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The Four Laws of Simplicity, and How to Apply Them to Life

zenhabits.net — Leo has another classic post here. The way he talks about uncluttering life is clearly stated and compelling. I know I need to follow through on all the areas he gives as examples (work, closets, my home).

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  • suziecheel, on 01/07/2008, -4/+7So timely as I have a goal to spend 20 minutes each day simplifying all areas of my life so by Feb 1 I will have more time and be more effective. I have realized how having in-completions stifles my productivity, my creativity , basically all areas of my life
    • BoneheadFarker, on 01/07/2008, -1/+3Of course you'll have more time. You'll have a whole extra 20 minutes a day...
  • aflusche, on 01/07/2008, -1/+7And I was just thinking that our junk room needed some help...
  • jdh358, on 01/07/2008, -2/+18Can I hire someone to do this for me? I am currently on the 4 hour work week and have no time to go through my stuff.
    • chingy1788, on 01/07/2008, -1/+1im not working at all, go centrelink
      • exili, on 01/07/2008, -2/+1what's cetnrlink... Or did I not read the whole book?
        • netdroid9, on 01/07/2008, -2/+4Centerlink is the welfare office for Australia. Alien as it seems, we support people who cannot get a job because of health, disability or simply because they just got fired.
    • The_Dude, on 01/07/2008, -0/+2u can hire someone for anything. Look into it.
    • cschell, on 02/07/2008, -0/+0Absolutely you can! I could do it for you. I love this work and do it for fun (and a fee).
  • ryankiew, on 01/07/2008, -2/+3Simplicity is an application of the 80/20 rule! Just focus on the 20% of the stuff that matters and ignore the rest!
  • MacTyler, on 01/07/2008, -2/+12Love every article on Zenhabits. Some of them sound crazy, but if you actually try them they can change your life.
  • DeathJux, on 01/07/2008, -2/+17I prefer the one law of simplicity: KISS

    Keep It Simple, Stupid.
    • Joshuarr, on 01/07/2008, -1/+7Great advice, hurts my feelings every time.
    • markprivett, on 01/09/2008, -0/+0To keep it simpler, S, you don't need to use a comma in the sentence.
    • dryerlintradio, on 01/11/2008, -0/+0You could also just simplify it to "KIS"
  • NotAgainFarm, on 01/07/2008, -3/+1If I started today, I might finish this year.
  • shepower, on 01/07/2008, -11/+9I LOVE this article! Step by step de-cluttering for your life. Very useful for anyone who finds themselves hanging on and on and on and on ..... to everything. Another great post, Leo.

    Cheers
    Kelly


  • smacksaw, on 01/07/2008, -1/+6I do that all the time with my wallet, but I keep ending up with the Kramer wallet I can't close.

    I'm not going to be my dad and have 2 wallets. That just opens the floodgates to Haggar waist-high elastic pants. It's the next step, I know it.
    • gotterdammerung, on 01/07/2008, -1/+11Wasn't that George's wallet?
    • mcduckov, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1I have one credit card, one debit card, cash, my grocery store card, my medical ins card, 2 metrocards, my checking account # (how the F do I remember a 12 digit number), my license, a starbucks gift card and my work ID. Sounds like a lot but it is still pretty slim, about 3/4 of an inch. About the only thing I'd want to leave in the car is the starbuck's card.

      As a side note I think all card makers should go toward the slimness of metrocards. If you have ever held a metrocard you know what I mean. It is about as thin as paper but damn near indestructible.
  • morningmatters, on 01/07/2008, -1/+4The laws sounds easy to follow but it's hard for me to throw out things I once enjoyed. I still have all my game consoles, old computers, transformer toys etc from decades ago and though I haven't touched them in ages I don't think I will ever throw them out!
    • aeck, on 01/07/2008, -0/+2That's my problem too and many others, sentimentality. Heck, I still have the manual for Paperboy!
      What would be very useful is an article about detachment :-)
    • xero69, on 01/07/2008, -0/+2Once I eliminated a bunch of the other crap from my apartment I had room for my N64. Throw out those old 386 motherboards, ISA cards, and 2MB hard drives. .. it's long overdue.
  • dimplemonkey, on 01/07/2008, -3/+4C'mon, now! Shouldn't Simplicity have one law?
  • tringtring, on 01/07/2008, -4/+2Simple, yet profoundly useful. Cos its all about letting go of one's useless belongings.
  • Schneckehaus, on 01/07/2008, -2/+3I do believe quite honestly that simplicity is an illusion.
    But letting yourself sucumb to that illusion can make your life much much better.
  • opticsnake, on 01/07/2008, -1/+2I think I need to do this with my installed programs list. I keep putting junk on my computer 'cause it's a cool app but then, I never use the damn thing. I've got four different 3D programs and I barely use one of them.
    I should probably do this with my old porn folder as well. :)
  • BrianCrosbie, on 01/07/2008, -0/+3John Maeda is the godfather of simplicity. http://lawsofsimplicity.com
    • skimmas, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1I was just gonna post a comment on John Maeda looks like you got here first :)
    • Berkana, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1If I remember correctly, Maeda identified ten laws of simplicity. Hmmm. . .
  • Frostman3D, on 01/07/2008, -1/+2That's fine and dandy, but what about ***** with sentimental value?
    • DrMonkeyLove, on 01/07/2008, -1/+2Screw that. Grandma's ashes? Flush 'em! Who needs that crap.
    • DavidYeah, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1The article speaks endlessly about stuff you "love." Not stuff that is "expensive" or "most useful." The criteria of what you "love" is entirely subjective.
    • theShiba, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1pussy. You gotta have a heart of stone when it comes to *****.
  • theghoul, on 01/07/2008, -1/+2But I will need my Amiga 1200.....someday.
    • purplegang, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1I still have mine too. I just can't throw it out.
  • steelclash84, on 01/07/2008, -2/+1In other words, they want you to lead a boring life (which in their eyes = better). Not everything in life is just about surviving.
  • The_Dude, on 01/07/2008, -2/+5Those steps are easy enough to figure out on your own. The thing it makes no mention of is how to cure a pack-rat mentality. I actually think it's a neurological trait. I have it, as does my Mom.
    THe thing I don't like about potentially throwing lots of stuff out is small objects....even paper scraps, can one day trigger memories. Like a movie ticket stub, or whatever. I don't really luck chucking stuff out at all. And I don't think by just getting rid of a bunch of uneeded property, you're going to solve any grand psychological issue you may be having that impedes your "zen". I mean since you can pretty much make up any "The Zen of ______" I'll throw one out there: "THE ZEN OF KEEPING STUFF".
  • TheMachine1, on 01/07/2008, -0/+2 Thinking that some useless item may be useful in the future is the problem.
  • BDOUG, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1This approach indeed works great for decluttering of closets, etc. It's been around forever (hope he didn't think it was original) and I've used it many times. However, it's sometimes very hard to get a spouse with sentimental hoarding syndrome on board.
  • Goobernutz, on 01/07/2008, -1/+2if you follow rules 1-3 then #4 isn't necessary. buried for being dumb. oh yea, and for calling them "laws".
  • ElAssoWipo, on 01/07/2008, -0/+9Those aren't the four laws of simplicity.

    It's just a way to get rid of useless crap in your appartment.

    Please stop calling everything Zen. This has nothing to do with Zen.

    "these are no words of wisdom:
    all action has purpose
    all purpose has action
    eat the rice
    wash the bowl"

    - Zen philosophy.

    The Zen principles are a life of humility; a life of labor; a life of service; a life of prayer and gratitude; and a life of meditation.
  • 5xSTUN, on 01/07/2008, -0/+5I wrote down a witty retort to this article but now I can't seem to find it. I know it's here on my desk *somewhere.*
  • charityjustice, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1"Simplifying" life seems like alot of work for minimal gain. How much time am I really going to save by (as the article gave as an example) tossing old user manuals, compared to the time spent in the cleaning and keep-toss decision making process? And how much incidental time is lost when that manual ends up being unexpectedly needed in the future?
    I'll keep my old crap and still manage to get by, thanks anyways.
  • amartin81, on 01/07/2008, -0/+0I love your posts... they really motivate you to simplify! Our bedroom is a disaster right now because we were going to take some clothes to resale them at a store.. but it's a mess so I might have to organize it later today.. Thanks for the motivation!
  • xero69, on 01/07/2008, -0/+4FYI Single guys: If you do this to your whole house/apartment and have single women over to visit afterwards your odds of getting some action go WAY up. Women love a guy who has his sh*t together, and that includes a tidy domicile.
  • metapop, on 01/07/2008, -0/+2just forwarded this one to my wife
  • brianala, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1Good article, but unfortunately I think it needs to go a little farther and explicitly define what "essential" really means. Most people have no problem doing what the article suggests, they just think that all of their crap is essential. The rule should be, if you haven't touched it in a week/month/year, it gets tossed.

    I read a good trick for getting rid of non-essential clothing: turn all the hangers for all your clothes backwards and hang them up. When you take something out to wear it, put the hanger back in normally. In three/six months go back, and anything that is still on a backwards hanger gets tossed.
  • MyMistake, on 01/07/2008, -1/+1Buried for inaccuracy. "The Four Laws of Simplicity" is way too complex. If it were really simple, it would be called, "The Law of Simplicity" and we could simplify by 75%.

    Sheesh.
  • bingobongony, on 01/07/2008, -0/+1Damn...I had gone over a week withuot seeing an zenhabits crap spam.
  • mtzadogg, on 01/08/2008, -0/+1Sounds like the same thing Hitler tried to do with life on earth
  • whattheharry, on 01/08/2008, -0/+0glad to see i am not the only one who struggles. thanks!
  • jillienedesigns, on 01/08/2008, -0/+0LOVE THIS! WILL START ON MY JUNK DRAWER TODAY!
  • orangeaboom, on 01/09/2008, -0/+0I don't need an article to tell me how to clean my room
  • phbalance, on 01/11/2008, -0/+0Good reminder for me as I am a "pile" collector. Small piles of paper all over my office. Maybe I'll just make one big pile and go through it a little every day.
  • explodingpony, on 01/15/2008, -0/+0Don't throw out the DOS based manuals, they're probably worth a lot of money.
  • ForgottenSpirit, on 01/20/2008, -0/+0How can I get simplicity when I adore details? I cannot imagine my room minimalistic....without all those knick-knacks
    Of course, little simplicity in my mind is always welcome!
  • drexebo, on 01/20/2008, -0/+1Wow strong article. I really needed this. thanks!
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