My imaginary girlfriend exclaimed -
Simplifying your environment can spark focus, clarity, and creative breakthroughs.
“Nah, I don’t believe in all of that crap. I need my things. I need two pairs of sofa, a 10 feet dining table and all my stuff. What if a guest comes?”
“What guest? There are no relatives of yours here?”
“Idk. What if 10 friends show up?”
“Come on!”
and she was right. Nobody cares. If I make them sit on a couch, or a sofa, or even a mat on the floor, it’d still be okay. We could go out to a cafe or whatever. The house where I live, and work, was supposed to be sacred.
So, as part of my winter arc, I did this -
Started selling or removing everything that didn’t matter. But only from the room where I work/create.
And trust me, it changed so much.
A few months back, I was on my desk staring at a couple of half-finished ideas on my laptop screen. My laptop was surrounded by papers and notebooks, wires, a stack of unread books, and even a plate from the previous night.
Instead of diving into work, I found myself shuffling papers, checking my phone, and feeling oddly restless.
And here I was - today. Here, I have written 3 articles since morning, coded so much, and also had a quick meeting with my manager.
Maybe it wasn’t a lack of discipline or motivation — it was the environment.
I mean there can always be an argument that the clutter wasn’t just around me, it was inside my head.
But trust me,
That day since I cleared my desk, leaving only my laptop, a notebook, and a pen. The change has felt almost instant. My thoughts have stopped bouncing in a hundred directions and started flowing toward the work in front of me.
That is my first real taste of how minimalism or only having essential items could boost creativity.
And so you do not get it wrong,
In the words of the designer Dieter Rams,
“Less, but better.”
That line sums up what I felt. Minimalism isn’t about austerity, it’s about stripping away the noise so the essentials shine through.
Btw, Simple can be harder than complex - you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.”
This was said by Steve Jobs.
In fact, even Albert Einstein, often joked about his messy desk, admitting: “Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony.”
The more I read, the more I realized my small shift toward minimalism echoed the wisdom of people who changed the world in their fields.
I am adding habits as part of my arc. I am not going into a rampage though. I am starting small:
- Clearing my desk each evening so I could start fresh the next morning.
- Choosing one notebook instead of juggling three.
- Muting most of my phone notifications.
Ask yourself two questions, when you are at a place, doing something -
“Does it spark joy?”
“Does this object help me create?”
If the answer is no for any of it, let it go.
In case we are meeting for the first time, come over here, it’ll be worth the roller coaster of articles that are gonna come up in the next few weeks.
Use this to get to know more about me — https://linktr.ee/shashwat_writes
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