Simplicity is going to be a big theme in many people’s lives in 2013. Just you watch. UK magazine The Simple Things recently interviewed me on how I make my life simple and it appears in this month’s issue.
If you don’t get around to grabbing it, how about I help you out. These are a few of the ways I keep my life simple, as I shared with The Simple Things:
1. I stick to my morning routine. It’s probably the best thing I do for myself all day – it sets me up and sets me off with a “feel” that I want from the whole of my day. I wake naturally and drink about a litre of warm water while I get dressed. Then it’s straight out the door to do exercise. I exercise every day, but it’s not a militant thing and I don’t push myself. It might just be a 20 minute walk and stretch. I do yoga, swim, walk or run once or twice a week. I mix it up according to the weather and my mood. The “doing it every day” bit is what counts. That way I don’t deliberate with myself whether “today is an exercise day” or not. Less options in the morning is very key. Studies show we have limited decision making energy – also that decision making depresses us – and that it’s best to “auto pilot” our mornings as much as possible so we can eliminate as many angsty choices. I then meditate for 20 minutes. Then shower and eat…usually eggs or a smoothie made of whatever greenery is in the fridge with some lemon and ginger. Then I sit down to work.
2. I meditate. Meditation “forces” me to connect with the simplicity of “what is”. I’m a very cerebral person and the simple act of sitting and getting really – let’s face it – bored, brings me back to what it’s all about.
3. I don’t go to the shops. I grew up on a farm, which was more a “subsistence living experiment”. Everything was minimised and recycled. It very much instilled a visceral abhorrence of waste and consumerist culture. We simply didn’t go to the shops and as an adult I’ve come to realise that this very simply idea – just don’t go to the shops – is perhaps the most effective approach to having a simple life.