you return to your routine it a new perspective. Your daily grind somehow now seems less of a grind and you start thinking of creative ways to find the in-between times to continue working on your goals.

This does not and should not take away anything from the vacation, rather elevates the experience to a higher level and makes it more impactful and memorable.

Your time is in your control and everyday should be a fun experience.

Today>Yesterday

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What is the single most effective way to guarantee you are moving towards success?

Ask yourself this question at the end of each day:

“Was today better than yesterday?”

If you can answer yes, then sleep easy. If your answer is no, let your subconscious work on it while you sleep. The next night, this question probably has a yes answer.

Time = Money

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Money is not real. The value of the dollar bill is exactly what everyone agrees on.
Time is money, you are paid dollars for your time in return. In order to get more dollars you have to be more efficient. Do more in less time, and more importantly, do high impact tasks over low-impact tasks.

But why do you want more money?
Because you want more time for yourself. You are not just chasing the money rabbit, but you have a clearly defined target in mind. You know what amount of dollars you need to sustain your lifestyle. You know what is important to you. You know that more free time makes you happy and allow you to pursue what is really important to you.

First visualize where you want to be. This is the very first step. Know exactly what it is that you desire. Put a number on the lifestyle you desire. The rest will follow.

Remember, the secret to success is getting started.

Home Gym

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Why do people want to go to a gym?

So that they can look good, feel active, stay healthy, bla bla bla.

Why do they pay lots of money every month towards a gym membership?

Because gyms are committment devices. They work.

How much time is invested in the gym ritual?

More than it needs to be. Mentally prepare yourself, get in your car, drive, change in locker, gym out, and then make your way back home. I think ~60% of the time is spent in non-gym time.

Is there a more effective way to accomplish this?

I believe so. Make a home gym. Now I realize not everyone has spare space to make a home gym. But it is not necessary to go all out. Start small. The basics are: chin-up bar, couple of dumbbells, kettlebell and enough space to do burpees. There is a ton of resources available online to walk you through how to get started. The best, and free, exercise to stay in shape is running.

I have a basic squat rack. I love it because I workout whenever I want. Typically daily. Listen to audiobooks while I workout. I stop wasting the commute and locker time. Have literally no excuses for not going to my home gym. One of the best investments I made.

There are just 5 basic exercises that will cover everything you will ever need to do at the gym:

  1. Deadlift
  2. Squat
  3. Shoulder press
  4. Bench press
  5. Bent over barbell row

A basic squat rack will allow you to do all this.

Cardio? Well running is free and can be done anywhere. So this covers everything you need.

We do what we can with what we have

Mentor

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Fire was a game changing discovery. Some believe it was actually a gift from the gods to human kind. Regardless, the second person who heard about this new discovery, or witnessed it in person, probably did not think about how they can rediscover it. Instead they probably thought about how they can have some, or steal some.

The point I am trying to make is that do not reinvent things. Find someone who has done what you need to do and seek their help.

Mentors are not that hard to find. For example, you want to start a new bakery business. The best place to start is talk to a successful baker. Ask them about their journey. You would be surprised how approachable mentors are. They probably see themselves in their students so they genuinely want to help out.

But do not bombard your mentors with trivial questions. Research the topic on your own first. Exhaust resources to find answers on your own. Then distill your questions to a handful. Be respectful of your mentor’s time.

After you have found the mentor, got their permission, the bestbway to ask your questions is probably a short email. Keep your emails once a week. Save the responses. You never want your mentor to repeat themselves with a question they already answered.

Finally, remember the generosity of your mentors. When you are in a position to help others, return the favor and keep the mentorship karma going.

Good luck!

Reading Audiobooks

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audiobooks

Almost everyone agrees that reading is one of the most important habits to develop. True. However, for a busy professional or a young college student, there isn’t time during the busy day to dedicate to sitting down and reading.

But, technology today makes it easier than ever before. We have audiobooks. It is about creating a book reading habit – or listening in our case. This is what has worked for me.

  • find out if the book I am about to read is worth my time:
    • this is a big commitment, so I am careful picking my books. I start by watching a summary video on YouTube for the book, this is generally available
  • download the mp3 (or similar) format of the audio-book
  • save it on my phone
  • use an audio-book app: I use “Smart AudioBook Player” for Android, you can use what ever you prefer

Most important is to keep track of what you listen to. I use a spreadsheet for this.

Most-most important is to make some sort of summary notes on the book. I do this on my phone again and save it to the cloud. In general, there are 2-5 really important points the author wants to say. The rest is “fluff”. Making a half-page or less summary of the book helps distill the information down. This comes super handy when in future you want to go back and re-visit the book. You can easily review your own notes.

There isn’t a “best time” for this. I listen throughout the day when I am doing stupid tasks like cooking, cleaning, working out, doing my business in toilet, etc. Commutes are also a great time to listen.

It is about creating a habit of audio-books. This habit pays huge dividends over time and you will start to reap the benefits, guaranteed.

Ignorance

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Does one get smarter with age? How about with if one is repeating the same skill/task many times. Does this make them better.

Another way to think about this is: one becomes less ignorant with time.

This is quite a paradigm shift in thinking. The knowledge did not change, neither did the content. We just become less stupid about it. It is like peeling an onion. The layers are many, but with every peel off, we get closer to the core. We become less ignorant.

Touch It Once

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touch

Nowadays, we have multiple personal devices and our data in on the cloud. We get multiple pings from notifications on all our devices. We are constantly being interrupted. I believe the best way to stay productive is to avoid redundancy at all cost – touch it once!

Time Blocks

Break your day into strict blocks. Assign specific tasks to be completed within these blocks – nothing else. You will not be interrupted from anything else. All have to wait until you come out of this time block.

Redundancy

We live in a world of “big data”. The worst thing you can do is to duplicate your work. Try to avoid making copies of your work. Before you make a copy, take a step back and ask yourself if this is necessary.

Phone Discipline

You may have heard this before – your phone can be your worst enemy. Manage the notifications and pings you get. These are specifically engineered to build habits so you spend more time on your phone and eventually buy crap. You know the app notifications you can do without, so just turn them off.

 

One example of this principle that I recently though about is WordPress. Before, I used to do my blogging from my laptop only. Requiring me to type on my computer. As I thought about writing about a topic, I had to make a note on my phone, email myself that note, log onto my laptop and then re-type it. This was redundant.

I now use the WordPress app, create graphics with the Canva app, and publish straight from my phone.