Minimalism Archives

There Is Nothing in My Phone That I Want to Look at Anymore

July 17, 2024July 24, 2024 Nik

I entered the tram and sat down. I allowed the little paper bag and my umbrella to graze the floor, but barely. You know when you don’t want your stuff to get dirty, but you also don’t want to hold it, and so you sort of just let it dangle with enough support so your hand doesn’t get tired? That’s what I was doing. It was a hot summer day, and I was on the verge of breaking a sweat, but in Munich, you never know.

I took out my phone and tapped in and out of a few apps. My emails. My portfolio. WhatsApp. There was nothing in any of them that I didn’t already know.

I had caught up with my emails a few hours ago. As always, many remained unanswered.

I already knew the markets were flat. How much does any given stock portfolio move in a day anyway? 1%? 2%? 5%? It’s not like I’ll suddenly be able to retire. Why look at it every day to begin with?

WhatsApp has its moments, of course, but to be honest, that, too, can feel like a chore. Like I’m behind on my homework. Especially after a long weekend away. So many good people. So many kind messages to get back to. Just…not now, perhaps?

After a bit of mindless scrolling, the most noticeable aspect of which were the zooming animations as I darted in and out of each app, I found myself staring at my “App Library” screen, which looks innocent enough but shows no less than 46 potential apps I could click on. Then, time stopped for a second. In a moment of profound clarity, a thought crept into my mind:

“There is nothing in my phone that I want to look at anymore.”

Why I Deleted Most of My Social Media

May 4, 2022August 8, 2024 Nik

A few weeks ago, just before Elon bought Twitter and made it look cool, I deleted my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok accounts. “FITT,” their initials spell, and fitter I feel indeed.

The main idea behind minimalism isn’t to save money or time. It is to save mental energy, which physical items take up, even if they’re sitting quietly in your attic. Somewhere in your subconscious, you know the broken volleyball net is up there. Even if it only makes it to the top of your mind on occasion, you’ll feel a burden being lifted once you chuck it in the trash.

Digital minimalism works the same: You can stop using your social media, but the accounts will still be there. So will all the connections. All the posts you’ve created will still harbor the energy you put into them. The weight of sunk costs will be palpable.

“I wonder what Marcus from my year abroad is doing.” That thought hits different when you can check up on Marcus vs. when you can’t — and the latter is not necessarily a bad thing.

We tend to be kinder to people when we keep them only in our memory. Plus, when you can’t see Marcus’ new house, you won’t feel bad about yourself from the inevitable comparison that follows. When Marcus only visits your attention once a leap year, your natural reaction is to wish him well, then be on your way. For many relationships in our lives, this is the way they’re supposed to go. We’re not wired to maintain distant yet infinite contact with thousands of people.

Manage your social media in a way that prevents them from managing you.

If You Want to Be Happy, Learn to Love the Little Things

January 17, 2022August 10, 2024 Nik

I’ll never forget the day I got to drive my friend’s Ferrari. I had been staring at Ferrari posters in my bedroom since I was five, so it was a dream come true.

I’ll also never forget what he told me a few years later: “The car now means absolutely nothing to me. I’ve grown 100% used to it. It’s sad, isn’t it?” He sold it soon after that.

The only car I’ve ever owned was a first-generation BMW 1 Series. Here’s a picture from the day I picked it up:

For many people in Germany, even people my age — and even back then — a car like this was nothing special. But to me it was.

I still remember the unique government program that made it affordable, the sound of the handles when opening the doors, and the feel of the materials inside. I remember the whirring of the engine, the vibration of the tires rolling around a corner, and the click of the locks opening as I pressed the button on my remote control key.

It was always a good moment, approaching the car. I saw it standing there, always in the same corner of the square in front of our house, always ready for another adventure. I knew we were about to embark on a new journey together, and that made me happy. Would it be a short trip to the gas station? A long drive back to college? Whichever it was, I knew I had my Bavarian companion to rely on. Music on, sunroof open, gears falling into place.

I only owned that car for two years, but I never got tired of it. I always enjoyed climbing into the driver’s seat once again. How can one person grow completely indifferent to a Ferrari, while another cherishes every second with their tiny BMW? “Well, you’re a car nut, Nik! It’s easy for you to enjoy any car,” you might say, and to that I can only respond, “You’re probably right.”

Then again, I’ve had that same, joyously-approaching-the-car-feeling many times since selling my BMW — and that was ten years ago. Therefore, I have a theory: I think I’ve learned to love the little things.

Are You Swimming With or Against the Current of Life?

May 10, 2021May 2, 2024 Nik

In his book The Cafe on the Edge of the World, John Strelecky tells the story of a man in a hurry.

The man, a busy professional also named John, is stuck in a massive traffic jam en route to his much needed vacation. When he tries to circumvent the roadblock, he gets lost and, running out of fuel, energy, and growing ever hungrier, turns in to a cafe in the middle of nowhere — The Cafe of Questions.

30 Lessons Learned in 30 Years of Life

February 18, 2021February 28, 2024 Nik

Yesterday, I turned 30. When I was 18, I thought by 30, I’d have it made.

My 20s were a long, slow grind of realizing “made” does not exist. “Made” is past tense — but you’re never done! The only finish line is death, and, thankfully, most of us don’t see it until we’re almost there.

Instead of the binary made/not made distinction, I now see life as round-based. You win some, you lose some, and different rounds have different themes. There’s a carefree-childhood season, a teenager-trying-to-understand-society season, an exuberant-20-something season, and so on.

At 30 years old, I’ve only played a few seasons, but each round feels more interesting than the last. If that trend persists, I can’t imagine what one’s 60s or 90s must be like. By that time, you’ve seen so much — and yet, there’ll always be new things to see.

Most seasons last longer than a year, and there’s plenty to talk about with respect to the important, defining decade from 20 to 30 alone, but today, I’d like to do something different: I want to share one thing I’ve learned from each year I’ve been alive.

The 7 Kinds of True Freedom

September 16, 2020July 30, 2024 Nik

What is freedom?

We rarely consider this question, and yet, we all have an answer to it. We think we know what freedom is. We think it’s obvious.

“Freedom is not being oppressed!” you might say, thinking back to history class, even though until this day, you’re not quite sure what “being oppressed” even means.

“Freedom is being rich!” you might think, because hey, rich people can do what they want, can’t they?

These concepts aren’t irrelevant, but the truth is they’re very narrow, limiting definitions of freedom. You got them from a book or from other people. You didn’t come up with them on your own, and therefore, you’ve given up your freedom before you even thought about what it means to you.

There’s a famous German folk song called Thoughts Are Free. If you can think what you want, aren’t you free? Conversely, how can you be free without choosing your thoughts? Now that’s a good starting point.

Let’s try this again: What is freedom?

“I’m more into freedom from rather than freedom to.”

That really hit me. I was listening to Naval Ravikant on The Knowledge Project.

When the host Shane asked him how his values had changed over the years, Naval said the biggest shift was his new definition of freedom:

My old definition was “freedom to,” freedom to do anything I want. Freedom to do whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like. Now I would say that the freedom that I’m looking for is internal freedom. It’s “freedom from.” It’s freedom from reaction. It’s freedom from feeling angry. It’s freedom from being sad. It’s freedom from being forced to do things. I’m looking for “freedom from” internally and externally, whereas before I was looking for “freedom to.”

I’ve spent about seven years fantasizing about “freedom to” and another seven actively working towards it. The idea that freedom is mostly internal, that we carry it inside ourselves and that we can choose it any time, hit me like a truck. Could it really be that simple?

I still think “freedom to” has value. You want autonomy. You want to control your time, to cover your bases, and to have new experiences you’ll enjoy. However, none of this is the best part of freedom. The best parts are all “freedom from.”

I thought a while about what “freedom from” really means. Here are the best answers I could come up with. Here are the 7 true kinds of freedom.

If You Drove Half as Fast, You’d Still Get There on Time

July 20, 2020August 10, 2024 Nik

When he lived in Santa Monica, Derek Sivers found the perfect bike path: A 15-mile round trip along the ocean with almost zero traffic. In his afternoons, he’d get on his bike and race full speed ahead. On average, the trip took him 43 minutes to complete.

After several months of arriving with a red face, a sweaty head, and feeling completely exhausted, Derek decided to take it easy for once. He looked at the scenery. He saw some dolphins. He casually pedaled along. It took him 45 minutes.

At first, Derek couldn’t believe it, but he double-checked his numbers, and, sure enough, he achieved 96% of the result with 50% of the effort. Reflecting on the experience, he writes:

When I notice that I’m all stressed out about something or driving myself to exhaustion, I remember that bike ride and try dialing back my effort by 50%. It’s been amazing how often everything gets done just as well and just as fast, with what feels like half the effort.

Define a Small Daily Action for Your Biggest Goal in 3 Minutes

June 17, 2020June 28, 2024 Nik

If you want to achieve your biggest goal, all you have to do is transform it into a number and divide by 365.

If you want to write a book, make it 365 pages and write one per day. If you want 10,000 subscribers, start manually reaching out to 27 a day. If you want to be a director at your company, email one new person each day for a year.

The point of this overly simple, naïve napkin math isn’t to nail the plan for your journey. The point is to get moving.

The Worst Rebrand in the History of Orange Juice

April 22, 2020June 27, 2024 Nik

In hindsight, it’s easy to see why Tropicana’s 2009 rebrand failed. Poor design choices, a messy, vague, esoteric theme, and — as often with these things — a complete disregard of common sense.

When Tropicana hired legendary ad agency Arnell in 2008, they surely didn’t expect that, after five months of design work, launch planning, and $35 million in marketing spend, they’d lose 20% of their revenue within a month — about $20 million total in missed sales. But that’s exactly what happened.

Less than 30 days after launch, they pulled the new design off the shelves and went back to the old one. Four years later, Arnell shut down — they had been in business for three decades.

Looking back, some of Arnell’s mistakes appear obvious. What do you think? They went from this…

…to this:

Without even getting into the subjective topics of visual appeal and recognizability, some technical design flaws present themselves instantly.

Wake Up ’n’ Work: Productivity for the Rest of Us

April 13, 2020June 27, 2024 Nik

Three years ago, I wrote a blunt post about “the best early morning habit for success.”

I thought, “Success means money, and the fastest path to money is work” — and that’s exactly what I said. “Forget fancy routines. Remove the friction between waking up and starting to work. That’s a useful habit for success.”

Money certainly isn’t everything, but I still believe in the underlying principle: Your outcomes in life are determined by a variety of factors — luck, talent, circumstance — but the only one you control is how much time you put in. You can move that lever up or down, but it’s the only one you can move at all.

Of course, right now, no one is thinking about success. We think about surviving, about getting through this crisis, about how we can save our finances, our careers, and our businesses. Ironically, the advice I gave back then now helps me equally as much, albeit for different reasons.

Category: Minimalism