Month: June 2019

The reason I sought out to make time to focus is because I struggle with distractions. This not only applies to my day to day life, but in projects and long term goals too. I wish I could say this week was more successful than it was, but I found myself slipping into old habits too often.

Juggling Priorities

Over the past few years, I’ve had a number of ideas and projects. From businesses to books to videos, I jot down nearly every idea that pops in my head. When an idea first comes in, I am excited and look forward to learning the skills needed and research to my hearts content. Then, before any tangible progress is made, I move on to the next thing. This blog is a rare exception.

Now I don’t denounce trying different things, I mean read the title of this site, but there still needs to be an honest effort put into at least some of the ideas I flirt with.

A benefit I am hoping to see from this trial is not only in developing more productive habits, but that I can see some overlap into the big picture.

Reducing Friction

A challenge I set for myself this trial was having a lofty goal. Trying to carve out an hour each day can be difficult, and when the day passes by and it’s time for bed, the last thing I want to do is spend another hour without distractions. All I want to do is go to bed.

With this in mind, I’m going to reduce the goal time from an hour to just fifteen minutes. The goal isn’t to start a timer and call it quits on the second, but to spend some time in a focused state.

Getting started is often the hard part of habits. Setting sights too high can lead to a failure in developing a habit at all. I’m going to try the new time frame and see if it helps. I suppose you’ll find out next week!

The other posts of this trial really capture my thoughts on clothes and my simplifying is useful, and so the only thing left to do is recap and move on to the next thing.

The Experience

I really enjoyed this trial as a whole. Only worrying about a handful of clothes for a few weeks was nice. I never had to think about what to wear, I just put on what I always had and started the day.

The one thing I worried about was the putting wool in practice. I mentioned in the second post, that I long read about the benefits of wool. Similar to another habit I’ve written about previously, I waited to see if there was any feedback. From what I can understand, the test passed. My plan is to almost exclusively buy wool when able, though I’m sure there will be times when I find an exception.

In terms of going forward, I plan on keeping this habit up, though may decide to change things up here and there. Pictured above is my closet, which has a ton of clothes I avoided prior to this. Going through and finally getting rid of all except the items that I would make an exception for is now on my to do list.

Now for the next trial for the next four weeks! Thinking of what I wanted to do next was tough, I couldn’t come up with a single idea for about an hour. Then it hit me. Currently, I’ve been struggling a LOT with focus. I plan on spending at least an hour a day spent focused on a single task. The task itself can vary from day to day, but for 60 minutes I want to avoid anything else. I look forward to telling you more about it next week!! Let me know in the comments below if you plan to follow along, or what I should do next!

Throughout this trial I’ve thought a lot about what our clothes really mean. Of course they provide some protection from the elements, but with our modern comforts I really think they go beyond that. Today, I find myself using clothes for two additional purposes, broadcasting something about myself and setting an intent.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

This is the first use of clothing that I recognize. This is one I don’t know that many people would deny. Many of us today use clothes as a way to express something about ourselves to others without having to talk or explain. A sports jersey defines a fan or a logo can let others know you’re in on a joke or movement. Have you ever walked into a room of strangers and been able to relax after seeing someone wearing a shirt for a band, game, company, etc. that you are a big fan of? Regardless of anything else, you can at least find solace in that one subject with that one person.

As I mentioned, this was the first thing that I really recognized in myself for using clothes. With the mundanity of my current wardrobe, I can’t deny I miss expressing myself with a favorite band tee.

Wearing a Mindset

This element of clothes went unnoticed until just recently for me. I’ve mentioned before that currently I work from home, and for a long time I would roll out of bed and work in generally whatever I slept in. While some may consider this convenient, looking back I feel like it really impacted the way I look at working at home. I never thought about it until a friend of mine asked me about it one day.

Even if I’m sitting at home alone, the simple act of putting on a new set of clothes has surprisingly had an impact on my mentality while working. While PJs might be comfortable to lounge around in, they aren’t particularly great for focusing on work. Wearing my current outfit of pants and a black tee, I feel as though I am finding it easier to tackle the problem at hand..

These are a few additional aspects of clothes that have been on mind my while minimizing my wardrobe selection.

This week I feel I’ve really felt the benefits of sticking to the same outfit each day. Over the weekend, I moved into a new living situation and minimizing effort has been a major plus as I get organized. I did want to take some time and explain what I’m wearing and why, so let’s get started.

Why Wool

To add some context for what I’m wearing, it’s a pair of gray pants and a black shirt. Both are made of merino wool, which have better longevity, though not unlimited, than cotton does between wears. In other words, they don’t smell bad as quickly. The reason for this is that wool doesn’t absorb moisture, i.e. sweat, like cotton does. I wear a different shirt each day, switching between two, though I do plan on getting more in the future.

When it comes to the style, I’ve long been a fan of solid neutral colors. The combo are easy to dress up or down as well. When I work in the office for example, I wear business casual, so a button up over the shirt is all that’s needed. When it comes to dressing down, while in just the t-shirt, I feel casual.

I was really turned on to wearing wool thanks to Tynan and his gear posts. It got me interested in “one-bagging,” traveling with just a single bag. Minimalism can have some very tangible benefits when it comes to travel. Earlier this year, I went on a trip to London and was able to make by on a single bag, though there were improvements to be made for sure.

Keep It Simple

I’ve mentioned before about minimalism being about more than just getting rid of stuff. Simplifying is the real benefit. Moving can be a real hassle and having to not only pack up, but unpack can be just as big a pain. When packing, I set aside the few clothing items I knew I would need during this trial. With unpacking, I have everything out of boxes, but in no particular order.

Putting off this element of the move has helped me focus on getting other areas of my living space organized and set…though the kitchen does still need some work. Not having to worry about organizing my closet has given me some time to unwind after the stress of the move itself. Having a reliable set of clothes I can pop on each day makes the morning smoother, leading to an overall better day.