Feeling overwhelmed by clutter and chaos in your life? Imagine reclaiming that precious space and time without the constant struggle. What if I told you that embracing essentialism can be your ticket to a more spacious, freeing life?
In this guide, you’ll learn practical steps to apply essentialism and streamline your schedule, leading to clarity and ease. Read more below to find out how Essentialism can transform your daily life, creating room for what truly matters.
Essentialism
Cultivating the Essentials, getting rid of the fluff
That’s it; actually, you could stop reading now.
But….. I’m guessing you want more, so let’s continue.
When I heard about its title, the name already implied to me a philosophy in line with the human growth path that counters the robotic multi-tab multitasking distraction ailments of our era.
It highlights the essence of life, much like choosing a few well-loved ingredients to make a delicious dish rather than overloading it with unnecessary additives.
This is my view of essentialism, which I believe is similar to popular books.
By essentialism, I’m referring to the mindset of saying NO to distractions to concentrate on a few significant aspects of life.
It’s about prioritizing what’s important, reducing distractions, and dedicating our time and energy to activities that resonate with our core values.
Essentialism can be defined as mastering the skill of distinguishing between the clamor of external influences and your inner voice.
In this way, it can nudge us to make mindful choices regarding time, energy, and possessions.
Essentialism in Action
Cultivating the Essentials, getting rid of the fluff
Decide what life you want and say NO to anything that takes you off your path.
That is the mindset that essentialism proposes: simple and to the point.
So, how do you go about applying essentialism ?……
Decide what your path is and its goals.
Beginning to live on purpose requires having a clear vision for your life. But, external influences and distractions can drown out the voice of our soul, making it harder for us to identify what is important and what is not.
To apply essentialism to your life, first, reconnect with YOUrself, Pay attention to your heart, and determine exactly what is important to you.
Journaling or asking yourself questions can help you gain clarity on your path and priorities.
You will most likely have to carve out time to pay attention to what matters to you, making space by cutting off things.
Cut off or reduce what is not adding value to your life and doesn’t align with your vision; this could be physical clutter, too many commitments, distractions, or anything that is robbing you of your focus on your priorities.
Reassess and reflect often.
Set time and moments to reflect on if you have gotten off the path. Especially when we feel stuck, it might be a good indication for a check-in—reassess your goals and tweak your approach to make sure you’re heading where you truly want to go.
Minimalism vs Essentialism
Embracing essentialism can help us clear physical clutter, too, and free up time by simplifying our decisions and daily routines, which can be similar to minimalism.
Ultimately, the labels don’t matter.
The two concepts are fairly similar; both seek to simplify our lives. Minimalism tends to focus more on possessions, though a broad definition also deals with schedules, while essentialism focuses on a holistic vision, saying no to commitments, activities, and distractions that would rob us of time and energy from the activities that we truly yearn to say yes to.
It’s not about focusing solely on decluttering or having few possessions -though that may be something you may want to say no to if it weighs you down. By saying NO to the fluff (activities, commitments, filler stuff), so you can focus on the few things that matter to you.
There are as many versions of essentialism or minimalism as there are people interested in them. It’s different for everyone.
How do you apply essentialism in your life?
To apply essentialism, we need to first rework our mindset and start seeing things through a filter.
Essentialism helps us sift through the myriad of distractions, much like filtering out the noise of a crowded room, to focus on our voice.
Imagine a painter with a limited palette who chooses only the essential colors to create a masterpiece rather than using every hue available. This is how we apply essentialism in practice.
Essentialism poses that we simplify our lives by saying no to non-essential things, allowing them to channel their time and energy into pursuits that genuinely align with their core values.
By embracing essentialism, we can avoid following the superficiality of mass consumerism, dopamine hits, and distractions, seeking instead to uncover and celebrate the true purpose and beauty in their lives.
Essentialism in daily life- How do you practice essentialism?
1. Use essentialism to Define Your Priorities.
A while back, I always said yes to everything—social events, volunteering, work projects, and commitments that stretched me thin.I realized I was constantly exhausted and was neglecting some of my priorities, I felt like I was starting to drift through life.
That feeling pushed me to begin to say NO to things (not easy, but worth it) that didn’t align with my true priorities. It was tough at first, fearing people may take it personally, but it was incredibly freeing. By respecting my priorities, ease returned to my life.
That is why applying essentialism in our lives can help us rebalance when we start saying yes too much and no to our essentials.
Embrace essentialism to help clarify what truly matters to you.
Write down what’s essential so you can make decisions that align with your core values and goals. You could make a simple list to decide where to prioritize your time and energy and a list of things you need to eliminate or say No to.
2. Organizing your life
Guard your essentials as most as you can, organize your life to prioritize where you are going.
Organizing your life, as I see it, is a big part of essentialism, and it’s super important. Imagine you have a messy room with toys scattered everywhere. When you start cleaning up, you put everything in its right place, and “bam”—the room looks neat and calm.
This is what happens when you organize your life: you clear out the clutter and focus on what really matters. By eliminating things you don’t need, you make room for the important stuff, like spending time with friends or doing your favorite hobbies.
It’s like turning a noisy, crowded playground into a peaceful garden where you can enjoy every moment without distractions.
In this way, organizing your schedule, financial life, physical space,, and health-related activities ( eating well, time to prep food, exercise) will ensure that you have a more enjoyable life.
3. Minimizing or Eliminating Distractions
Take a look at what’s distracting you from your priorities. Eliminating unnecessary distractions can create a more focused and productive environment. This might mean reducing screen time, decluttering your workspace, or setting boundaries to protect your time.
4. Practice Saying No
As my example above illustrates, learning to say No makes all the difference.
Each NO, opens a space for a YES for the things that drive us.
Learning to say “no” can be a powerful tool for maintaining focus and reducing overwhelm. It’s hard for many of us to say No, but the more we do it, the less icky it becomes.
Become SELECTIVE of what you purchase, listen to and start building confidence to decline requests that don’t align with your priorities or values.
5. Carving Time and Energy into Your Essentials
Dedicate specific times and energy to the things that truly matter to apply essentialism to your schedule. Create a schedule that prioritizes your most important tasks and activities.
Cancel activities and, if necessary, tell others why you will be unavailable at certain times and days. By intentionally carving out space for your essentials, you’ll ensure a balanced life.
6. Schedule time and follow through with your priorities
Now with some time and energy recovered, you can follow through time for your priorities in some of the time you have freed up.
As you explore essentialism, remember it’s about making room for your inner voice.
By focusing on what’s most important, you can eliminate the extras and enjoy a more fulfilling life.
Celebrate each step you take towards a simpler, more meaningful lifestyle. Here’s to finding joy and freedom in less clutter and more of what you love.
Over to you
I hope this Essentialist, to-the-point article was helpful. Has this post helped you? If so, I’d love to hear about it!
If you want additional tips to organize your life. Subscribe to the newsletter below for exclusive content to help you live an Intentional, Essentialist, and spacious life. Or…
