simpler

8/6/2019 Simpler

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/simpler 1/80

Simpler

MattMadeiro

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TableofContents

SimplerHealth1: Intro 9

2: Food 10

3: Drink 16

4: Fasting 18

5: DailyRoutine 21

6: Fitness 26

7: Walk 28

8: Sprint 309: (Body)Weight 32

10: SimplerHealth 38

SimplerStuff

1: Intro 41

2: Crap 43

3: Non-Crap 48

4: CuttingtheCrap 495: Keepsakes 53

6: SimplerBuying 55

7: SimplerStuff 58

SimplerLife

1: Intro 61

2: Time 63

3: TV 65

4: Internet 68

5: People 72

6: SimplerTime 74

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WrappingItAllUp 77

Resources 78

AbouttheAuthor 80

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There'ssomeoneIwanttobe.

Hehasalean,athleticbuild,theexactkindofbodythatmakes

youpauseandstealanotherlook.He'sfunny,intelligentand

charming,seriouswhenheneedstobebutenthusiasticateveryotherchance.He'swell-traveled,comfortablewithjust

abouteverything,andhe'stheguywhomakesatleastthree

dozenfriendseverytimehestepsintoanewcountry.

Mostly,though,he'stheguylivinglifethewayhewantsto.

He'stheguylivingonhisownterms.

That'snotme.

Notyet,atleast–butI'mworkingonit.

AndI'mstartingtothink,now,thatrealizingouridealself–

yourperfectyou–isalittlebitdifferentthanwe'vebeenlead

tobelieve.It'salittlebiteasier ,even.

Thatidealself?Maybeit'sbeenhereallalong.

Maybethatmanisme.Hell,maybehe'salwaysbeenme,but

buriedunderneathyearsofdoubt,twice-dailyDr.Pepper,and

morelayersofbadadviceandstupid,stupid informationthan

youcouldeverpossiblybelieve.

MaybeIjusthavetodoalittlediggingtofindhim.

MaybeIjustneedtotakeallthemessinmylife,bundleitup

niceandneat,andpuntitoutacrossthewater.

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Maybe–justmaybe!–Ineedtosimplifymylife,focuson

whatmatters,andmakeeveryefforttouncoverthat

personI'vealwayswantedtobe.

That'swhatIstartedthinking,atleast,aboutninemonthsback.Thosethoughtswerethefirstvolleyinafull-scalemovement

towardssimplicity,theculminationofwhichisthebookyou

haveonyourscreen.

Simplerisdicedthreeways:Health,Stuff,andLife.Thatlast

categoryiskindofacatch-allfor"everythingelse,"butIthink

itmighthaveafewfreshtakesonthepartsoflifewetendto

complicatemost.Icanvouchforthem,inanycase.Ninemonthslater,Ifindmyselfaremarkablydifferentpersonfrom

themessy,unhappy,andpot-belliedmanofbefore.

Ijusthadtogodigging,asitturnsout.Ijusthadtosimplify.

Andyouknowwhat?Ifoundoutafewinterestingthingswhen

Idid.

Youcanhavestrong,effortlesshealth.Youcanbehappyandfree.Youcanmakeeverydaycount.You'vehadthepowerand

thecapabilityallalong,butthatlittletruthhasbeenburied

underyearsofcomplicationsandcomplexitiespiledonfrom

modernlife.

Butwhenyoudigitout?

Youcandoanything.

Ihopeyouenjoythebook.

-Matt

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Disclaimer-TypeThings

I'mnotadoctor.I'mnotaperfectminimalist,andI'mnot(yet!)aworldtraveler.

I'mablogger.

I'maguywhopackedonaboutfortypoundsduringhislast

yearofcollege–nearlyallofitonthestomach.I'maguywho

gotrobbed thatsameyear,onlytorealizethathisroomwasso

messythatthepoorthiefcouldn'tfindanythingworthstealing.I'maguy,mostly,whowasnevercomfortableinhisownskin.

ButI'maguywhochanged,too.

Inthespanofninemonths,Ilostallthatweightandmore,

seeingaprettysweetsetofabsIneverknewIhad.Isoldmost

ofthestuffIowned,consolidatingmylifedowntojustafew

bags,andmadeboldplanstoliveineverycitythatcaughtmyattention.Imadeincrediblefriendsbothonandoffline,met

peoplefromallovertheglobe,andgainedimmeasurable

confidenceinmyabilitytohelpchangetheworld.

Andthroughitall,Irealizedsomethingincredible–something

thatevennowiskindofhardtobelieve.Theweightloss?The

minimalism?Thenewoutlookonlife?Thosewereeasy.

Simple,even,aheckofaloteasiertograspthanIhadeverbeenleadtobelieve.

AndsoIdecidedtowriteaboutit.

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Youdon'thavetotakemeatmyword.Feelfreetochallenge

meeverystepoftheway,infact.Iaskjustonething:tryit .Try

itforasinglemonth,please,andifitdoesn'timproveyourlife

insomeway,thenIgiveyoufullpermissiontowritemea

nastyletterandmakemecrymyselftosleepatnight.

That’dbeprettymean,though.

Let'sgetstarted,shallwe?

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Simpler Health

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1:Intro

Everseenthe"Diet"sectionofabookstore?

It'sterrifying.Youwanttoloseweight,right?Right.Let'ssay

youstartthere.Diveintothatsectionforjustthirtyminutes

andtrytosurfacewithasingleclearideaofasafe,simpleway

todropthepounds.

Low-carb?Low-fat?Bloodtype?Lacto-ovoVegetarian?

Fruitarian?Carnivorous?Ridiculous?

It'sconfusing.It'scontradictory.Andbeyondthat,it'sjusta

tinybitsad.

Whyisthishard ?Why,whenoursupermarketscarryan

abundanceofthefoodweneedtomaintainhappy,healthy

lives,isthemodernworldfacingahealthcrisisof

unimaginableproportions?

I'mnotheretopointfingers.I'mnotevenheretosaythatone

planisbetterthantheother,asalistlike"TheTop10Diets!"is

theexactkindofnonsensebetterleftforglossymagazines.

Iamheretosaythatreclaimingyourhealthcanbeeasy,

natural,and simpleaboveallelse.

Here'show.

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2:Food

Peopletendtogetprettypassionateaboutwhat'sontheirplate.

Ican'tblamethem.I'maself-styledfoodiemyself,alittle

personalityquirkthatprobablycontributedtotheextratireI

wascarryingaroundmymidsectionearlierthisyear.And

that'sthething:IstillloveallthefoodIateduringmy'growing'

phase,andIwon'tpretendIdon'tcravetheoccasionalsliceof

pizzawheneverI'mnotinthemoodtocook.

Idon'torderapizza,though.Here'swhy.

Youcaneatallthepizzayouwant !Youcanhavecakeeach

weekend,doughnutseverymorning,andbrushyourteethwith

softdrinksbeforeyoulaydownatnight.Guesswhat?

Itwon'tkillyou.You'llsuffersomeprettymiserablehealth,developastaggeringgut,andjuggleadozendifferentpillsfor

overhalfofyourlifespan,buthey–you'llstill(probably)

survive.

Forsomepeople,that'sgoodenough.

Forme?Nochance.Andforyou?Idoubtit.

Youdon'twanttojustsurvive.Youwanttothrive.Youwant

tolivehealthyandstrongforeveryyearyou'regiven,andyou

wanttomakeeverysingledayonthisplanetcountasmuchas

possible.Youunderstand,deepdown,thatit'shardtodothat

whenyoucan'ttouch–letalonesee!–yourtoes.

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Goodnews,then!

Youdon'thavetocountcalories.Youdon'thavetocount

macronutrients.Youdon'thavetodoasingledamnthingbeyondtakingthefoodoffyourplateandshovelingitintoyour

mouth.

Theresultwillbestrong,vibranthealth,thewayitshouldbe:

easy.Effortless.

Simple.

Stepone:thinkaboutwhatyoueat.

Thismightbethesinglegreatestchangeyoucanevermakefor

yourhealth.

Don'tbuyit?Let'sstartwithananalogythatmighthitalittle

closetohome.

Anewpillhitsthemarket.Itpassedclinicaltrials,sure,butstill

comeswithalistofpotentialhealthcomplicationsatleasta

milelong.Andyouknowhowthisgoes,right?Newpillcomes

out,hundredsofpeopleaddittotheirroutine,andtenyears

laterhalfofthemhavegoneblind.

Raiseyourhandifyouwouldwillinglytakethisdrug.

Right.Weviewanynewmedicationwiththeappropriatelevel

ofsuspicion,waryofwhatthischemicalcocktailmightdoto

ourbodies.Butwhatifwetookthatastepfurther?Whatifwe

trainedthatsuspiciouseyeonsomethingevenmore

important?

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Whatifweweresuspiciousof food ?

Yes.Food.Bearwithmeforjustamomentlonger.

It'snothardtopictureafrozenpizzarollingdownthe

assemblylinelikepillsdo.Itdoesn'thelp,too,thatthe

ingredientlistreadsliketheglossaryinachemistrybook.And

whataboutthethousandsofgleamingboxesthatcrowdthe

interiorofthegrocerystore?Whataboutthelatestand

greatestfood product thatwasdesignedinalaboratorysetting

beforeeverreachingyourkitchentable?

Doesn'tthatseemlikeabadidea?

Doesn'tthatseemunnatural ?Sowhyisit,then,thatprocessed

foodhasbecomeachiefcomponentofthemoderndiet?Why

arewesurprisedtoseeourstomachsswellwhenweregularly

chowdownon–muchlikethosetrendypills!–afood product

thathasonlyemergedinthelastfewdecades?

Ourbodiesarenotusedtothis.Andhowcouldtheybe?We

evolvedtoeatjustafewthings:meat,fish,veggies,andfruit.

Natural food.It'swhatourbodieswant,attheendoftheday,

andrealizingjusthowlittleofitweconsumecanbea

significantsteptowardsastronger,healthieryou.

Steptwo:eatnatural.

Justtorubitin:meat,fish,fruit,andveggies.Eatthem.Eat

themoften.

Youmightnoticethatthislistdoesn'tincludeanotherstapleof

themoderndiet:cerealgrains.Exactlywhyyoushouldavoid

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(oratleastminimize)themisbeyondthescopeofthisbook,

butherearetwopracticalperspectivesonthesubjectthatyou

mightwanttoconsider.

Forthecaloriecounter:

Wanttoconsumefewercalories?Or,betteryet,nothaveto

countthematall?

Dropthegrainsasoftenasyoucan.Theyaddanimmense

amountofcaloriestoanymealwithjustatinyboostin

nutrients,makingitthatmucheasiertoblowpastyourcaloric

goalsonaregularbasis.Getaburritowithoutthewrap,inotherwords,andyou'llstarttorealizesomethingimportant:

eatingjustmeat,veggiesandfruitmakesitaheckofalot

easiertocomeinunder2,000caloriesaday.

Thebestpart?Threesquaremealsofsimple,flavorfulfoodwill

stillleaveyoustuffedandsatisfied.Knowingit'sfromhealthy,

naturalsourcesisjusticingonthe(flourless!)cake.

Forthe"EverythinginModeration"person:

You'reabouttofeelsillyinamoment.

Thewhole"everythinginmoderation"argumentlikestoget

thrownaboutwhenevergoinggrain-freecomesup.It'susually

usedtojustifygettingpizzaand dessertwithyoursalad,but

let'stakeacloserlookatwhatmoderationreally means.

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Fortheaveragegrain-freeeater(focusingonmeat,fish,fruit

andveggies),aday'sintaketendstolooklikethis:

v 100gProteinv 100gFatv 80-100gCarbohydrates

Noticetheconsistencybetweenallthreemacronutrients.Carb

intakemightrisefurtherifyouregularlyincludestarch

(potatoes,sweetpotatoes,etc.),oritmightdiplowerifyou

don’toftenpartakeinfruit.

Let'scomparethattothedailyintakefortheaverageAmerican:(source:CDC,

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db49.htm)

v 100gProteinv 90gFatv 250-300gCarbohydrates

"Everythinginmoderation."Right .You'llnoticethehighcarbohydrateintake,whichisenabledbyseveralcarb-rich

foodsthattendtocomprisethemoderndiet:softdrinks(being

straightsugar,acarbohydrate),processedfood,andan

emphasisonincludinggrainsineverymeal.

Reducingyourintakeofcarbohydrates,then,usuallyleadsto

weightlossandarapidimprovementinvarioushealth

markers.Why?Thatdependsonwhomyouask,butapopulartheoryisthatreducedcarbintakefallsmoreinlinewithhow

humansevolvedtoeat–howourancestorssurvivedand

thrivedlongbeforeevenagriculturetookover.

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Andthatmakessense,doesn’tit?Pictureatimebefore

agriculture.Ourancestorsthrivedonwhatevertheycouldfind,

whichprettyassuredlydidn’t includegrainsthathadtobe

heavilyprocessedinordertomakethemviabletoeat.Wecan’t

knowtheexact detailsofwhattheyconsumed,ofcourse,butlogiccomesintoplayhere:theywouldeatmeat,vegetables,

andwhateverfruittheystumbledacross.

I'mnotclaiming,ofcourse,thatyoucan'tloseweightwhilestill

includinggrainsinyourdailyroutine.Iamclaimingthatit's

botheasierandsimplertolose–andmaintain–weight

withoutthem,however,especiallyifyouaren’tthesortofhigh-

levelathletewhoreliesonexcesscarbintaketofuelphysicalactivities.

Onecaveatifyoudecidetoforegothegrains:thefirstweek

mightsurpriseyou.Regularcarbintakeinthetripledigitshas

atendencytoteachthebraintoexpectcarbohydratesfor

energy,soreducingtheamountyou'reconsuminghasthe

(thoroughlysurprising!)effectofmakingyoufeellikeunder

theweatherforacoupleofdaysorlonger.

Yourbodywill adjust,however,andstartdoingsomething

interesting.Giventhelackofcarbohydratestoburn,it'llswitch

toitsotherpreferredsourceofenergy:fat .Storedfatin

particular.

Thatmeansexactlywhatyouthinkitmeans.

Formoreinformationonthegreatgraindebate–including

sourcestoplentyofpeoplefarsmarterthanIamexplaining

whyyoushouldminimizetheirappearanceinyourdiet–check

theResourcesectionattheendofthebook.

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3:Drink

Water.Tea.Coffee.

Dropeverythingelse.

ThiscomesfromaformerDr.Pepperaddict,theguywho

wouldorderthesmallestcuppossible(it'shealthier!)butstill

makethreeorfourtripsforarefillatthedrinkmachine.

Softdrinksarenotgoodforyou.

It'sassimpleasthat.Yourbody,believeitornot,doesnot like

itwhenyougiveitmassiveamountsofsugaronaregular

basis.Rememberthepillanalogyfromtheprevioussection?

Rememberthepartabout"ourbodiesarenotusedtothis"?

Thatstillapplies.

Thinkaboutit.Fruit,bymostdefinitions,isnature'scandybar.It'sanaturalsourceofsugarandhosttoawealthofnutrients,

buttheimpactofthatsugarisminimalonthebody–aresultof

theneedtochew thefruititself.You'renotgivingyourselfa

straightinjectionofsugar.You'rechewingonanapple,instead,

andenjoyinganaturalsourceoffiberthatservesasslow ,safe

transportforthesweetstuff.

Softdrinks,though?There'snospecialdeliverymethodtobe

found.Youhaveabottle,sure,butit'scarryinganimmense

amountofsugarthatwreakshavocinyoursystemandhasa

tendencytoshowuplaterasanextrarollaroundthegut.

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Thisdoesinclude,mindyou,abreakfaststaple:juice.That

mightbeaneye-openerforsome(itwasforme!),butit'san

uncomfortabletruth.Fruitjuice,healthyaswe'dliketo

thinkitis,isstillstraightsugar.Sure,it'snaturalsugarfrom

fruit,butthat'snotmuchbetterwhenitcomeswithoutthepartthatmakesitlegitimatelynaturalinthefirstplace:thefruit

itself.Youknow,thefleshy,fibrousexteriorthatpreventsan

applefromheadingstraighttoyourthighs.

Water.Tea.Coffee.Drinktheminabundance,butavoid–or,in

thecaseofalcohol,don’tgocrazywith–everythingelse.

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4:Fasting

Fastinghasabadreputation.Youknowit.Iknowit.Ialsohappentoknowthatthereisverylittle(ifanything!)inthe

wayofsciencetosupportthatbadreputation,andIalso

happentoknowthatithelpedmetrimdownconsiderably in

myfirstfewweeksoftryingit.

TheconceptofIntermittentFasting(IF)mightseemalittle

strangetoanyoneunfamiliarwithit,sobearwithmea

momentasIdescribeitsmorepracticalapplications.

Everheardofaneatingwindow?It'susuallyaneight-hour

periodinwhichyouconsumeyourentireday'sworthof

calories.Thatcantranslatetotwomeals,threemeals,or

whateveryoulike–theideaistoonlyeatwithinthateight-

hourwindow,leavingsixteenhoursofthedayinafastedstate.

Why'sthatimportant?Yourbodyhasatendencytoburnfatinthefastedstate(especiallyifyouraveragecarbintakeislow),

meaningyougetasolidsixteenhoursoffat-burningeach

day.That'sawesome.

Theotherperkcomesincalorieconsumption.Providedyou

don'teatstaggeringamountsoffoodtocompensatefor

skippingbreakfast(tip:don'tdothat ),it'sfareasiertoliveand

prosperwithacaloricdeficiteachdayoftheweek.

Youcanmaketheargumentthatjustcuttingcalorieswillwork

too.Iwon'targueotherwise.Butspeakingfromexperience,

here,straightcaloricrestrictiontendstomakemegoalittle

crazyafterthefirstfewweeks.Ilikefood.Loveit,infact,which

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iswhydailyintermittentfastinghasbeensuchabreathof

freshair.

Sure,Idon'teatbreakfast,butnoramIstarvingmyselfatthe

othertwomealsoftheday.Ieataprettysizablelunchanddinner,haveamid-daysnackasneeded,anddon'tworryabout

muchelse.

ThebeautyofIF,afterall,isitssimplicity.Skippingameal

won'tkillyou.Ifanything,it'llhelpyouachieveyourweight

goalsinaneasy,effortlessway.

Andthere’sanotherkeybenefit,too,whenitcomestoasubjectverynearanddeartomyheart: pizza.Cake.EverythingIdon’t

normallyeatforthesakeofmyhealth,inotherwords,thatI

usedtoconsumeinabundance.

Fastingisn’ta“gopig-out!”card,butknowingthatIcanskip

mealsdoesaffordadifferentperspective:Idon’thavetofeel

guilty forthatoccasionalcheatmeal.There’satendency,

whenyoustarteatinghealthy,tobeatyourselfdowneverytimeyousomuchasmakethebedroomeyesatasliceofpizza.

Whenyou’reaccustomedtofasting,however,youdon’tneedto

dothat.Youjustneedtounderstandtwothings:

1. Ifyou’regoingtoeatsomethingunhealthy, youknow

whatyou’redoing.You’renoteatingunhealthyfoodout

ofsomerebellioussenseofbreakingtherules.You’reeatingthathugepieceofpiebecauseyouwant to,and

becauseyouknowthenextpointaswell.

2. Youcanmakeupforit.Afteranightofdebaucheryand

badfood,Imightfasttheentiredayafter.When

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Thanksgivingrolledaround,Ifastedfortwenty-hours

beforeitsothatIcouldenjoyallthepumpkinpieand

stuffingIwanted.Istilldon’tplanonshovelingpizzainto

mymouthonaweeklybasis,butIknowthatwheneverI

do,Icansimplyskipameal(maybetwo!)aftertocompensateforthesurplusincalories.

It’sassimpleasthis:ifyoueattoomuchoneday,eatless

thenext.

IntermittentFastingenablesyoutodothis,andtodoitwithout

thefeelingofdeprivationthatnormallyaccompaniesreduced

calorieintake.

That’swin-wininmybook.

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5:DailyRoutine

Letmedescribemydailyroutine.

Iwakeuparound8or9am,fresh-eyedandreadytoroll.

Ratherthanreachingforabowlofcereal(sugar),however,I'll

enjoyacupofcoffee(maybetwo!)andcrankoutsomework,

focusingonreadingandwritinginsteadofthestateofmy

stomach.

Aroundnoon,however,mystomachmightstartgrowling.Ifnot,noworries!I'llwaituntilitdoes,andthenI'lljumpinthe

kitchenandcookupsomethingthathappenstobebothnatural

and awesome.Ribbonsofzucchini,maybe,mixedwithmelted

goatcheese,artichokeheartsandchickenmeatballs.That'll

satisfymeforafewgoodhours.

Ifmystomachisgrowlingcomethreeintheafternoon,I'll

makemyselfasmallsnack.Typicalexamplesincludecottagecheeseandsomefruitorashakemadewithberriesand

coconutmilk.

Dinnerwillbesimilarlyawesome.Ididn'tpackintoomany

vegetablesforlunch,soImightmakeadecent-sizedsaladand

topitwithsomekindofprotein.Avocado,too,formoreofa

tacosalad,completewithhotsaucedashedliberally

throughout.

Myeatingwindowclosesat8pm.I'mprettycomfortablyfullby

thispoint,andfoodquicklyvacatesthemindasIgetreadyfor

farmoreimportantthings(Glee!).

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Andthat'sit.

Idon'tcountcalories.Idon'tcountcarbs,protein,orfat.I

mightcounthowmanyartichokeheartsIcanfitintomymouth

atonce(26,incaseyouwerewondering),butbeyondthatIjustdowhatcomesnaturally:eatwhenI'mhungry,anddo

otherthingswhenI'mnot.

Tobefair,Ididn’talwaysdothat.Myweight-lossjourney

startedlikeanyelse:Icountedmacronutrients,measuredmy

food,andtriedtokeeparunningtallyofhowmanycarbsI

consumedeachday.Ilostweight,sure,butIcouldn’thelpbut

wonderifIhad todoallthisthinking.

Humansmadeitthisfarwithoutcountingadamnthing.Whyis

themodernmanorwomananydifferent?

Theabilitytonot obsessaboutwhatI’meating,accordingly,is

theresultofallthatoverthinkingIdidduringthatfirstmonth.

WhenIeventuallymadetheswitchtothedailyroutineI

describedabove,Idiscoveredtwothings.

Istilllostweight.Emphasizingnaturalfoodandpushingback

fromthetablewhenIwasactuallyfulltookcareofthat.

Fooddoesn'thavetobedifficult.Itdoesn'thavetobe

weighedandmeasuredateveryopportunity,anditdoesn't

needtobecomearigid,joylesspartofyourdailyroutine.

TrywhatI'vedescribedaboveforjustonemonthandIthink

you'lldiscoverthattoo.Thisiseasy .Thisissimple.Andthis

hashelpedmedroparoundfortypoundsinthespanofabout

ninemonths,goingfromwhatyouseeonthetoptotheslim,

smiling,andunreasonably attractivemanonthebottom.

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Ifyou’dpreferalittlemorespecificplantostartwith,dothis:

calmdown.Takeadeepbreath,fillyourplatemostlywith

vegetables,andthenplopdownadecent-sizedpieceofprotein

aswell.Itworks.It’ssimple.Youdon’tneedtooverthinkit.

Thissamestrategyworksforrestaurants,too.Unsurewhatto

get?Choosesomethingwithproteinandvegetables.Skipany

dishesthatareprimarilybasedongrains(pastaisn’tdoingyou

anyfavors!),anddefinitely don’ttackleadessertbyyourself.If

you’resplittingitwithmultiplepeople,afewbiteswon’thurt

you.Anythingmuchmorethanthat,however,cantakea

reasonablyhealthymealstraightintothegutter.

Whataboutsnacks?Havetwosquaresofdarkchocolate(75%

cacaoandup!).Oraimforapieceofproteinandsome

vegetables–it’shealthier,forone,andfarmoresatiatingthan

apieceofcandy.Youmightevenfindthatyoudon’tneed

snacksasyoushiftyourfocustonatural,healthyfoods.Ifso,

that’sgreat!

Andafewfinalwordsaboutfasting:youdon’thavetodoit.Youcanadjusttheeatingwindowtofityourschedule,ifthat’s

theconcern(4pmtomidnightisapopularoption).Personally

speaking,Ilostthemajorityofmyweightwithoutfastingatall,

thoughtheeatingwindowhassincehelpedmeachievethe

kindofdefinitionI’vebeenwanting.Ifyou’reuncomfortable

withtheideaofnoteatingthreemeals,don’tfret!Takingsteps

toreduceyourintakeofcarbohydratesandtoemphasize

natural,unprocessedfoodswillstillproduceoutstandingbenefits.

Thegoal,inanycase,remainsthesame:toachievestrong,

vibranthealththesimplest,mostnaturalwaywecan.

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Simpleweightloss?Naturalhealth?Soundsnice,doesn'tit?

Itcanbeyours.Don'tmakeyourlifeanymorecomplicated

thanitalreadyis:eatnaturally,eatless,andmovearounda

little,too.We'lltalkaboutthatlastpointinthenextsection.

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6:Fitness

10EasyStepstoRockin'Abs!6ExercisesforaTrimmerYou!

Right .Themagazineshaveglossandslim,trimmodels,butI've

gotsomethingprettyinterestingtoo.

Ihaven’trunasinglemileinthelastninemonths.I'venot

steppedfootinagymasingletimesinceIstartedmyjourney,

andI'veneverspentlongerthanthirtyminutesonanyindividualworkout.

Byallaccounts,then,Ishouldn'tbeslim(andlean,and

unreasonablyattractive,etc.)rightnow.Iftheconventional

methodofweightlossistospendhoursslavingawayinthe

gymoronthetrack,thenIdefinitelycan’tcomeupwiththe

requiredhourstogetpretty.

I'mratherproudofthat.

Myexperiencehasbeenaneye-openingone,Ihope,onafew

keytruthsabouthealthandnutrition:

Exerciseisnotamagicbullet .Ithelps,andI'dadviseyouto

includeitwherepossible,butitisnot thesolekeytosuccess

here.Thereareacoupleofreasonsforthat,butlet'sfocuson

thetwoyou'reprobablyalreadyfamiliarwith.

1. Exercisedoesn'tburnalotofcalories.Evernoticehow

anhouronthetreadmillwillburnmaybe300calories?

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Doesn'tthatseemawfullylowforthesixtystraight

minutesofsweatandtearsyoujustwastedinthegym?

2. Exercisealsoincreasesappetite,meaningwhatever

caloricdeficityouearnwhileexercisingisusuallylostthe

minuteyouheadbackhomeandslamdownaproteinshake.

Diet ,ontheotherhand,isthesinglelargestcontributing

factorindetermininghowhealthyyouare.

Letthatsinkinforamoment.Hell,let'sbolditandupthefont

abit:

IT'SWHATYOUEAT,NOTHOWMUCHYOU

SWEAT.

Fixyourdietandyou'llseeincrediblebenefits.It'sassimpleas

that.

Wheredoesthatleaveexercise,then?

Ithelps.It'sagreattoolthatcanenhancefatlossandpackon

somemuch-neededmuscle.It'sworthpursuing,too,forthe

simplefactthatitcanbealotoffun,andthatstayingactiveis

hands-downthebestwaytokeepyourmusclesfrom

weakeningandatrophyingwithage.

Andthebestpart?Youdon'thavetodomuch.

Here'stheroutineIemployedformostofthelastninemonths.

Youmightnotcareforit,especiallyifyou'refondofthegym,

butI'mhopingit'llprovethatalittleexercisecangoavery

longway.

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7:Walk

You'veheardthisbefore.Doctorsfarandwideareallspeakingthesamemantra:10,000stepsaday.

I'venevercounted,honestly,butthat'sahintatjusthow

dedicatedI'vebeenwiththismovingaboutbusinessinthefirst

place.Onagoodweek,I'dwalkfourorfiveoutofsevendays.

Onabadweek,I'dbeluckytorememberwhereI'dleftmy

shoes.

WhenIdowalk,though,Imakeanefforttogoatleastsixty

minutes.Theideaistokeepaneasypace–slowenoughto

whereyoucouldstillholdaconversationwithoutbeing

breathless,butquickenoughthatyou'renotdraggingyour

feet.

Youcancertainlygofaster,ifyoulike(there'sthis'running'

thinggettingpopularnow),butit'snotnecessary.Ilostweightwithoutevenbreakingasweatonmostofmywalks,which

suggeststhatthesimpleactofmovingaboutforadecent

periodeachdayhashealthbenefitsbeyondtheexpected.

Andhey!Don’thavetimeforadedicatedwalk?Idon’tbelieve

you,butwe’llletitslideforthemoment.Ifyoucan’tsquare

awaysixtyminutesforyourhealth,whynotjusttweakyour

dailyroutineabit?

Getsomewalkinginwhereverpossible.Parkyourcarinthe

backofthelot,ifyoulike,sothatyouhavetowalkabitextrato

getintothestore.Ifyoulivereasonablyclosetothestoreitself,

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whynottrywalkingtherewheneveryoujustneedafew

groceries?

Theenvironmentwillthankyou.Yourbodywilltoo.

Howeveryouendupwalking,justkeepitsimple:onefootin

frontoftheother.Don’tevenfeeltheneedtobreakoutintoa

jogjusttoburnextracalories,especiallyifyoudon’tregularly

workexerciseintoyourdailyroutine.

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8:Sprint

Don’thurtyourself.

Sprintingisn’tsomethingI’drecommendforeverypersonwho

readsthisbook.Why?It’sprettydamnhard,honestly,and

physicallydemandingonthebodyinwaystheaverageperson

isn’tpreparedfor.

Ifyoucandoit,however,I’drecommendit.Thecoreidea

behindsprintingissimple:elevateyourheartrateforbriefintervalsseparatedbyperiodsofrest.Doingsohas

tremendousbenefitsformusclegrowthandfatloss,oftentoa

degreeyouwouldn’texpectfromjusttenminutesorsoof

exercise.

Evenmoreinteresting,though,arerecentstudiesconductedto

comparethebenefitsofseveralshortsprintingsessionsversus

moreconventionallong-distanceendurancetraining.Iwon’tgettoomuchintothegeekery(checktheResourcesectionat

theendofthebookformore!),buttheresultswerepretty

surprising:therewasnobigdifference.

Sprinting,inotherwords,carriesthesamephysiological

benefitsaslong(tedious!)endurancetraining–andinjust

afractionofthetime.

Temptedtotryitnow?Justonesuggestion:startsmall.

Anddon’tforgettowarmup,too.Afullsprintisn’twiseif

yourbody–yourmuscles–isn’tpreparedforit.Tostart,doa

small‘sprint’atabout60%ofyourmaximumspeed.There’sno

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magicalwaytoknowjusthowfastthatis,ofcourse,butdon’t

stress–justmakeitfasterthanajogbutadecentamount

slowerthanyourfullspeed.Dothisfivetimeswithabriefrest

(sixtysecondsworksfine)inbetweeneach.

Yourmusclesshouldfeelagooddealwarmerbythispoint.

Whenyou’reready,runasfastasyoucanuntilyoufeel

yourselfnoticeablyslowingdown.Takeaminuteortwobreak,

then,anddoitagain.Dothisasmanytimesasyoucanhandle,

andinthebeginningdon’texpectthatnumbertobeveryhigh.

Youmightlastoneortwosprintsbeforeneedingtocallitquits,

butthat’s fine.You’llfindyourselfsprintinglongerandharder

withinamatterofweeks.

Agreatalternativeisastationarybike.Youmightneedagym

forit,butanyonewithaccesscanhopon,pedalashardas

possiblefortentofifteenseconds,andthentakeaminute

break.Thisissafer,‘easier’solutionforanyoneuncomfortable

withrunning,andcanbeagreatplacetostartifyou’reatthe

beginningofyourweightlossjourney.

Aimtosprintonceaweek,ifpossible.Andremember:

exerciseisn’tthebigfix.Yourprogresswon’ttragicallyderail

ifyoucan’tsqueezeyoursprintsin,sodon’tstress!Focuson

fixingyourdietaboveallelse.

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9:(Body)Weight

Youdon’tneedagym.

Yousureashelldon’tneedagymmembership,either,though

theytendtospikeinpopularityrightaroundthistimeofyear.

They’reexpensive,oftendifficulttoterminate,andgenerally

justaguilt-giverallaround,makingyoufeelbadforwasting

yourmoneywheneveryoucan’tdrumupanyenthusiasmtogo

hittheweights.

This,ladiesandgentlemen,iswhywe’llbestickingwith

bodyweightexercises.Thebenefitsaremany:

v They’refree!Mostly.

v They’refarlesslikelytoinjureyou.v Theydon’trequiresomeonetospotyouonheavy

lifts.

v They’repracticalforallweightsandages.

Asimplecircuitofthreebodyweightexercisescanmakefora

prettyexhausting(andbeneficial!)workout,andusuallyinfar

lesstimethanittakesjusttodrivetoandfromthegym.

Bodyweightexercisesoverallhavethebenefit,too,ofworking

awiderangeofmuscles.There’snodoubtthatisolatinga

certainmuscleinthegymhasbroadappealamongstlifters,but

ourpurposesareabitmorepractical: functional strength.You

wanttobestrongenoughtoenjoysportsandphysical

activities,butwithoutrippling,bulgingmuscles–andthat’s

wherebodyweightexercisestendtoshine.

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Theexercisesthemselvesareprettysimple:pushups,pull-

ups,andsquats.

That’sit.ThosearetheonlythreeexercisesIdoonaregular

basis,andacircuitofthosethreealonehashelpedmedeveloppowerful, functional strength.

Let’stakeeachinturn. AndchecktheResourcesection,too,

forlinkstovideosshowingproperformforeachexercise

anditsindividualvariations.

Pushups.Simpleenough,right?Noteveryonecanjustdrop

anddotwenty,however,sodon’tfretifyoudon’thavethearmstrengthjustyet.Whynotworkyourwayuptothem?

Youcanstartwithyourkneesontheground,ifyoulike.Thisis

agreatwaytostrengthenyourarmswithoutapplyingthefull

weightofyourbody.Ifyouhavetroublewiththose,feelfreeto

startwithwallpushupsinstead.Standafewfeetfromawall

andleanforward,stretchingyourarmsoutsothatyourpalms

areflatonthesurface.Bendyourarmsandfollowthroughwithapushupmotionfromthere.

Pull-ups.You’llneedsomeformofhorizontalbarforthese,

thoughyoucanusuallypickoneupforareasonableprice.Feel

freetosubstituteasturdybranchoreventhebarata

playgroundifyou’renotafraidofreceivingstrangelooksfrom

passersby.

Awide-grippull-up(shoulder-widthorwider)isafantastic

waytoworkmostofthecoremusclesinyourshoulders,back

andarms.Youcanalternatewiththechin-up,too,to

strengthenyourbiceps.

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Onecaveat:thesearen’teasy.Icouldn’tevendoasinglepull-

upwhenIstarted,meaningIhadtoresortto“negatives”asa

wayofbuildingsomeinitialstrength.

Ifyoufindyourselfinthesameboat,grabachairorstoolandsetitinfrontofthebar.Standonit,grabthebarinapull-upor

chin-upposition,andhoistyourselfupsothatyourchinis

abovethebar.Don’ttrytodoanythingfancy:justslowlylet

yourselfdownuntilyourfeettouchthechairagain.Thekey,of

course,istosinkdowninacontrolledmovement,working

yourmusclesasyougo.

Trythoseforaweekortwoandthenattemptaregularpull-upagain.Ithinkyou’llbesurprisedbytheresult.

Squats.Airsquatsarearguablytheonlylower-bodyworkout

youneed.They’realsofairlydifficultifyouhaven’tdoneany

truesquatsinyears,sodefinitelytakeyourtimeeasinginto

them.

You’llwanttokeepyourheelsfirmlyontheground,yourbackstraight(butnotstrictlyvertical!),andfeetaboutshoulder

widthapart.Again,takeitslow–thesquattingposition,though

anaturalone,isn’tcommonformostpeople,sogiveyourself

plentyoftimetoreachalevelwhereyou’recomfortablewith

themotion.

Feelfreetopracticewithyourarmsstretchedoutandhands

graspingsomekindofbar,too,forstability.

Howtocombinethesethreeexercises,then?

That’suptoyou.Ifyou’rejuststartingout,don’tstressso

muchaboutfindingaspecificprogramtofollow.Focusinstead

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onstrengtheningyourmusclestothepointwhereyoucan

comfortablyhandlemorestrenuousexercise.

Trythis:

1. Dowall/knee/regularpushups(whateveryou’re

capableof)untilyourarmsareexhausted. This

shouldn’ttakelongifyou’rejuststartingout,butthat’s

okay!Theideaistojustworkthesemusclesthathaven’t

seenactioninquitesometime.Onceyou’vedonethis,

waitfourorfiveminutesandmoveontonumber2.

2. Doairsquatsasyou’reable.You’llwanttobecareful,here,whenyou’rejuststartingout,sogoslow.Theidea,

again,istogentlyworksomemusclesthatprobably

haven’tseenactioninyears,sodon’tdosomuchthatyou

injureyourself.Afteryou’vedoneasmanyasyoucan

withoutinvitingpain,waitfororfiveminutesandmove

ontonumber3.

3. Pull-upsorchin-ups.Youmightwanttostartwiththelatter,asthey’regenerallyeasier.Inanycase,though,do

asmanyasyoucan.Ifasinglepull-uporchin-upistoo

much,doasmany“negatives”aspossible.

4. Startbackatoneanddoitallonemoretime.Thisis

optionalinthebeginning,asjustoneseteachofthethree

exercisesmightbeenough.Ifyoufeelsturdyenoughto

attemptitagain,however,giveitashot.

Keeptrackofhowmanyyourepetitionsdoineachcategory.

Thenumber,honestly,won’tbesomethingyou’reproudof,but

itdoeshaveapurpose:comparison.Seeinghowyouprogress

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eachweekisafantasticwaytokeepyourspiritshighforthe

roadahead.

Howmanytimesperweekshouldyoudothis?I’daimfortwice

aweekinthebeginning.Ifyou’rejuststartingout,giveyourselfagoodthreetofourdaysofrestbetweensessions,as

you’llwantampletimeforyourmusclestoadapttopressureit

mightnothavefeltinyears.

Theultimateidea,here,istoworkyourwayuptothecore

formofeachexercise:regularpushups,regularpull-ups,and

airsquatswithgreatform.Onceyoucancomfortablydoeach–

emphasisoncomfortably!–thenyoucanstartlookingintothemyriadbodyweightprogramsalreadyavailableonthe

Internet.

Icanrecommendtwo:SimpleFit(www.simplefit.org)andthe

PrimalFitnessprogram(www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-

blueprint-fitness/#what-is-pbf).Theformerconsistsofthree

20to30minutesessionseachweekofpushups,pull-upsand

squats,whilethelattergoestwiceweeklyforasimilarlengthoftimebutwithafewadditionalexercises.

Whichoneworksbetter?That’supfordebate.

I’vedoneafewmonthsofeach.SimpleFit,truetoitsname,is

anincrediblysimpleprogramtounderstand,soI’drecommend

ittoanyonewantingtobuildleanmusclemassandfunctional

strengthwithoutneedingtogetfancy.

PrimalFitnessisabitmorecomplicated,giventheadditional

exercises,butitdoesdiscussindetailhowtobuilduptothe

coreformofeachexercise,makingitaprettyfantastic

resourceforabeginner.Italsohaslinkstovideosofthe

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programauthordoingeverysingleoneoftheexerciseshe

endorses,whichmakespuzzlingouttheproperformamuch

easierthingtodo.

Youcan,alternatively,createyourownsystem.I’vetakentoexperimentingwithdifferentstylesofworkouts,butalways

withafewgoalsinmind:

Emphasizethethreecoreexercises.

Finishintwentyminutesatmost.

WhatcanIsay?I’mnotafanoflongexercisesessionswhen

brief,intenseworkoutsofferjustasmuchbenefit.Howeveryoudecidetoworkyourmuscles,keepthosetwo

ideasinmind.Youcanbuildfunctionalstrength(andattractive

muscularity!)withoutspendinglonghoursinthegym,soresist

thetemptationtorelyonfancytechniquesorevenfancier

machines.

Youdon’tneedthem.Youjustneedasimple,effectiveroutine

tokeepyourmusclesactiveandstrong,andbodyweightexercisesaretheperfectwaytodoit.

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10:SimplerHealth

Let’sputallthepuzzlepiecestogether.

Eatnatural.Focusonmeat,fish,fruitsandveggies.Minimize

grainswherepossibleandyou’llseetremendousbenefits.

Drinkwater,tea,andcoffee.Avoideverythingelse.

Fast.Optional,butaneatingwindowofeighthoursdailywill

helpyoubothburnfatandmaintainanaveragecaloricdeficittoeasilyloseweight.

Walk.Shootforsixtyminuteswheneverpossible.

Sprint.Onceaweekifyou’rephysicallycapable.

Lift(body)weights.Pushups,pull-upsandsquatsareallyou

needtoincreasefunctionalstrengthandbuildleanmusclemass.Shootfortwoorthreetimesweeklyinsessionsof20-30

minuteseach.

Thisissimplerhealth.

Youdon’tneedtocountcalories.Youdon’tneedtorunmiles

everydayoftheweek.

Andmostimportantly?Youdon’tneedadiet .There’sa

connotationtothatwordI’veneverbeenfondof–itimplies

anend-point .Puttingyourselfonadietsuggeststhere’sgoing

tobesomemagicalpointinthefuturewhenyounolonger

needtodoit,whichseemsstrangewhenyouconsiderthat

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eatingthewayyoudid pre-dietisprobablywhatputthe

weightoninthefirstplace.

Whatyouneed,however,isalifestyle.Youneedawayto

livethatelevatesfoodandexercisetotheirproperplace:enjoyable,effectivewaystopositivelytransformyourhealth.

Itdoesn’thavetobecomplicated.Itdoesn’thavetobeamess

ofnumbersandstressthatprettyeffectivelysapsany

enjoymentoutofyourdailyroutine.

Strong,naturalhealthcanbebothsimpleandpowerful.So

whynottryit?Giveitagoforjustthirtydaysandseewhathappens.Whatdoyouhavetolosebesidesweight?

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Simpler Stuff

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1:Intro

Igotrobbed.

Iwon’trehasheverydirtydetail,here,saveforthemorejuicy

ones:“Itsucked,”“Neveragain,”and“Bestthingthatever

happenedtome! ”

Thatlastonemightsurpriseyou.

Itsurprisedmetoo,honestly.Butthat’swherelifefoundmeduringmylastyearofcollege,whenIcamehomefromwork

oneeveningandfoundmyapartmentmissingseveral

thousanddollars’worthofgadgetsandtoys.

Notmy toys,mindyou.Ilostacomputermonitorandastackof

games,butIfoundmyselfinastrangeplaceafterwards:Ikinda

wishedtheyhadtakenmore.

Myroom,yousee,wasabitofamess.

Ishouldclarify:itwasmessybeforetherobberseverarrived.

Myroomwassomessy,infact,thatthoseunfortunatejerks

mostlypasseditoverandstolefrommy(reasonablytidy)

roommatesinstead.

Onemoretime:myroomwastoomessytobeburglarized.

Irealized,thatnight,thatthingshadtochange.I’dbeenlocked

inthiscycleofbuy,buy,buyforfourstraightsyearsof

university,collectingamonstrouscollectionofcrapthat

traveledwithmeasImovedfromplacetoplace.

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Simplyput,Ihadway toomuchstuff.

Thenextfewweeksfollowedanexhaustingroutine:Isold,

donated,andtrashednearlyeverythingIowned,comingoutattheendwithfarlessstuffandanentirelynewperspectiveon

life.

Thissection,accordingly,issplitintotwoparts.Thefirstwill

showyouhowtosimplifywhatyoualreadyhave,incase

you’refeelingnowlikeIdidbackthen:surroundedbystuffon

everysideandunsureofhowtodigyourselfout.Thesecond

partwillapplythatsamesimplicitytotheactofbuying,offeringanewapproachI’veusedtokeeptheclutterfromever

creepingupagain.

First,though,weneedtorewritethedictionary.

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2:Crap

Let’sstartwithcrap.

Crap,bymydefinition,isjustabouteverythingthatwe

want ,buthonestlydon’tneed .

(ThisbooklaunchedinearlyJanuary,sopleaseforgivethe

holiday-themedexample.Anyonereadingitlaterstillprobably

knowswhatI’mtalkingabout,though.)

Everseenaholidayshoppingad?Thebigchainsrolltheirstock

outforeveryonetosee,sendingoutthirty-sixpagecatalogs

thatarestuffedtothebrimwitheverykindofitemimaginable.

Therunningassumptionhereisthat youwantthis.Youwant

thisstuff,forsomereason,andweknowyou’regoingtobuyit,

soyoumightaswellpurchaseitwithus.

Itbogglesthemind.

WhydoweneedDVDcollectionsofanentireTVshow?Whydo

weneedathousandseparategadgetsthatwe’llhardlyever

use?Whydoweneedname-brandcrap?

Theanswer,ofcourse,isthatwedon’t.Wedowant them,

however,forreasonswelikelydon’tunderstand,andsothe

holidaysarechock-fullofpointlesscrapthatithasbecome

normal toown.

Simpleenough,right?

Herearesome(thoroughlycrappy!)examples:

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1. DVDs.They'reawaste.Rentthem,borrowthem,stream

themonline–donotbuythem.Youdon’tneedthem.

Youdon’tneedtodropthirtydollars(Americanexample,

sorry!)onashiny,high-definitionmoviethatyou'llwatchafewtimesbeforeshovinginacloset.

2. VideoGames.I'magamer.NotsomuchnowthatI'm

doingthebloggingthing,butmynerdinessstretchesway

backtomychildhood,soit'sahabitIstillenjoy.

Thatdoesn'tmean,however,thatIbuyvideogames.With

fewexceptions,gamesareevenworseforyourpursethanaconventionalmovie.Sure,yougetasolidreturnon

yourinvestmentinsheernumberofhoursspentgluedto

theTVscreen(andI'mnotsayingthat'sagoodthing!),

butthatdoesn'tquitejustifytheenormousamountof

moneytheytendtocostinthefirstplace.

Rentthem.Playthemonceandthenreturnthem,

contentthatyougotwhatyouwantedwithaminimumofexpense.

3. TV(andcablepackages).We’lltalkTVlater,butlet’s

makethisshortandsweet:youdon’tneedaTVinevery

damnroomofthehouse.Youalsodon’tneedanelaborate

cablepackagewithaveritablebuffetofstupidchannels,

andyouespecially don’tneedthemonthlyfeeitcomes

with.

4. Gadgets.Ilovetechnology.Idosowhollyand

unabashedly,feelingmyhearta-fluttereverytimeIskip

gleefullythroughtheelectronicsdepartmentatalocal

store.

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Idon'tbuymuch,though.WhydoweneedaBlu-ray

playerforeveryTV?Whydoweneedamassiveforty-six

speakersoundsystemthatbenefitsaudiophilesand

hardlyanyoneelse?Whydoweneedmorekitchentoysandgadgetsthanwecouldeverpossiblyuse?

Convenienceisacommonargument.Andgivenhowoften

Iusemyblender,Icanmakethatclaimmyself.It'shardto

callathreehundred-dollarstandingmixerapurchaseof

pureconvenience,however,whenitseesthelightofday

lessthanonceaweek.

Thisisabroadcategory,inanycase,butthere’saneasy

waytotellifthatexpensivegadgetyou’reeyingis

straight-upcrap.Trythis:nexttimeyoufeeltempted,

askyourselfhowoftenyou’llusethisthing. Ifit’sless

than4or5timesaweek,askyourselfhowmanytimes

you’lluseitpermonth.Ifthatanswerisinthesingle

digits,whyareyoubuyingit?

5. Decorations.Eversteppedinsideahomedecoration

store?It’skindofinsane.Pictureeverysquareinchof

wallcoveredwithcrapthatservesnopurposewhatsoever

otherthantotakeupspace.

Don’tgetmewrong:I’mnotclaimingall decorationsare

useless.I’mnotclaimingyoushouldhaveemptywhite

walls,either.ButIthinkit’swisetopayattentiontohowmuchmoneyyoumightspendondecoratingthehouse

whenthepurelydecorativestuffcarriesaway higher

pricetagthanmostpeoplerealize.

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6. Clothing.I’mnotadvocatingnudism,butlet’sget

practicalhere:howmanypairsofshoesdoyoureally

need?Howmanyshirtsinyourclosetdoyouactually

wear?IhadanobsceneamountofshirtswhenIstarted,

thesadresultofweightfluctuationsallthroughoutcollege.I’vewhittleditdowntoaboutseven,now,a

handfulofshirtsthatIregularlywear,andI’mnottoo

convincedI’llbeexpandingmycollectionanytimesoon.

Clothing,ofcourse,isasvariableasitcomes.Youmight

haveanentireclosetfullofworkclothes.Imightargue

thatyoucoulddownsizeit.Truthbetold,though,the

convenienceofhavingenoughbusinessattirefortheentireweek(orlonger!)can’tbeignored.Thegreatbig

ideaofminimalismappliesherebetterthananywhere

else:ifyouneedit,keepit.Ifyoudon’t,don’t.

7. Bodyproducts.Disclaimer:thisisathoroughly male

perspective,butit’sbackedmorebylogicthananything

else.

Doweneedadozendifferentlotions?Sixdifferent

creamsandentireclosetsfullofproductsmeantto

moisturize,deodorize,dewrinkle,etc.?

Maybeyoudo.I’darguethatyoucouldkeepthese

productstoaminimum,though,especiallywhenyou

considerjusthowmanyfreakychemicalstheytendto

packintothem.There’sanoldsayingthatappliesprettywellhere:“Ifyouwouldn’tputitintoyourmouth,why

wouldyouputitonyourskin?”

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Theskin,believeitornot,absorbswhatyouputonit.

Rememberthisthenexttimeyouslatheronahigh-dollar

skinlotionwithaningredientlistatleastamilelong.

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3:Non-Crap

This,stunningly,referstoeverythingthatisnot crap.Buckleupforamoment,though,aswe’reabouttogetphilosophical.

Non-crapiseverythingyouneedthatyoucannot buyina

regularstore.Thinkhighconcepts,here:time,memories,

friendsandfamily.Thesearethethingsthatare(normally!)

mostimportanttous,thetruetreasuresoflifethatweallshare

inabundance.

They’realsothethingsthattendtogetoverlookedmostinthe

mad-dashpursuitofcrap.

Simpleenough.

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4:CuttingtheCrap

Thiswon’tbeeasy.

Istillrememberjusthowsoul-crushingitwastotearthrough

fouryears’worthofcrapandemptyoutmyapartment.Iwas

racingagainsttheclock,too,inadesperatebidtogetoutof

townandontheroadassoonaspossible.

Firstlesson,then:takeyourtime.

Iseriouslycan’tstressthatenough.It’seasytojustsay“sell

yourcrap!”andmoveontomorecheerfulsubjects,butthe

realityofdecluttering–ofsimplifyingseveralyears’worthof

pointlesscrap–isneverasprettyaswe’dlikeittobe.

Takeyourtime.Tackleoneroomatatime,ifyoucan,oreven

startsmallerthanthat.Thetrickistodojustenougheachday

tomakesomevisibleprogress,butnotenoughthatyoufeelintimidatedbyenormityofthejob.

Readytogetcracking?Hereareafewsuggestions:

1. Cutthecrap.Thecrap,asyou’veprobablyguessed,is

yourmaintargethere–themainvictimofyour

declutteringfrenzy.Ifyou’resuffocatingundertheweight

ofstuff,somethingassimpleascleaningoutamediacase

(ordumpingoneofthoseuselessDVDtowerthings)can

beagreat,manageableplacetostart.

2. Seriously,cutthecrap.It’snot easy.Youhavetomakea

judgmentcall,here,onallthestuffinyourlife.More

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importantly,youhavetodecidewhat’simportanttoyou–

whatstuffyougenuinelyneed versusthestuffbought

becauseit’s‘normal’toown.

Thereareacoupleofwaysyoucandothis.WhenIdugthroughmycrapaftertherobbery,Imadesomepretty

harshjudgmentcallsoneverythingIsaw:

v HadIlookedatitoruseditinthelasttwo

months?

v DidIevenrememberwhereIgotit?

v WasitsomethingthatIcouldrentorborrowif

Ineededitagaininthefuture?v WhyhadIsaveditinthefirstplace?

Thatlastoneisakeyone,Ithink,andwheretheactof

declutteringtendstogetalittlemessy.Iftheitem

remindedmeofsomethingnon-crappy,asinan

experienceormemory,thenI’dalwaysbereluctanttolet

itgo.

Thisisnotagoodthing.Seethenextsectionforafew

morewordsonthisveryspecialkindofcrap.

3. Youdon’thavetosell.Youhaveadozendifferent

optionsfordumpingyourstuff.Itmightbeeasiertojust

throwitallinthetrash,butIhighlyrecommendyoudon’t

dothat.Why?It’swasteful,forone,anditvaguely

resemblesgivingthemiddlefingertoMotherEarth,too.

Tryandmakethetrashcanyourabsolutelastresort.

Beforeitcomestothat,consideranyoneoftheseoptions:

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v Theusualsuspects:eBay,Craigslist,etc.They’reapaintodealwith,normally,but

persistenceandalittleluckmightputsome

moneyinyourpocketinexchangeforyour

stuff.v FreeCycleandgeneraldonationcenters.The

formerisawebservicewhereyoucangive

stuffawaytopeopleinyourlocalcommunity.

Thelatterisjustaboutthesamethingminus

theInternetinterface.Thesearemyfavorite

options,honestly,andtheservicesIusedmost

inmyapartment-emptyingfrenzy.

v Neighbors,family,friends.Don’twantyourDVDs?Givethemaway.Simpleasthat.

Practicallyspeaking,thetrashcanisalwaysgoingtoseem

likeagreatchoice.Insomecases–massivepilesofpaper,

forexample–it’llseemliketheonly choice,thoughI

recommendyoudoalittlesearchforalocalrecycling

centerinstead.

Imadeaboutadozentripstoalocalplaceduringmy

weeksofcleaning.Annoying?Youbet.Worthwhile?

Undoubtedly.

4. Bepatient.It’sworthrepeating.Simplifyingyourstuff

soundseasyonpaper,butittakestime.Lotsofit.Tackling

thealmightypilesinyouratticcanbedisheartening,

disappointing,andanincrediblebore,butyouhaveanadvantage:time.Youdon’thavetodothisinaday.You

definitelydon’thavetodoitinaweek.

Youhaveallthetimeyouneedtodeclutterandthe

knowledgeofjusthowmuchmorefreetimeyou’llhave

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wheneveryou’redone.Lesstimeforcleaning,

organizing,andshoppingtendstoequal(inmybook,

atleast!)moretimefortheonethingtruly

worthwhileinlife:thepursuitofnon-crap.

5. Knowwhentostop.Declutteringtalktendstostopwell

shortoftheultimatequestion:whendoyoustop?When

doyoulookuponaformerlyclutteredlifeandsay

“Alright!I’m good ”?

Theanswerissimple.Stopwhenyou’rehappy.Stop

whenyoucanhonestlylookatyourpossessionsandsee

thatthemajorityofitisstuffyouneed.Youdon’thavetoshootforlessthan100thingsjusttocallyourselfa

minimalist .Findanumberthatyou–andnooneelse!–

arecomfortablewithandadjustitasyourliferequires.

Newsflash:I’mnota‘perfect’minimalist.IstillhavestuffI

couldclassifyascrap,honestly.I’llbedonatingitallin

advanceofmyupcomingmove,sure,buthavingitnow

doesn’tmakemeanylessofaperson.Therealprogress,Ithink,isinreshapingourrelationshipwiththecrap

weaccumulateoverthecourseofourlives.

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5:Keepsakes

Here'swhereitgetstricky.

Ihaveabox,now,thathasbeensittinginmyclosetforthe

betterpartofayear.Ihaven’ttoucheditonce.Iknowexactly

whatitcontainsandIdon'tmuchseethepointindigging

throughit,sothislittleboxofmemoriessitsdustyand

undisturbed.

I'minchingcloserandclosertothrowingitaway.

It'sfullofkeepsakes,however,thoseitemswithsentimental

value,andIcan'thelpbutfeel guilty everytimeI'mstruckbya

wildpassiontograbthedamnboxandchuckitout.

Keepsakes,inasense,aretheworstcrapofall.They'restuff

youdon’tneedwithamemoryattached,theoft-uselesslittle

objectthattugsattheheartstringsandsendsallmannerofmemoryrushingbacktotheforefront.

Sure,alltheydoissitaroundandtakeupspace,butthey're

sentimental ,youknow?Sure,theytendtopileupoverthe

yearsandbecomeaconstantcreepofclutterthattravelswith

youfromhousetohouse,buttheyremindyouofthattimein

Mexico,youknow?

Youdon'tneedthem.

That'saboutassimpleasitgets.Thinkaboutitlikethis:the

appealofakeepsakeisexactlywhyyoucantossit–it'sthe

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memory attached.Findawaytopreservethememory,then,

andtheitemitselfbecomesunnecessary.

Trythis.

1. Getacamera.Takeapictureofkeepsakesindividually,if

youwant,ormaybeonelargepictureasacollage.This

letsyoureapthebenefitsofakeepsakewithouthavingto

possessthesillythingitself.

2. Openupatextdocumentonyourcomputer. Callit

"keepsakes"orsomethingwildlyoriginallikethat.Init,

writedowneverythingyourememberaboutthememoryattachedtothekeepsake.

3. Dumpit.Keepsakescannowgointhetrash!Orbe

donated.Remember:trashcanislastresort.

Thatsecondstepisoptional,admittedly,ifyouhaveamemory

farsharperthanmine.Ithinkit'sanicebitofafuture-proofing,

though.Youmayneverforgetthememoriesthatresurfacewhenyoulookatthepictureyoutook,butit'sneverabad

thingtohavetheyounger,fresherrecollectionstoredsafelyon

yourharddrive.

Thisisn'tacatch-allrule,ofcourse.Somethingswillholdsuch

tremendousvaluethatyou'llhavetokeepthemwhetheryou

likeitornot.Imightarguethatthoseitemsareevenbetter

candidatesforthetrashcan,givenhowthey'veconvincedyouthatthey'reabsolutelyessential,butattheendofthedayit's

alwaysyourchoice.

Myboxinthecloset?It’sgottogo.

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6:SimplerBuying

Let’stalkshopping.

This,Ithink,iswheresimplicityisneededmost.It’dbeeasyto

saythatyoushouldonlybuywhatyouneed,butthat’sdenying

oneoftheinherentqualitiesofbeinghuman:wedon’talways

know whatweneed.

Istillstrugglewiththismyself.Theworstpart?Icanbe

extraordinarily convincing.Imightbelookingatthemostover-pricedandcraptaculargadgetofalltime,butrestassuredI’ll

findatleastthirteendifferentreasonsforwhyIshouldownit

immediately .

ButI’mgettingbetter.That’sdueinnosmallparttothefew

tricksbelow:

1. DoIhavetobuy it?Askyourselfthisrightoffthebat.Ifyoucanrentitorborrowit,thenyouprobablydon’tneed

itsobadlythatyouhavetoactuallyownit.

2. WhatcouldIusethismoneyforinstead? Keepthis

questionclosewheneveryoufindyourselftemptedbythe

latestgadgetorover-sizedTV.Breakthepricetagdown

intobite-sizedchunks,ifyoulike:“Icouldusethismoney

for x manyrestaurants, x manydaystraveling,or x many

experiencesinstead.”

Pickwhicheveroneyoulike–whicheveroneisgenuinely

importanttoyou.I’mafanofmakingmemories,

personally,andIknowfullywellthatI’mway lesslikely

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tomakethemifIspendmypaychecksonthelatestand

greatestcrapinstead.

Ithelps,too,tohavesomepowerfulmemorytodraw

upon.Iliketogobacktomytraveling–totheincredibleexperiencesI’vehadwhileworkingmywayacrossthe

globe.Nexttimeyou’reeyeinganewtoy,pauseamoment

andtrytodigupsomethingsimilar.Whenthememory

fadesandyoublinkbacktoreality,thatfancygadgetwill

suddenlyseemlessappealing–andyou’llknowexactly

why.

Itdoesn’tcompare.Itcan’t.Non-crapalwayswins.

3. WhereamIbuyingit?Thisisaprettyblatant

generalization,sure,butIthinkithassomemerit.Takea

momenttorealizewhereyouare.Takeanotheroneto

studyyoursurroundingsandgetacloserlookatwhat’s

happeningallaroundyou.

Youmightseeshelvesuponshelvesofexpensive,uselessstuff.Youmightseealineofpricetagsasfarastheeye

cansee.Youmightseeahundreddifferentshoppers

millingaroundyou,eachonepushingabasketstuffedto

thebrimwithcrap.

Here’swhatyouwon’t see:thethingsyouvaluemost .

Youwon’tseememories,experiences,orfriendsand

familysittingonthoseshelves.Why?Youcan’t buythesethingsinastore.Youalreadyknowthat,I’msure,butit’s

agreatthingtoremindyourselfwheneveryou’reknee-

deepintheshoppingseason.

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Ihaven’tfoundmuchthatcansurvivethislineofquestioning.

Butifitdoes?I’llthrowmymoneydownwithouthesitation.I

know,then,thatit’ssomethingworthspendingfor,andIknow

it’ssomethingthatwillbenefitmeinsometangibleway.

YoumighthaveastrongerwillthanIdo(andifso,congrats!).

Youmaynotevenneedasystemtohelpseparatewhatyou

want fromwhatyouneed .

Nomatterwhereyou’recomingfrom,though,Ithinkthecore

ideacanbeofuse:think .

Thinkaboutwhatyou’rebuying.Thinkaboutwhyyouwantit,whyyouneedit,andthinkaboutwhatyoumightbegivingup

ifyoupurchaseit.

Takesomesmallsteptointerruptthemindlesscycleof

buying.Youmightbesurprisedtodiscoverjusthowmany

thingsareworthspendingmoneyoninstead.

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7:SimplerStuff

I’mmovingtoLosAngeles,California,onJanuary5,2011.

I’mgoingwithonebag.Maybetwo.

Practicallyspeaking,thefreedomtodothisisunheardoffora

lotofpeople.Theactofmovingitselfcanbecomeanall-out

warwheneveryouhavetocontendwithclutter,turningwhat

couldbeatransformativeexperienceintosheer,utterhell .

Speakingfromexperience,ofcourse.

Ithinkit’simportanttohighlight,though,thatwhatwe’ve

discussedinthissection–cuttingthecrapandrethinkingthe

actofbuying–hasvalueevenifyou’renotkeenonbecominga

location-independentvagabond.It’swise,inotherwords,to

rememberthatsimplifyingyourstuffcanworksomepretty

incrediblemagicnomatterwhoyouare.

Thatmightnotbeobviousatfirst.Itmightnotbeobviousnow,

either.HerearethekeybenefitsasIseethem:

1. Moretime.You’renotwastinghourseachweektidying

andorganizingtheendlessmess.You’renotspending

hoursinthemalleveryweekend.You’renotfixatingon

crap,inotherwords,butinsteadarerealizingjusthow

muchmoretimeyouhaveforthethingsthattrulymatter.

2. Moremoney.Buyless,savemore.Youcanrollyoureyes

atthatone,butit’sapointmostpeopletendtoforget

whenthey’relockingeyeswithsomethingnewand

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excitingattheelectronicsstore.Thinkaboutwhatyou

coulddowithallthatmoneyinstead!Vacations!

Restaurants!Life!

3. Morefreedom.Again,youdon’tneedtobeawanderingsoul–anyonecanabsorbthefullbenefitsoflivingalife

withouttheendlessmess.Imagineafamilythatrarelyhas

toclean–afamilylivingwithinitsmeansandenjoying

thefewthingsitpossesses.Imaginethefreedomthis

familyhastoenjoythethingsthattrulycount:memories,

experiences,andeachother.

Wanttotakeaweekendtrip?Grababagandgo!Wanttotakeyoursignificantothertoafancyrestaurant?Bon

Appétit!Notlikeyouspentyourlastpaycheckonapiece

ofcrap,afterall,sowhynotgomakeamemoryinstead?

Interesting,isn’tit,howsimplifyingyourstuffcangiveyouso

muchinreturn?

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Simpler Life

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1:Intro

We'relookingat32,800chancestoshine.

That'sassumingyoumakeittotheageof90,however,and

maintainexcellenthealththroughout.Butjustthinkaboutit:

32,800.That'sincredible.

That's32,800daystohavewild,passionateromances,or

32,800daystolaugh,drink,andgenerallybethelifeofthe

party.That's32,800daystoreadastaggeringamountofverygoodbooks.That's32,800daystomakememorieswiththe

peopleyoulove,thekindofexperiencesthatstickwithyou

forever.

It's32,800chancestolive.

Buthere'sthehardpart:areyoumakingthemcount?

Probablynot.That'seasytodointhemodernworld,where

everysparesecondisstuffedtothebrimwithmindless

entertainmentanddigitalBand-Aidsforourboredom.It'sso

easy,infact,thatmostofusdon’tevenknowwhat’shappening.

We'rewatchingTV.We'resurfingFacebook.Wespendevery

passingmomentonTwitter,readingabouthowother people

livetheirlivesinsteadofcelebratingourown.

We'renotliving.Andwe'renotrealizing,now,thatwe're

wastingtheonepreciousthingwe'vebeengiven:time.

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Timetolaugh,timetocry,timetosmile–timetobereally,

trulyalive,andtotryandmakeeverydaycount.Wanttolive

simply?Startfocusingonyourtime.Payattentiontohow

youspendyourminutes,andstartaskingsomeseverely

uncomfortablequestions.

DoIwanttodothis?AmIdoingthisbecauseIenjoyit,or

becauseeveryoneelsedoesittoo?Doesthisbenefitmein

someway?IsthisgoingtocreateamemorythatI'llcherish

forever?

Noteverymoment,unfortunately,willbespectacular.

That'snotanexcuse,however,tospendlessthan100%ofyourenergytryingtomakeeachsecondthebestitcanbe.

Takecontrolofyourminutes.Realizethatthey'reoneofthe

fewthingsyouneed,attheendoftheday,andthatthere'sa

tremendouslyeasywaytoalwaysrememberthat.

Youguessedit:simplify.

Thissection,accordingly,isabouttime–whattodowithit,

howtospendit,and,mostimportantly,howtosimplifyitso

that youcanmakeeverydaycount.

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2:Time

Maketime.

"Oh,Idon'thavetimeforthat."

"There'snotenoughhoursintheday!"

Soundfamiliar?

Itshould.That'sthego-toexcuseforanyonecurrently

sufferingfrom"SocialObligation"syndrome,ahorriddiseasethathasspreadtonearlyeveryfunctioningbeinginthe

modernworld.

Ikid.Somewhat.Itcan'tbedenied,inanycase,thatsomany

peoplearecomingatthisfromthewrongangle.

Youdon'thavetimetoreadabook?MAKETIME.

Youdon'thavetimetogoforawalk?MAKETIME.

Youdon'thavetimetocookdinner?MAKETIME.

Whatarewewaitingfor?Lifeisfullofuncertainty,sure,but

thefactthattherearejusttwenty-fourhoursinadayispretty

muchsetinstone.Whyarewewaitingforsomemagical

twenty-fifthhourtoopenupandgiveusfreereigntodothe

thingswelove?

It'snotgoingtohappen.Iwishitwould,asthatwouldofferme

someadditionaltimetoscramblearoundandfinishthiseBook

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atthelastpossibleminute,butthat'sthething:youcan'twait

aroundforyourscheduletoopenup.

Youhavetoopenityourself.Youhavetodecide,righthere

andnow,thatthereareseveralthingsyouwanttodowithyourlife,andthatyou'regoingtomakeeveryefforttodothem

fromthispointforward.You'regoingtomaketimeforthe

thingsyoulove.

It'sassimpleasthat.

Wanttodothethingsyounormally"don'thavetimefor"?

Maketime.Andreadthenextfewsections,too,forsomeideas

onhowtodoit.

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3:TV

Youhaveyourfavoriteshows.Ihaveminetoo.

Thepracticalrealityofthetelevision,though,goeswaybeyond

aonce-weeklyepisodeofGlee.DoyouturntheTVonthe

minuteyoucomehome?Doesyourmorningroutineinvolve

coffee,thetelevision,andacomfycouch?Doyougrabthe

remotebyreflex before/during/afterameal?

Televisionhastakenoverourfreetime.

Imagine,forjustamoment,thatyoudidn'thaveaTV.What

wouldyoudo?

You'dgetbored .Thinkaboutit!TheTViseasyentertainment

tofillthosequietspacesinourlife.Don'thaveanythingtodo?

Noworries!Surfthroughthechannelsinstead.You're

guaranteedtofindsomethingtokeepyouoccupied.

TaketheTVaway,though,andyou'llstarttoclueinonjust

howmuchfreetimewehavewithoutit.

Hoursspentwithyoureyeslockedonthescreencanbe

redirectedsomewherenew.Youcansharelongmealswith

yourfamily.Youcantakeawalkaroundtheneighborhood

withyourdog.Youcanpursuewhateverhobbyyoucandream

of,utilizingtheseextrahourstheexact wayyoushould.

Whynotstartanewmorningroutine?Brewthecoffeeandcurl

upwithabookinstead.You'llstayjustasentertained,ifthat's

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whatyou'reaimingfor,butyou'refarmorelikelytotakeaway

somethinguseful:knowledge.Information.

I'mnotsayingyoucan'tlearnanythingbywatchingTV.Iam

saying,though,thatyoucanlearn–anddo,andlive–somuchmorewhenthebigblackboxisturnedoff.

Tryit .IfyoufindyourselfrestlessandboredwithouttheTVto

entertainyou,thenbehappy .You'vecrossedover.You've

decidedthateveryhouryou'regivenisanimportantone,and

you’verealizedthatit'shardtolivemeaningfullywhenyou're

snoringonthecoucheveryeveningafterwork.

Hereareafewideas:

1. Watchyourshowslater!Whenyourfavoriteshowis

scheduledtoappear,deliberatelykeeptheTVoffinstead.

Spendeveryhourthatyouwouldnormallygivetothe

televisiondoingsomethinginterestingorpurely

pleasurable:readabook,takealongbath,goonawalk,

etc.Thepossibilitiesareendless,andyou'llsoonrealizejusthowmuchtimeyouhavewhentheTVstaysquiet.

It’seasyascanbe,too,tocatchuponthatshowlater.The

Internetishandyforthis,oryoucanjustrecordtheshow

whenitgoesliveandwatchitlater.Commercials,bytheir

verynature,areaphenomenalwasteoftime.

2. Do.Don'twatch.Youlikethecookingchannel?Metoo!Question,though:whenwasthelasttimeyouactually

madeoneofthosedishes?Whenwasthelasttimeyou

tookthatnewrecipeandputittothetestinyourkitchen?

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There'sanastyhabit,Ithink,thatcookingchannel

fanaticstendtodevelop.Ratherthanwatchingthe

occasionalepisode,seeingsomethingtastyandthen

tryingtomakeit,thechannelitselfbecomesthemain

appeal.Youdon'timproveyourcooking,now.Youwatcheveryepisodethatcomeson"justtoseewhatthey're

making,"unawareofhowmuchbetteryourculinaryskills

mightbeifyouwereactuallyworkinginthekitchen

instead.

Thecookingchannelisjustoneexample.Yougettheidea.

3. Kickitout!Considercreatinga"TV-Free"zonewherenoblackboxesareallowed.Apopularchoiceisthebedroom,

whereremovingthetelevisionhasproventoincrease

boththequalityofyoursleepand thelikelihoodofsexy

time.Evenifyou'rewell-restedandwell-sexed,though,

there'sstillabiggerpointworthconsidering.

Let’ssayyou’resittingquietlyinbedwithyoursignificant

other.Whatwouldyouratherdo:silentlywatchashowtogether,orholdameaningfulconversation?

Thelatter,Ihope.Ifnot,well,thatmightexplainthelow

likelihoodofsexytimeinthefirstplace.

Thegoal,inanycase,isclear: payattention.Startnoticingjust

howeasilytheTVfulfillsourneedforentertainment.Start

observingjusthowmanyhoursyouspendwithyourbuttonthecouch–hoursnot spentpursuingsomethingmeaningful

andlong-lastinginstead.

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4:Internet

Don'tgetcaughtinthe'net.

(Sosaystheblogger,right?)

Haveyouever:

v Caughtyourselfskimmingyourfavoritesiteseventhough

youalreadycheckedthemjustafewminutesbefore?

v Satdowntodoabitofwork,butspentanhourreading

celebritynewsinstead?

v CheckedFacebookinafitofboredomandthenrealized

youjustspentthirtyminutessnoopingonthatguyyou

knewinhighschool?

Thelistgoeson.I'vedonethemallandmore,unfortunately(let'sseeifIcanwritethissectionwithoutmindlesslychecking

Twitter!).

TheInternetisapowerfultool.Wherewegethungup,

however,isinhowweuseit .Muchlikethebeloved

television,ourcomputershavestretchedbeyondmere

entertainmentandinformationtosomethingnewinstead:they

fillthewhitespaceinourlives.

Whenwegetbored,now,wesurftheInternet.Whenwe're

standinginlineatthebank,welockeyesonthesmartphone

andcheckourinboxeseverythirtyseconds.

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The'net,incredibleitmaybe,hasbecomejustanotherexcuse

tonotengage–tonotthinkaboutwhatwe'redoing,andto

passourtimethemostpainless,vaguelypleasantwaypossible.

Andhey!Maybeyouwantthat.Maybeyoudon'twanttodoanythinglegitimatelyinterestingafteralongdayatwork.

That'sfine.It'syourchoice,intheend,thoughIsuspectit

won'tbeaverysatisfyingone.

Foreveryoneelse:imagine,foramoment,ifyouhada

'dumbphone.'Imagineifyourhousedidn'thaveanInternet

connection.Imagineifyoudidn'tevenhavecomputeraccess

foraweek .

You'dbeoutoftheloop!Thingswouldbehappening!Facebook

wouldcollapseinyourabsence!

Maybe.(Fingerscrossedonthatlastone!)Buteverymoment

lostincyberspaceisjustanotherthat'sfreetobesharedwith

therealworld,andIcan'thelpbutthinkthat'sastepinthe

rightdirection.StepawayforanylengthoftimeandIthinkyou'llrealize,too,justhowlongthedaycanfeelwhenyou're

notgluedtoascreen.

Readytobreakthehabit?Hereareafewideas.

1. Takeadigitalsabbatical.Itdoesn'thavetobeplanned

inadvance.Chooseaweekend,forexample,orevena

stretchoftimeduringtheweekwhereyoucanaffordtostepawayfromthescreen.Maketheconsciousdecision

tospendthattimedoingthingsyouenjoyinthereal

world.Gogolfing.Takeacookingclass.Grabcoffeewith

friends.Dothesortofthingthatyounormallyhavetotry

andfitintoyourschedule,unawarethateveryminuteyou

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spendstressingovera(digital!)plannerisaminuteyou

couldbelivingmindfullyinstead.

2. Setcleardivisionsbetweenworkandplay. Thisis

somethingI'vebeenexperimentingwithforafewmonths,now.I'mthesortofpersonwhocansitdownto

writesomething,hammeroutafewwords,andthenbe

struckbytheideatoGoogle"NakedAirSquats"noteven

aminutelater.

(Nothinggood,bytheway.Ichecked.)

WhenIwanttowork,then,IshutofftheInternet,isolatemyselffromtheworld,andgetcracking.Thatmightnot

soundtoofun,butthedifferenceinmyproductivityhas

beenremarkable:thingsactuallygetdone.I'mnotwasting

timewithmysocialmediasites,andI'mnotspending

precioussecondscheckingmyinboxeveryhalf-hour–I'm

working.Nothingmore,nothingless.

Likewise,whenit'stimetoplay,Idojustthat.I'lldosomeresearch,lurkonsocialmediasites,andgenerallytake

careofbusinessforaslongasIneed.Thekey,Ithink,isto

rememberthatIwanted this.I’mnotplayingagameto

justpassthetimeandkeepmyselfmoderately

entertained–Imadetheconsciousdecisiontotakea

breakwithsomethingIenjoysothatIdon’tget

overwhelmedwithwork.

Thegoal,ineithercase,istoremindourselvesofwhatthe

Internetreallyis:atool.Useitwhenyouneedit,ignore

itwhenyoudon't.You'llbesurprisedatthedifference

thismakesinyouramountoffreetime.

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3. Rethinksocialmedia.Ishouldclarify:rethinkyour

relationshipwithsocialmedia.There’snodoubtthat

TwitterandFacebookaredoingincredibleworkin

connectingtheglobe,butthere’salsonodoubtthatthey

canbemassivewastesoftime.

FacebookandTwitterhavebecomeanew‘TV’forthe

Internetgeneration:aneasywaytofillthewhitespacein

ourlives.Peoplecheckthemfrequently,obsessingover

peoplethey’veneverevenmet,andtheresultisabout

whatyou’dexpect:thousandsofpeoplefollowinganA-

ListcelebrityonTwitterandforgettingtolivetheirown

livesinstead.

TheInternetisatool.Don’tforgetthat.Andrealize,too,

thatthisappliestosocialmediaaswell.Overwhelmedby

Twitter?Don’tobsessoverreadingeverynewupdatethat

you’vemissed.Popin,scanthelastfewinyourfeed,and

thenmoveonwithyourlife.Sameadviceforthe

Facebookfeed(especiallywhenit’sstuffedtothebrim

withpeopleyou’renoteventhatfondof!).

Youwon’tbeup-to-dateoneverylatestpieceofgossip,of

course.It’llfeelstrangeatfirst,butdon’tfret!That’sthe

naturalproductofforciblyremovingyourselffromthe

‘loop.’It’sasign,too,thatyou’redoingsomething

interesting:living.You’renotkeepingtabsonthatguy

youknewinhighschool,andyou’renotgigglingoverthe

(grammaticallyoffensive)tweetsofsexycelebrity#13.

You’relivingyourownlifeinstead.Andyou’re

realizing,nowthatyou’vebrokenthegripofsocialmedia,

justhowmanyimportantandexcitingthingsyouhaveto

doinstead.

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5:People

Ilikepeople.

I’mgoingtohazardaguessthatyoudotoo.(Ifnot,feelfreeto

skipthissection.Robot.)

Infact,Imightgosofarastosaythat“personalinteractionis

king.”Whendecidingbetweenanightoutonthetownorone

spentworkingonaprojectI’mgenuinelyexcitedfor,thenight

withfriendsusually winsout.

Why?Well,hereareafewreasons:

1. Memories.I’mallaboutcreatingincrediblememories

howeverIcan.Thismeans,morepracticallyspeaking,

thatI’lldropwhateverI’mdoingatanygiventimetogo

hangoutwithafriend.Why?Ifindthattheresulting

memoriestendtobeuniqueandexciting,thekindthatstickaroundlongestinmyskull.

2. Opportunity.Myprojects,givenmy(pitiful)workethic,

tendtostickaroundforalongwhile.Anopportunityto

grabcoffeewithafriend,however,mightbeaone-timeor

infrequentthing,soI’llusuallydecidetogobeasocial

butterflyinstead.

Seemsreasonable,right?

Thepointofthissection,then,istoadvocateaprettysimple

rule:“Spendtimewithpeople.Unlesstheysuck.”

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It’sabeautifulsystem.Andit’swin-win,isn’tit?

Ifyoumeetupwithafriend,you’llmakeamemoryworth

cherishingforever.Ifyoudecidetostayinandpursueoneof

yourgoals,you’llstepthatmuchclosertosuccess.

Thisdoesmean,however,thatyouneedtotakestockofthe

peopleyoukeepinyourlife.Amajorityofthemare(probably!)

good.Therest?Well,theyjustmightsuck.

Youknowthetype.Theybringnothingbutdramatoyourlife,

insistyouspendyourtimehelpingthemwiththeirproblems,

orgenerallyjustwearyoudownwithaparadeofnever-endingnegativity.

Dropthem.

Isthatharsh?Probably.Thereasoning,though,issolid.

Thisis your time,andyougetfinalsayinhowyou’regoing

tospendit.Atnopointshouldyoufeelobligatedtospendyourminutesinawaythatyoudon’tenjoy,orinawaythat

doesn’tservetocreatealasting,satisfyingexperience.

Youcanalwayssayno.You’llprobablyhaveto,whendealing

withsuckypeople,andIcanalmostguaranteeyou’llfeelbad

aboutitinthebeginning.

Thefeelingfades.You’llrealize,afterthefirstfewtimes,justhowmuchmoreyoucanaccomplish–howmanybetter

memoriesyoucancreate–whenyouopttospendyourtime

thewaythat youwanttospendit.

Justremember:“Spendtimewithpeople.Unlesstheysuck.”

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6:SimplerTime

Let'spaintapictureofanaverageSaturday.

Morning.Rolloutofbedaroundeightornineam,bright-eyed

andrested.Hungry?Maketimetomakebreakfastforyouand

yours.Enjoythemeal,loungingaroundandchattingwiththe

peopleyoucareformost,andthenpuzzleoutjustwhatyou

wanttodountillunch.

Goforawalk?Playsomegameoutside?Takeafamilytripsomewhere?Splitofftoworkonindividualprojects?Gograb

coffeewithafriend?Thepossibilitiesareendless,honestly.If

youwanttodoit,makeithappen.

Afternoon.Lunch!Plentyoftime,afterall,somakeitagood

one.Maybegetfamilyandfriendsinvolvedinthekitchenso

youcanalldevelopafewskills.Afterwards,theafternoonis

yours.Hangoutwithfriends,workaroundthehousealittle,orgowalkthedog–it'syourchoice.

Evening.Dinner,maybealongbath(wineoptional,but

recommended),andabookyou'vebeenmeaningtoread.Or

playaboardgamewithyourfamily!There'sasocial

componentthereyoujustdon'tgetwhenyou'reallhuddled

aroundtheTV.

Isthisidealistic?Maybe.ButIwantyoutotakeagoodlookat

this.Readittwice,even.

Noticeanythingspecialaboutit?

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Nope.Andthat’sthetruth:it’snotspecial.Itis,byallaccounts,

aregularday–thekindwecanenjoyanyweekendoftheyear.

Justbecausewecan,however,doesn’tmeanweoftendo.

Whatifwelivedlikethiseverydayoftheyear?

It’spossible.It’ssimple.Youjusthavetodoonething:take

backyourtime.Makeyourminutes yours,again,andmake

everyefforttospendeachoneinawaythatbenefitsthepeople

andprojectsyougenuinelycareabout.

Imaginewhatyoucouldaccomplishifjust75%ofyourfree

timewasdevotedtopursuingasingulargoal–maybethekindoflife-longgoalyou’vecarriedforyears.Imaginehowmuch

closeryou’dbetoaccomplishingit,now,ifyouhadpracticed

thismentalityforthelastyear.

Imagine,too,ifjust75%ofyourfreetimewasspentwith

friendsandfamily.Imagineifyoumadethefirmdecisionfora

singleyeartocreatelastingmemorieswiththepeopleyoulove

themost.

Andimagine,lastly,ifjust75%ofyourfreetimewenta

completelydifferentdirection:TV.Internet.Twitterand

Facebook.

Hell,maybeyoudon’thavetoimaginethatlastone.Youmight

alreadybelivingit!Thedifferencebetweenitandthefirsttwo

examplesmightalreadybestunninglyclear.

Takebackyourtime.Makeeverydaycount.

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76

Takeafewsimplestepstolivemindfully,cherishyourtime,

andIthinkyou'llbesurprisedatjusthowmuchyoucan

accomplish.

Andalwaysremember:thisis your time .Spenditwell.Spenditwisely.Spenditthebestwaywecan:living,loving,and

laughingyourassoffateveryopportunity.

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77

WrappingItAllUp

Life,health,stuff–bigconcepts,right?

Buthere’sthething:theydon’thavetobehard .Theydon’t

havetobecomplicatedormessyorgenerallyjustapaininthe

asstodealwith.

Theycanbeeasy.Theycanbesimple.Andtheycanhelpyou

uncoverthepersonyouwanttobe–thepersonyoureallyare

–ifyou’rewillingtorethinkyourapproach.

Youonlyhavetodoonething,afterall.

Simplify.

8/6/2019 Simpler


78

Resources

Andhere’swhereIadmitthatIdon’tknowanything!

Or,moreaccurately,thatIcan’tjustmagically proveeverything

I’marguingfor.Idon’thaveaccesstolong-termclinicalstudies

thatadvocateeverysingleoneoftheideaschampionedinthe

SimplerHealthsection,andI’mnotevensuretheyexist.

That’snotnecessarilyabadthing.Trialsthatseektoprove

newordifferentideasdon’ttendtomakeabigimpact(orevengetfunded),whilethemainstreammedialikestojumpon

everysinglestudythatfallsinlinewithconventionalwisdom.I

guessit’seasier,inanycase,torunaheadlinelike“RedMeat

CausesCancer!”withlittleregardforwhatthestudyactually

says.

That’swhywesee“so-and-socausescancer!”headlinesevery

sixmonths.That’swhymanypeopleareconvincedthattheycan’teateggs(toomuchcholesterol!),thateatingfatmakes

youfat,andthatsaturatedfatconsumptionleadsto

cardiovasculardisease.Areanyoftheseideasvalid?

Nope.Butthey’reconventionalwisdom,now,andsomepeople

don’tcaretodigalittledeeperforthetruth.

Thatbeingsaid,however,eventhetruthishardtocomeby.At

theendoftheday,wecan’teasilyrelyonhardsciencetofillin

theblanks.We’reforcedtoworkwithexperienceinstead–the

collectivestoriesofthousandsofpeoplewhoeatmeat,fish,

veggiesandfruitinabundance,butforgograinsandmodern

foodproducts.

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79

I’moneofthem.ThecommunityatMark’sDailyApple

(www.marksdailyapple.com)holdsthousandsmore.

We’relosingweightbytheweek,growingfitandstrongasthemonthsgoby,andexemptingourselvesfromtheparadeof

sicknessandillnessthatcancharacterizemodernlife.

Whysayallthis?AcoreideafromtheSimplerHealthsection

comestomind:thinkaboutwhatyoueat.Andthinkalittle

bitdeeper ,too.Startdiggingintocommonnutritionaladvice

andaskingquestionsabouttheideaswe’vecometoacceptas

thenorm.

That’swhatIdid.AndIencourageyou,hereandnow,todo

thesamething.Isincerelybelievethe‘plan’inSimplerHealth

willworkforyou,andIsincerelybelieveitcantransformyour

healthinincredibleways.

Youdon’thavetobelieveme,though .Whatyoudohaveto

do,though,istakeaninterestinhowthebodyworks.

Onceyou’vedonethat,IinviteyoutochecktheResourcespage

atThreeNewLeaves:www.threenewleaves.com/resources.

It’sareferencepointforalloftheideasI’vechampionedhere,a

constantly-updatedlistofstudiesandarticlesIthinkareworth

reading.I’msureifyoulookedhardenough,youcouldfind

studiesandsourcessayingtheexactoppositeofeverything

listedthere–andthat’sfine.

Allwecanuse–allIcantalkabout –iswhatworks.Ifit

worksforyou,fantastic!Andifitdoesn’t,thenIhopethisis

justthelaunchingpointofyourownquesttofindwhatdoes.

8/6/2019 Simpler


AbouttheAuthor

MattMadeiroisawriter,traveler,anddorkenroutetothebigcityofLosAngeles,California.Hewritesaboutsimplicityathis

blog,ThreeNewLeaves(www.threenewleaves.com),andhow

itcandramaticallytransformeventhemostcomplicatedparts

oflife.

Writingthesebiographythingsalsomakeshimwanttoresort

toheavydrinking.

Ifyou’dliketocontacthim–toofferalcohol,perhaps,orjust

sympathy–pleasefeelfreetosendhimamessageat

[email protected],youcanfollowhim

onTwitter(twitter.com/MattMadeiro).Feelfreetofriendhim

onFacebook(facebook.com/MattMadeiro),too,butremember

thathedoesn’treallyspendhisfreetimetherenearlyasmuch

aseveryoneelse.

TheInternetisatool ,people.Rememberthat!

simpler

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