Clutter.
It’s an easy word to pronounce. We don’t think too much about it. And when we utter words like ‘de-clutter’ — we make it seem like getting rid of the clutter in our lives seem to easy.
“Oh, I’m decluttering this Sunday…”
But clutter impacts our lives more profoundly than we often imagine.
Material possessions — the things that own us, more than we own them — can quickly cloud our thinking, and limit our freedom.
And there is the invisible clutter that’s often ignored:
- clutter in our gut
- digital files (i.e. ebooks, emails, photos, etc.)
- news and ‘status updates’ (social news-feed)
- clutter of commitments (i.e. unanswered emails, open-ended commitments, unmet expectations…)
I will spend January decluttering; and will focus on:
- a 28-day vegan fast; completing a 5-day health detox; [Health / Physiological]
- completing another round of ‘decluttering’ (my already sufficiently-minimalist home); [Material]
- abstaining from reading online news and friends’ updates on Facebook (and other forms of ‘social media’); [Mental]
- ‘cleaning up’ unfulfilled commitments, addressing unmet expectations… as explained here: www.melvinyuan/integrity [Relationship]
To be clear — I don’t think it’s bad to:
- eat well, drink and celebrate
- own nice stuff
- keep updated on the lives of friends (via social networks), and read news online
But I’m conducting a month-long experiment to learn how an intense, and thorough ‘de-cluttering’ of my life (and the different aspects of life) can impact my life, relationships and work.
Stepping out of Facebook
An important first step — may be to log out of Facebook before Jan 1; and remain out of the social network until the end of Jan 28.
But still in touch
I’ll still be writing, and responding to, personal messages via Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. I’m just stepping away from the newsfeed until I’ve experienced simplicity in this area of my life.
I’ll still be writing on Medium: https://medium.com/@melvinyuan (which may be ‘auto-posted’ to Facebook and Twitter)
And possibly send out a thorough update on personal, business and family activities if you subscribe: http://www.melvinyuan.com/subscribe/
But apart from all this, I’ll be busy until the end of January — cleaning up my life, and focusing on my family, friends and work.
And… the best outcome from this aspect of my ‘decluttering’ experiment — may be the discovery of a better way to keep in touch with friends, and to collaborate, without the clutter of Facebook and online news.
Don’t get me wrong — I would miss hearing the stories of update of friends on Faecbook, so this does not indicate a decision. But let’s see.
Recent articles leading up to this:
- What I’m doing now (on December 31, 2016)
- Sixteen, Going On Seventeen (2016–2017)
- 12 Measures for your life in 2016 (and I’m decluttering, so that I can focus on these 12 measures for 2017)
