This article was provided by Onestaff Medical.
Minimalist Lifestyle
If any lifestyle is a good fit for someone that travels months at a time for work, it’s a minimalist lifestyle. Not only for the obvious reason (being able just to grab the bare necessities and hit the road for your next hot new assignment) but because when you’re traveling as much as we do, you don’t settle in and make habits to collect too often. Well, living a minimalist-ish lifestyle can help us emotionally/ mentally also. It keeps our lives less free of clutter, which results in positive effects on our moods and well-being.
Let’s be frank; moving can be THE WORST, especially if you have too many belongings to lug around. Minimalism has been gaining traction through Netflix (Marie Kondo), Podcasts (Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus), and any and all home improvement magazines, websites and tv shows. We can learn about all of the tips and tricks of adopting a minimalist lifestyle, but when it comes down to it, getting rid of that old vase, you kept from flowers you received six years ago or the pile of books you read once and haven’t thought about since is hard.
Why should you at least think of adopting a minimalist-ish lifestyle?
- Financial Freedom and saving that dough
- Selling unused items
- Lessening your impulse buys
- Using the money, you would use for things on experiences
- Less clutter = Less Stress
- Develop better relationships by filling your time with loved ones rather than things
- Easier to move city to city
- Less stuff= effortless packing
Have I used it in the last 90 days?
Thinking about getting rid of belongings can stir up a bunch of stress and anxiety. To make it simpler, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus came up with the “90/90 Rule.” It’s very straightforward and a great eye-opener. When deciding to keep an item or not, ask yourself, have I used (said item) in the last 90 days? If the answer is no, ask yourself if you will use (said item) in the next 90 days. If the answer is still no, hopefully, this will help make the decision for you. Now, this does not pertain to family heirlooms or very personal items.
(Probably) the most important aspect of Minimalism is saving that moolah. Besides selling unused items and lessening your impulse buys, adopting some minimalist choices in regards to your finances can make a HUGE difference.
- Less stuff = smaller place = lower rent/utilities
- Fewer credit cards = easier budgeting
- Try to pair down your cards and stick to one card with great benefits like cash back or 0 to low-interest rates.
Go at your own pace
If you aren’t used to keeping things minimal, it’s definitely a change, so don’t fret. Focus on small changes. Take it slow and work at your own pace. Adopting a minimalist-ish lifestyle isn’t an overnight switch and will require some hard decisions. But knowing that those decisions lie in YOUR hands and your hands alone is comforting because only YOU get to choose what stays and what goes. Think of your future, future moves, future cross-country assignments, future experiences, and ultimately do what is best for you! End of the day, your focus should be on finding ways to create your own little sanctuary while decompressing between shifts if you can find peace with a bit of clutter, to each his own.
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