SIMPLIFY

Lately, I've been realizing: I spend so much time doing things that just don't matter. I like technology. I love browsing through Pinterest and finding pretty pictures and inspiration of all kinds. I like keeping up with my friends' lives through Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. I love reading blogs of all types–design, faith, fashion, creative writing, you name it.

However.

While those things are fun, and certainly have their place, why has “their place” in my life seemed so huge lately? Why do I spend so much time mindlessly scrolling through an endless list of updates on a screen–things that are completely inconsequential to my life–instead of doing things that matter?

I've found that, because there is so much information to be consumed, my brain goes into a different mode when I'm online. When there's so much to read, I skim through it and quickly file it away. It may be great information, but because there's always something else on the list, I am rarely able to take the time to process it and make it part of my life. Again–that's fine in its place and completely necessary at points, but I realized that I was carrying over that way of thinking and processing to other areas of my life. I would read my Bible, but it became just another piece of information. Because my brain was constantly moving to the next thing, I was not really internalizing anything.

I have a huge stack of books I want to read, but I never have time to read them because I'm always reading blogs.

I love to do all things creative, but I rarely sit down to make anything because I am too busy looking for new inspiration.

I love to write, but never seem to be able to sit down and actually put words to paper because I am too busy reading others' words for ideas.

I'm really, really tired of living like that. I'm tired of feeling attached to my phone, or having my time sucked away by irrelevant information that I just can't seem to stop taking in. I'm done with it.

This past week, I have made a conscious effort to not waste my time and actually start doing the things I genuinely enjoy. It's not as if I've stopped going online or using Pinterest or scrolling through Facebook; I've just done them significantly less. And it has felt really, really great. I thought it would be difficult, but it hasn't in the slightest. The hardest thing has been breaking the habit of mindlessly reaching for my phone if I was not otherwise engaged for more than 5 seconds (pathetic, isn't it?).

I've made time for writing in my journal, for reading books, for making things. Today, I unintentionally let myself waste a good chunk of my time online. While I wish I hadn't, it let me realize that I enjoy my days significantly more when I spend them doing things that matter. It's a lot easier to find adventures in the everyday when you leave your brain some space to actually see them.

Less crazy, less wasting time, less technology, less overload.
More creativity, more peace, more productivity, more depth.
It's time to simplify.