Right now, I’m in the midst of exams, so you could say they’re on my mind. I thought I’d share some ways minimalism helps me make studying easier.

1. Get rid of the unnecessary. Use the 80/20 rule as a guideline: probably only about 80% in the syllabus will actually come up in the exam. That means that if you study everything, roughly a fifth of it would be a waste (if your goal is purely to pass the exam). Because of this, try to identify which areas are the most important, using tips and clues given by the lecturer and look back at things you have covered extensively in class. Don’t just work blindly memorising from the textbook, be savvy and try to get your hands on past papers and become familiar with exactly what they’re looking for.
2. Simplify. Make life easier by breaking things down into small manageable steps. Draw mind mapsusing different colours to lay everything out. Mind maps are great because the general rule is that you can only use one or two words per branch. Spread out, try not to cram too much on one page and embrace the white space. Giving yourself room calms your mind and allows it to think with more clarity. You might even find recalling things easier if you can remember the layout of your notes.

Download mind mapping freeware here.

3. Know the fundamentals. Even if you don’t think you know everything in terms of scope, taking care of the essentials is just as important. Lecturers tend to set questions that seem complicated, but they are really just testing if you know the basics. Make sure you know them like the back of your hand. You can even make an activity out of it by making a poster summarising the formulae, key points and basic steps and putting it up by your mirror.
4. Focus. Decluttering your desk can make all the difference in your concentration levels. Clear everything off and only put on what you need for the next hour. Chances are you’ll only need a book or two, a pen and paper. If you’re not using your laptop, it might be best to hide it that as well so you’re not tempted to get distracted.
5. Disconnect. Now that I’ve switched to Chrome, I use the StayFocused extension to cut down on the time I spend on facebook and twitter. I finally found an extension that actually works and does a pretty good job at keeping me on track. It even has a ‘nuclear mode’ which blocks all websites for as long as I want. I also turn off my iPhone or at least put it on silent. I have never encountered a situation when I got a call or text that had to be answered immediately anyway.

I hope these tips helped! If you’re in the middle of exams too, I wish you the best of luck. If you have any more suggestions, please share them with everyone in the comments!

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In Emptiness, there are no complications, just simplicity.

In Emptiness, there is no confusion, just clarity.

In Emptiness, there are no costs, just freedom.

In Emptiness, there is no selfishness, just selflessness.

In Emptiness, there is no waste, just efficiency.

In Emptiness, there is no pollution, just purity.

In Emptiness, there are no distractions, just mindfulness.

In Emptiness, there is beauty.

…Empty a space, and make it beautiful today.

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“The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity.” – Douglas Horton

You would think that there would be little to say on the subject of minimalism, but ironically this isn’t the case.

Minimalism isn’t simply about throwing out everything you own, or about boycotting purchasing new things altogether. Getting to the stage where you only have what you need is a difficult battle, but it doesn’t end there. You have to be constantly aware of accumulating more stuff and the consequences and futility of perpetually pursuing material posessions.

On top of that, depending on people’s preferences and situations, there isn’t a cookie cutter criteria for a minimalist. I’ve always believed that minimalism can’t be measured, you can’t take a number like ‘100 things’ and apply it to everybody. Compromises have to be made for preferences, jobs, children and other lifestyles.

So, minimalism isn’t simple, but who cares? Arduous journeys lead to great goals, that’s what makes them so great. I don’t want to put anyone off, but I know it takes a certain level of commitment to begin and maintain a minimalist lifestyle. The secret is to make baby steps, and work out what works for you.

It’s gets easier when the complexity of minimalism is broken down into smaller steps. A minimalist should consider weighing the pros and cons of each item’s:

1. Versatility. If something can be used for two functions instead of one, you have automatically halved the number of things you would have needed and perhaps saved some money in the process. Versatile clothing is the key to a minimalist wardrobe.

2. Durability. The longer it lasts, the less you spend fixing it or replacing it. Durability is what dispels the myth that all minimalists are frugalists. Sometimes, it’s worth paying that extra amount for better quality so that you don’t have to constantly replace it. But be careful, durability should not be mixed up with perceived quality achieved through marketing and brand names.

3. Availability. It’s better to avoid relying on things that are too rare or extravagant that would be expensive and/or difficult to replace, since you could become stuck if it gets lost, broken or stolen. The point of minimalism is that you don’t have to constantly worry about your material things.

4. Portability. For people that travel a lot, the portability of an item is extremely valuable. Ideally, most items should be easy to pack, light and have multiple functions so that you can take a smaller and more manageable suitcase.

Walking the life of minimalism isn’t done without making sacrifices and difficult choices but every right decision, no matter how small, contributes somehow as one small step forwards, instead of backwards, towards happiness. And you never know, the impact you make may inspire others and can create a revolution.

So it’s that time of year again when we make the obligatory promises to ourselves and if we’re lucky, they’ll see the other side of February. I was wondering how I could solve this problem, and I think I came up with a solution.

a new way of making resolutions

Most people would tell you that the best way to make New Year’s resolutions is to set goals like losing a certain amount of weight or getting a certain level of grades etc. There’s nothing wrong with setting goals to achieve, in fact, I think it’s one of the best ways to approach it.

However, setting specific goals and achieving those goals are separate things. Using the old method, you have to be responsible for setting the goal, then deciding how you are going to achieve it. A lot of people get to this stage, they buy planners, equipment and gym memberships but when it comes to actually doing it, their motivation runs out after a little while and soon they give up.

So instead, I’ve decided to do things a little differently. I will pick five things to focus on in 2011. And I mean really focus. Apart from basic living – eating, sleeping etc. I will dedicate as much of my time, effort, money and energy into five areas of my life. My motivation is less likely to run out this way if I make my life revolve around doing things in these areas.

why five?

The conventional wisdom is that you are much more likely to accomplish something if you focus only one thing. This is great, because it really means you’ll get it done, but it’ll only work for something like a particular project or measurable goal (“I will lose __ pounds this year” etc).

But if I want to be able to live out an entire year, it would be better to not be too narrow. And, it would also be better to not be so wide ranging that you end up doing a little bit of everything and not really achieving anything. Five is a great number, but if you would like I think three would work great too.

my five focus

1. Write. Back in October, I started 750words and now almost every day I log onto that site and tell it everything, from my daily life to my most intimate secrets. I use it to draft stories, blog posts and to answer Reverb10, MMT and the mindfulist. I’m not worried about putting my thoughts out there, (I haven’t done anything illegal, don’t worry!) it feels good to get it out of my system, and speaking of focus, it helps me concentrate on my work and arrange my ideas into something tangible.

2. Learn. As a book-lover, there are some books that I feel guilty about having never read in high school. Of course I’ve read some classics, but not all the ones I always see on ‘books to read before you die’ lists. I got a brand new Kindle now, so in 2011 I will definitely concentrate on ticking them off. Also, this year I will really focus on learning Japanese and getting to the level of fluency that I really want to reach. I have my own measurements for this, but for my resolution, I would just like to say that I want to dedicate much more time and effort into it.

3. Travel. I still have the bulk of my year abroad to come in 2011, not to mention a very long summer break. During the last couple of days, I spent it touring Tokyo in all it’s early morning to nightlife glory. It’s been one of the best trips I’ve made in my life, let alone 2010, but I don’t want to leave it there so in 2011, I plan to do much more travelling all over Japan and Asia.

4. Health. I’ve made a lot of improvements this year, but I am still not at the level of fitness I would like. I run over 5km quite often now, but I hope to be able to double this in 2011. Also, after my year abroad, I hope that I would be able to go back to being vegetarian.

5. Minimalism. Finally, there’s being ‘more’ minimalist – which covers all of the previous four focuses. For ‘writing’, I will concentrate on growing Minimalist Student blog. In the past few weeks I’ve been a little busy with studying and travelling, but after the new year, I will go back to writing about minimalism in general, tips and so on. I’m always learning about minimalism all the time, and because of minimalism I’m able to travel as much as I do. Finally, it is no exaggeration that because of minimalism, I’ve managed to improve my health to the point it is at today, but in 2011 I am going to redouble my efforts.

So these are my Five Focus. With these, my daily life may include a run in the morning, studying and reading during the day and travelling on weekends and holidays.

how to create your own five focus

Ask yourself:

• What is important to you?
• What do you want to achieve?
• What skills would you like to develop?
• What kind of person do you want to become this year?

I would love you know what your five focus would be! Please leave a comment.

As a student, there is no such thing as ‘free time’. The time you think is ‘free’ – you could actually be using to do something else that is productive, such as finding a book on the course reading list, writing up notes or reviewing the last lecture. Every minute we are encouraged to cram more and more activities in, more socialising, more studying, but there are only so many minutes in a day.

As much as I advocate slowing down and doing less, sometimes it isn’t possible in a student’s hectic lifestyle, especially during exam times. I consider myself a bit of a minimalist, stuffing more isn’t really my thing, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, so here are some of my favourite hacks to try to cram more minutes into each day.

1. Read when cooking. There’s a lot of waiting when you’re cooking. Most people flip the tv on, or have a day dream, but I recommend bringing a book into the kitchen and get a few paragraphs done whilst waiting for that pasta to become al dente. Also applies for toilet breaks and long queues.

2. Group activities together. Part of David Allen’s famous Getting Things Done method involves grouping tasks that are in the same context together to save time doing them. For example, if you have to boot up your laptop to do something, why not wait until you have two or three things to do and then you only have to turn on your laptop once to do them all. This may sound obvious, but it does require a little bit of organizational skill in that you have to think ahead to make sure you haven’t left anything out, especially if you’re going to make a trip to a particular place. It’s no good getting halfway back home from X and then remembering  you had one more thing to do! Which brings me to…

3. Write things down. Maybe it’s the people I hang around with (or me) but you’ll be amazed at the number of times I’m walking around campus with someone who suddenly ‘just remembered’ they had to collect or hand in something and turn in the direction we just came. One of my friends even spent one whole day mumbling “I know there’s something I have to do today…” (It turned out she had to ask our lecturer something important, but by then the lesson had already finished and we were on the other side of campus). By jotting things down on a daily basis you can save countless minutes from trying to recall all of the things you had to do.

4. Listen to podcasts. Ok, this one doesn’t save you time, but it’s a way to fill up those idle minutes. It’s no secret that I love podcasts. The best ones are educational and intellectually stimulating. They could be news in an area you are interested in, or debates and discussions around your degree. There’s so much stuff out there, I’ve dipped into so many different subjects, including (and not limited to) economics, astronomy, travel, philosophy, history, nutrition,  Zen,…you can even learn languages via podcasts. They’re a great alternative to looping the same album (however amazing) on your ipod whilst walking or waiting for the bus. Please remember to look out for traffic!

5. Be minimalist. Yes, you knew it was coming. In this case by minimalism I mean having fewer things, which generally means you will be in a much tidier environment. You will save minutes if not hours if you can find everything and anything you need because it’s not lost under a pile of clothes or crumpled at the bottom of your bag. Find a place for all of the things you need everyday. For my keys, I actually hacked a key hook using some blue tak and a piece of wire (the kind you get wrapped around cables of electronics) shaped into a ‘J’. I stick it just above the handle of my door, so I always know where they are. Try to keep sheets and notes as organised as possible, or at least keep them all in one place, so you don’t spend ages looking around for them.

With these tips, you can probably save upwards of ten minutes a day, which doesn’t sound like much, but could add up to an extra hour or two every week.  At the moment, I’m conducting a bit of a hack-slash-experiment which I am trying to reclaim up to an hour and a half each day, but more of that coming soon…

If you’ve just joined Minimal Student, or just want to read more, why not have a look at my current series, The Recipe for Student Success, or check out the Most Popular MS Posts.

• The Recipe for Student Success – Ingredient One : Real Passion
• The Recipe for Student Success – Ingredient Two : Perseverance
• The Recipe for Student Success – Ingredient Three :  Great Health
• The Recipe for Student Success – Ingredient Four :  A Curious Mind

Since starting Minimal Student almost three years ago now, I have never taken more than a few weeks off at a time, but after coming back to England and settling in my own place, and no longer travelling as much as I used to, I felt that my writing had run out of steam. In January, I took a hiatus so that I could rearrange my thoughts and priorities, and hopefully come back a better writer.

To achieve this, I took the rather unusual approach of learning how to reflect about myself – without using any words at all.

Words are concrete, specific and tangible, but in reality, our emotions and feelings are not. I realise now that it is very difficult to convey even a fraction of who and what we are and how we feel in words – most people can only speak or write well enough to reveal the tip of the iceberg of themselves. And even if we could, we can never guarantee that others would understand. Humans are complex and irrational creatures, many of our actions are self-justified, illogical, unreasonable, or simply make no sense to others but ourselves.

So I decided to go back to the beginning, scrap all I knew about writing and start again. I emptied my cup. I turned off the computer, and sat my ass down on a pillow for a few moments each day. It wasn’t easy at first, I helplessly watched my mind jump around like an agitated squirrel trapped in a cage. But eventually I learned to embrace my energetic mind, and to observe myself without attachment or judgement – I learned to let go.

My break from writing taught me that there’s a lot to be said for putting down the pen and just being. Without words, there are no expectations, preconceptions, nothing to show or prove to anybody else, no gray areas and nothing to hide behind.

After a few months, my journey led here – back to writing again. But this time, it is clear that my style has evolved into a way of expressing myself that I feel touches something much deeper within. With practice, I hope I can continue to grow enough to be able to make sense of topics that are very difficult to explain, but too important to ignore.

It’s an ambitious task, but I like to think of it as a challenge.

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“Cogito Ergo Sum” – “I think, therefore I am”. – Rene Descartes

When it came to naming this ingredient, I considered calling it a ‘Great Mind’. But I thought that would imply that one needed to achieve or find ‘great’ things that rocked the world in order to be successful, when the truth is, success can mean so many things including, in my opinion, that you don’t necessarily have to make an amazing realization or discovery in order to be successful. Also, I realized that ‘great’ in a way means ‘better than someone else’. I am a firm believer that you do not need to trample or compete with others in order to be successful. And then the perfect term hit me. A Curious Mind.

A Curious Mind is unique. It’s not a passive thing that happens in your brain, neither are you born with one, you have to actively desire it and train yourself in order to obtain one. A Curious Mind is:

1. Hungry. A Curious Mind always wants more. It never gets tired of being fed, and will take a starter, snack, main and dessert when it comes to learning. It loves to discover, especially things it has never considered before. It lives on the edge of what it knows and what it can do, and endeavours to push itself even further.

2. Open. A Curious Mind is always open to new ideas and ways of seeing things. Sure, it can have opinions, but it allows others to have theirs, and will always try to see things from their point of view.  A Curious Mind considers many possibilities before deciding which path to follow. It is open to changing attitudes and doesn’t let others dictate what it believes.

3. Balanced. A Curious Mind tries to keep a balance between all of the things that concern it. It will have interests, and can focus on those, but will not neglect other important things either. It is calm, yet sharp. It thinks before it leaps. It’s decisive yet it considers other options. It is can make rational and logical decisions, but it can also be passionate and creative.

How to Cultivate a Curious Mind

1. Read. The single most important thing you can do to cultivate a Curious Mind is to read. Not only books, but also blogs, websites, Wikipedia, ebooks, magazines, newspapers and textbooks. In fact, reading is so important, here are three further tips to help:

• Diversify. Try reading things outside of your comfort zone to expand your general knowledge. Can you imagine not having tried chocolate before? You would be missing out! There is so much knowledge out there, it doesn’t make sense to only stay in one area. Who knows, you may end up finding something new and fascinating.
• Focus. Having said that, it might also be good to have a subject that you concentrate a bigger proportion of reading time to. If you spend between 30-45 minutes a day reading, that equates to about one book a week, which can make you an expert in a subject in a year. If it sounds too much to you, even two or three years isn’t that long if it means being a pro at something. Sometimes it helps to have a solid foundation of knowledge as well as a good general knowledge, otherwise you might end with too many half-eaten cakes. (Ok, obviously I am very hungry right now).
• Write it down. As much as I don’t like to admit it, we tend to forget most of the things we read. Keeping a reading notebook can really help you retain some of the information you invested those hours into. It doesn’t have to be entire chapter summaries, sometimes a few quotes or lines that you liked will suffice to remind you of a fact that surprised you, or an interesting plotline or a character you liked.

The same rules also applies to listening to podcasts. Podcasts and audiobooks are fantastic ways for you to ‘read’  and gain knowledge if you feel you don’t have too much time to physically sit down with a book often enough.

2. Meet people. Try to meet new people who are different from you, make friends with them and ask them about their background, opinions and ideas. Don’t be too nosey if they feel uncomfortable, but most of the time people are more than happy to talk, chat and debate. Don’t ignore cultural differences, use them to your advantage to open up your mind to new ways of thinking.  A lot of the things we believe in are because of the way we were raised, our society or our early education. We were conditioned to think that way, so we hadn’t had the chance to make up our own minds, until now. Experiences like this can turn things you were so sure about upside down, and that’s a good thing.

3. Meditate. Sometimes, our minds get slowed down from jumping from thought to thought constantly. You can get a more balanced mind by clearing up some of the clutter. There are lot’s of different types of meditation, but contrary to popular belief, it isn’t about pushing all thoughts out of your head. Instead, it is about becoming aware and acknowledging when your mind has wondered off and bringing it back to the centre. With practice, meditation can help you control your mind to be calmer, more stable and less easily distracted.

4. Sleep. In a way, your mind is like your body, you have to wake it up in the morning, feed it and let it grow. But you also have to let it rest. Olympic athletes have the healthiest bodies in the world, but even they don’t spend all their time training. They have to let their bodies recover and rest often, and your mind works in a similar way. Sleeping and napping can help you feel energized, and make your mind more receptive. Sleep can also greatly help with retention and recall.

Fairly obviously, we are here at university as students to grow our minds. However, there are two ways of going about it, one is passively letting knowledge seep into our minds, with only what people decide to tell us making up what we know and think. Or, we can seek to develop a Curious Mind, one that pro-actively seeks to find things that build discipline, character and imagination.

I’d love to hear what you think, do you consider a Curious Mind important to success? Let me know in the comments!

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Oh, snow. It’s pretty at first, but then it turns grey and slushy, getting into your shoes and freezing your toes. Then there’s the winter wind that makes your nose turn red and your eyes start to water.

In Japan, the cherry blossoms came to mark the beginning of spring. The air is warm with the smell of flowers and grass, and there’s no better way to spend an afternoon than to stroll under the trees, with the sound of a river trickling alongside you, and delicate petals falling in the gentle breeze.

Both snow and the cherry blossoms are very different. One marks winter, the bitter cold that causes things to die or hide away, and the other spring, the season of birth and life.

They are both painful and beautiful in their own way. They both mark the passing of time; a season starts, a season ends. A new year becomes an old year.

The Japanese people have a tradition of having a picnic under the trees because the blossoms only last a few days, before all of the petals have fallen and the trees are bare again.

On the other hand, I know from experience that there aren’t many things that feel better than jumping into a pile of brand new snow, soft and freshly laid, ready for you build a snowman from, or make snowballs to throw at your friends.

How often can we enjoy nature’s beauty like this?

We need to learn how to appreciate each and every moment in the same way. In spring, summer, autumn or winter. Even if it is pouring down outside, or snowing, or sunny and clear, whatever the weather. Doesn’t it make you feel more alive?

Time passes. This is the truth that a lot of people don’t like to think about. They deny it, and avoid talking about it, but ignoring it won’t make it go away.

Is it really morbid? Or, does it, on the contrary, cause you to make more of the moment?You enjoy life more, because you know that you will only get a few chances to do so. Living in denial will only mean wasting it.

So go, my dear, play in the snow, bask in the sunshine, run in the rain. Be bold, be brave, be strong, and live.

A question that I often ask myself is why on earth am I leading a minimalist lifestyle? Why don’t I just settle down in a nice town, get my own apartment, a steady job and live like a normal person?

The answer is simple, I don’t want to be normal.

I want to travel. I want to see the world.  I want to go to places people don’t go, meet people that have stories to tell, see things with my own eyes, not from the other side of a TV screen.

I want to grab a backpack, climb mountains, hike through forests, camp under the stars, explore. I want to get on a bike and ride my way across highways, along rivers, through small towns and beside farmland as as far as the eye can see.

On my travels I want to help people who need real help, real action, not just cash thrown at them. I want to make a positive impact on every single soul I meet on the road.

Minimalism is my means of doing that, which is why it’s so important to me. Without it, I can’t do it.

Do you have to travel to have achieved something? Of course not, this is just my dream. You can fulfill your dreams right in your hometown if you want to, the point is that you do it. It sounds simple enough, but you’ll be surprised at how many dreams get pushed aside for mortgages, debt and nice shoes.

when fear is good

I thought my biggest motivation was the want to travel. But now I realize, travel is only the answer to my biggest fear. I’m afraid that I’ll grow old and waste my life. I’m afraid that I’ll look back and wonder why I didn’t do something worthwhile when I had the chance. I’m scared that I’ll miss great opportunities because I followed what people told me to do instead of deciding on my own.

I’m scared that I won’t make a real difference.

Travelling around the world might sound like a fantasy for some people, but to them I say it doesn’t sound possible because they’re too wrapped up in watching reruns on TV from being tired from working too much to fund all of their spending habits.

I’m not living to work or to buy things, I’m living to live. That’s my motivation.

What’s yours?