This isn’t just one day. There’s a diet one in there and we finished those three days ago, so it’s at least three days’ work.

I’ve always been of the mindset that minimalism is a two-dimensional concept. Less of something equals minimalism. Ironically, a byproduct of this attitude can be anything but minimalism. Minimise the number of devices in my life and I end up with a phone that’s forgotten what it’s for. It’s full of games, books and other distractions that detract from its primary function and value. Sure, put a game on a phone and it’s a gaming platform, but that’s never what it’ll be for and never what it’ll be best at. Put a book app on a phone and you could read a book on it, but it’s not going to be a joyful experience. Any device that removes focus on anything but the task at hand must produce better results.

Recently, I’ve adopted a new approach. I removed all the games from my phone and bought a Nintendo DS. I removed all the books from my phone and was lucky enough to be given a Kindle. My new phone has a definite purpose, which helps me focus when I use it. Organise and communicate; that’s it. My DS is for games and it’s better at it, which increases my enjoyment. My Kindle is for reading and it’s better at it, which has hugely increased the amount of reading I’m doing. I read more, I game more and I am more effective with my phone (also not stuck to it permanently like other iPhoners).

I’m kinda surprised that my mobile devices haven’t always gone this way. Getting caught up in the hype of “oh my god, look at the cool stuff my phone can do”, I suppose. Just because something can do something, doesn’t mean that’s what you should use it for. My attitude has been this way with software I use for years. I don’t use an IDE when coding; I use a heavily customised vim install. I use terminal for version control, backups, server admin, file transfer, basically anything I can. I don’t game on my laptop. I use web interfaces instead of native apps wherever I can (except for email). I keep my laptop free of files – work is in version control, synchronised to remote servers and on my LAN on a hard drive. Music is on an external drive.

I’m driving my philosophy on minimalism toward minimising my predisposition to distraction rather than functionality or potential. If I can be more effective with more devices (within reason) then that should be a prioritised option.

I regularly re-evaluate my needs. I delete software I paid money for in favour of free alternatives because they are more appropriate. Do I really need a checklist for everything in my life I need to do, or just work stuff that could elude me? If I can remove an app from each of my primary devices and remain as effective as before, that’s a win. If it improves me; that’s a really big win.

For me, now, that is what minimalism is about. Not having as little as possible; having exactly what I need and no more, to be the best I can be. If I have to add to improve, then I will. If I can remove; that feels better, somehow.

I both love and loathe that everything material that I cherish most can be packed into a bag and taken with me wherever I go. It’s probably quite sad, but my camera and laptop have become like companions to me, I would say they seem to have souls but I have never been poetic enough to say dumb stuff like that!

With that fresh in our minds, I had the funniest day today (if I didn’t know or care for me; maybe if I was watching my day completely impartially). I’d like to say that this is a metaphor, but it isn’t: my day got so bad, I physically filled a glass half full, and the bottom fell off the glass! You know those days, where you’re drained of all your energy, like the thing that’s keeping you alive, not just awake, is dissipating.

So, I go to sleep really hoping that tomorrow’s going to be different, but there’s a realist in my ear telling me that it’s just going to be the same again.

Fortunately or unfortunately, however, it’s caused me to look at the way I use and abuse social networks and the repercussions that has on my relationships with people. Taking the most frequently accessed, Twitter and Facebook; there are times when I basically have nothing to say to people in real life because they already know everything that’s going on in my life. They know that I tried and didn’t like Starbucks, they know what song I like at the moment and they know what I’m doing this weekend. With some people, this starts a bit of dialogue that would, otherwise, not be there for lack of social networks, but it’s really the same few people. That’s not to say that I don’t value the digital interactions I have with people, because I really do, but I feel sometimes like it cheapens physical encounters because there’s nothing to talk about any more.

From this, I could go two ways, I suppose. Either stop using social networks in an attempt to try and personalise communication with people (as opposed to spitting in a crowd and seeing who gets wet), or stop seeing people in real life. There’s obviously a happy medium somewhere in there, but I’ve never been good at finding that so I feel like I’ve reached a bit of a fork-in-the-road. What’s more, is I feel like I’ve already made my decision. I’ve not posted to Facebook or Twitter for the last few days and I already feel like I’m having better interactions with people. I don’t have to preface everything I say with “I don’t know if you saw on Twitter, but…”, which is rewarding in itself. And now, here I am having a characteristic, verbose brain dump with lots of words and no real structure.

If I was going to commit Web 2.0 Suicide, I wouldn’t want to do it permanently. I’ve only used these networks to get back in touch with people I haven’t seen for ages, or to continue talking to new people I meet – it would be counter productive. I think I’d try to be more graceful about it; leave a final message on each network with contact details and a desire to talk and hopefully stir up at least one proper conversation. Maybe I’m being non-commital and self-destructive (oxymoron?), but I keep feeling like the less effort you make to keep a relationship going, the less that relationship is worth. Social networks make relationships zero effort and, by extension, zero worth and I’m not satisfied with that.

Subject to major edits/rewrites/hypocrisy/reorders.

So, there you have it. Somehow, I have managed to convince Charlotte that a game of the playoffs that’s like 2 weeks old is important enough that it takes precedence over housework.

Either I’m an evil genius, or she’s great.

It’s normally around this time that I start writing embarrassing, demotivational messages on my hand. Stuff like “You don’t need to smoke”, or “Stop fucking eating all the time” are what we’re talking here. If nothing else, it’s just frustrating.

I also have a trick of completely ditching or changing really insignificant things in my life – for example, I have changed my main web browser, stopped posting to twitter and Facebook (except for replies! What a renegade!), and stopped sitting and mincing about on my laptop all evening. I know; life-changing shit, right?

Is anyone else like this as well? I can’t be the only one who gets used to being happy and needs to fuck things up just to feel something new.

Just because the people who taught you lessons when you were younger couldn’t stick to them and are total hypocrites and sellouts, doesn’t mean that they aren’t still valuable lessons to learn.

That’s not to say that I’m not grateful for everything I’ve been given by everyone in my life, but some people make it really difficult for me to maintain respect for them.