Archives From The Desk of CJD
I am so close to my minimalistic and materialistic goals that I need to start thinking of what more I can do with the freedom from clutter.
So, I’ll focus on the basics of what keeps me going: photography, writing, journaling, geocaching, walking, fitness, nutrition, creating art, thinking, philosophy, looking for more ways I can reduce my clutter, and anything else I want to do.
Reading is one of my all-time favorite things to do. But nowadays, there hasn’t been time allowances made for it, which is odd to me because now there is more to read than ever before.
As we all know, reading has expanded from traditional printed books, magazines, and newspapers. Now we have websites, blog posts, emails, Facebook, Twitter, forums, newsletters, digital books, e-magazines, etc., etc. These types of reading can be an overwhelming reading list that we must feel we have to keep up with.
The list becomes difficult, so my solution is to not try to keep up. My reading lists are self-inflicted, and so I pare it down to a read-it-later system that works for me. In true minimalist fashion, I have scaled down my printed books to the essentials. Now my fiction reading is done with e-books. Thanks to an all-inclusive Apple One subscription, they threw in digital magazines that I will occasionally browse through. The blogs I enjoy keeping up with have been scaled back. I don’t do Facebook, “news” websites, or newspapers, so no loss there.
Even with a scaled down reading list, time for reading is still a challenge: how do you make time to consume what you want and when you want? How do you read without distraction? It’s difficult to read when you come across something you want to explore later, or notifications pop up on your screen from phone calls, texts etc.
Here’s my attempt at finding reading without distraction:Books. Rarely will I read non-fiction. I love a good novel here. Most of them are now consumed through the Libby app, which ties into your local libraries for zero cost. To avoid distractions, my reading device goes into “Airplane Mode.” I’m good for thirty minutes to a couple of hours into another world.
Blogs. I love to read blogs on topics I enjoy and love to see another author’s perspective on it. The list of authors and websites I have carefully curated is filtered into an RSS aggregator called FeedBin. I don’t visit these blogs and websites, no, they come to me through Feedbin. No advertising, everything is in reader mode. Meaning, the format is stripped down to white text on a grey background for distraction-free reading. I can save the article for later reference or clear the posts out and wait for the next ones to be delivered as soon as they are published. Genius.
Browsing. If you browse through the internet, you could open multiple tabs and maybe re-visit them later, but let’s be honest- you won’t. There are a lot of “Read-It-Later” services out there like Instapaper, Pocket, etc. to help out. Find an article on the web you want to keep for later? Hit the browser’s send button and deposit it there for later reading. Make the web work for you. Personally, I prefer the one-time purchase of a “R-I-L” service called GoodLinks. That is where all my articles to follow up on. Again, on my own time.
Email. This is a tool for critical notifications only. I do subscribe to newsletters, the next step of blog authors getting their articles out there. Not me. All newsletters are delivered through Feedbin. I like my email inbox for important things and keep my address locked down tight.
Social Media. Twitter, is it for me. I have found so much benefit there than any other social media outlet. I have met so many like-minded individuals there and, as a result, in the real world too. I sprung for the third-party app called TweetBot that eliminates advertising and limit my time there to maybe 2 times a week for 5 minutes. After that, I’m good.
Recommended Apps that I use for my reading workflow:
Regarding my previous post about consumerism and the idea that we have to have more and more, I believe that less is actually more. The more you have, the less productive you can become.
I’ve learned this the hard way and spent a lot of money trying to find the best devices for myself over the years. In doing so, I’ve acquired more than I needed. Why is our mindset programmed to think that more is better?
This has led to my embrace of minimalism, or “essentialism.” Only buy and use what you need. More things leads to more distractions and makes us less productive.
My digital toolbox includes the MacBook Pro, the iPad Pro, the iPhone Pro Max and all the essential software I want and need to produce the work I want to. If I could, with confidence, manage my photo archive on the iPad alone, then I would not own the MacBook. Yes, it is possible, but I do not want to find workarounds. I’ll get there someday, hopefully soon, and then Mac & I will part ways.
The iPad for me is both a creative and consumption device and has quickly taken over as my primary tool. It has been upgraded with outstanding cameras but do I really want to carry Paddy around everywhere to snap photos? Nope, that is what Max the iPhone is for.
I do not need most of the things that others want. I need what is essential to me at the moment. But if we really want to become more productive and happy, then we will continue to work with less, not more.
Material possessions have ruined what used to be known as the most wonderful time of the year. Why are we so miserable and feel pressured to find that gift that someone had put on a long list of “wants?” Ol’ Saint Nick went corporate and then we see how holiday season morphed into holiday shopping season.
A long time ago I chose to resume control and choose to celebrate people and joy instead.
I’ve always been fascinated with design, especially design that invokes an audible “ooh.” My first, impressionable experience was watching a Lamborghini Countach rocket past a highway patrol car in the movie “Cannonball Run.”
Here are some examples of next-level design, engineering, aerodynamics, technology, magnificent and minimalism: Apple, Tesla, Lamborghini, Nike, Ferrari. All these brands represent the best in the industry by utilizing great design and materials.
Electric engines that go from 0-60 in 1.9 seconds? A superconductor hybrid V-12 engine? Autonomous driving? 32-Core GPU, & 32GB Unified Memory? Hell yes.
Monotone, grey, silver, black, navy, chrome, white are my signature colors. Clean, goes with everything and minimal.
I cannot afford the best in all situations. But I do when and where I can. It makes me appreciate what I have just as well as I can appreciate the best from afar. And yes, I used “maximal” in the header.
If I stopped to think about it, and I have, most of my money is digital. My paycheck is directly deposited to my account. My transactions are digital. I frequently pay for goods and services with the flick of the Apple Watch and the built-in Apple Pay. These are tied into my bank accounts. If the point of sale terminal does not accept Apple Pay, well then out come the plastic cards tied into the same banks. Transactions made online do not use paper currency. Rare is the moment when I use folding or metal currency.
My state is partnering with Apple Wallet to include digitized driver’s license. Same with my health/auto insurance providers, passport, TSA approval, transit pass, vaccination card, etc. No more physical wallet for me to lose. This is just how I like it. Minimalism at its best.
Again, most of our money is digital. Are we all leaning towards cryptocurrency? Why not expect and embrace a transition into the digital future present?
PSA: Do have access to paper money for emergencies and/or power loss.
Long-form writing is becoming a lost art during these days of short attention spans. With all the media content available to us, our time feels limited, so we want to maximize our consumption time. Blogs have been taken over in favor of quick social media posts. Twitter limits a tweet to 140 characters. Tik-Tok and Instagram promote short video clips, etc.
Microfiction is the natural progression of all this. It is considered to be even shorter than the short story genre. Much like a haiku, it forces concise wording to tell a story. There is no set word limit, but the general guideline is 100-101 words to tell your story. The trick is to make it meaningful enough to make an impact, as opposed to having your reader hop on to the next nano story.
How to start: Come up with an idea, create a rough draft, check your work count and revise to fit. Ulysses writing app is brilliant for this.
Where to publish: On your website first, of course. Then, save your work as a PDF and distribute to your interested followers, either for free or fee. Thereafter, use the same social media platforms if you must. There are even publishing houses looking for microfiction authors.
Finally: Microfiction is a tiny sub-genre (see what I did there?) in the writing/reading world. You won’t earn a lot of money from it, but the challenge itself can be very rewarding.
I go back and forth a lot on physical and digital possessions. This week, I am all in on a digital kick. I’m sure in a few months I’ll start accumulating more physical items. Perhaps digital possessions are superior to physical possessions?
With digital items, I can take them everywhere I go. They don’t take up space. As someone who has moved back and forth across the country, this is always a good idea. This lines up nicely with my current desire to approach minimalism again. If that word or philosophy sounds too pious, I’ll simply call it “essentialism.”
The physical things I own are for me and the relatively few people who visit for me to show off to. I can easily share digital with potentially millions of people if they are interested.
Furthermore, in case of a disaster, my digital files are all backed up and archived. Just purchase another physical device to access, and I am good to go. In the same disaster, I would have more to lose had I invested in physical goods. Most could not be replaced so easily or cheaply.
Digital + minimalism = the way to go for me.
A few days ago I mentioned I am back in minimalist mode. I want to reduce the amount of possessions, or stuff that I do not need and appreciate what I have. I want to make everything I have useful and appreciate it. I’ve had a lot of success, donating clothes, shoes and trading in physical media like record albums, movie discs and yes, books. I know, I know. Getting rid of books is tantamount to blasphemy to some.
I enjoy reading, always have. If I am not reading a book, then I am reading content online or e-books. But I am drawn to books because of the tactile nature. The feel, the smell and the looks of them. Drop me off at a library or bookstore and pick me hours later.
Reading books transports me to the places I want to go and explore, it stimulates my mind, they relax me right before I go to sleep and they have been comforting while in my home office when I take a break, grab something from the bookshelf, sit in the comfy chair and relax.
I’m learning to let go of physical books for long periods of time. I don’t need an anti-library. But the process of removing them was easier than I hoped. I sorted what I wanted and parted with those I don’t. During a move across country, I would squeeze my vast library into about 25 totes that were a burden to carry and transport. I am down to sixteen physical books after ruthlessly culling the herd.
The winter season is almost here and I anticipate a lot of free time will be spent reading. So my thinking is to plan what to read specifically for the next few months.
A minimalist’s approach to reading can be just as rewarding as having your own physical library but without all the occupied space.
Here’s what I plan to do:
Early this year I covered RSS and Read-It-Later apps in the past but I’ll be relying on these tools even more now.
I’ve mentioned books in this post but the same can be applied to all physical media like record albums, DVDs, etc. Streaming or borrowing digital media on multiple devices is quite liberating and minimal.
Regarding technology, I suggest that simpler is better. Lately I am keeping it even simpler by using plain text or markdown files after years of more complex formats and software programs.
Complex file formats are slow, bloated and usually only works if you have subscribed to the proprietary software and in a few years fail, and no longer support it. There goes your data.
Simple file formats are quick, lean and light. They play well with multiple software applications, no one owns it, and are almost always guaranteed to work in the future. Want proof? I can take data I stored on a 1.44MB capacity floppy disk back in the day and still open and read it- provided I had a floppy disk reader, but I don’t.
Plain text is the way to go for my needs. It is designed to be simple, dependable and minimal.
