Minimalist Travel

I found this article over at ZenHabits.  It discusses taking a minimalist approach to your traveling, meaning taking just the bare essentials.  However, this doesn’t mean you have to leave out the things that you need to keep connected or productive.  I recently returned from a 2 month adventure through Europe, so I was confronted with this same issue.  Another layer of difficulty in my case arose because I was planning for what was essentially 3 different trips in one.  1/3 of the trip I would be living on a campus taking classes while the second 1/3 was essentially backpacking and the final phase was a more traditional resort and sightseeing trip.

This may the the same situation that many readers are in.  If you are a student planing on studying abroad at some point in your educational career, you will have to make the choice to either travel light and have fewer backup plans or travel heavy and loose agility and the ability to easily blend into the local culture.

I can echo almost everything from the ZenHabits article having planned my packing and travel with the same minimalist principles.  I used this backpack.  I also carried a smaller daypack that I packed inside my main pack.  I would leave the main bag behind in the hotel or a train station locker and just bring the small bag out for the day.  This allowed me to become even more mobile when I didn’t need to carry all my belongings with me.

If you have your bag picked out, the next phase is packing it.  Here is the rule: 22 lbs maximum!  That is not a lot of weight, but it is about the maximum you will want to have on your back all day long when moving to a new town, and it is the maximum carryon weight on all of the discount European airliners.
Packing for 22 lbs may require some tough decisions on your part.  Here is a list of what I filled my 22 lbs with: daypack, light rain jacket, 4 shirts, 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of linen pants, 4 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of underwear, 1 pair of walking shoes (not really packed because I wore them all the time), flashlight, iPhone, USB headphones for Skype, digital camera, Kodak zi6 HD video camera, travel size toiletries in a caddy (ziplock bag will work for this), pen, travel clothesline, MacBook, and a good book.

Thats not a lot of stuff, but with the multi-purpose MacBook and iPhone as well as the fact that the clothes were all neutral colors so they all matched each other, it made it very do-able.  If I had to adjust that packing list I would also probably remove the USB headset because the built in mic and a set of earbuds would have sufficed.  Also, last summer I had the original iPhone which had no video.  Now, with a 3G S, I may have been able to get by without the HD camera and my 8 megapixel digital camera.  Although the collection of HD video is nice to have.

The point is that you don’t have to choose between having the stuff you need on your trip and being bogged down with gear.  If you are smart, you can have the best of both worlds.  It was a very satisfying feeling when I got off the bus with my fellow students in Italy on the first day and while they were all struggling to get their 3 suitcases off the bus and up the stairs, me and my one bag had already found our room and made it down for an early dinner.

Filed under: Lifestyle, Organization, Travel, Apple, iPhone, Light, MacBook, Minimal, Packing, Packing Light, Travel

SIT DOWN AND MAKE SOMETHING

Sometimes the hardest part of the creative process is that part where we have to lay down the other things we have occupied ourselves with and just make something.  A common misconception about creativity in general is that it is some mystical you’re-either-born-with-it-or-you-aren’t quality.

Being creative has more to do with being disciplined.  When you decide you are ready to create something, do it.  The reason we put so many other distractions ahead of making things we are proud of is because it is always easier to do nothing than to do something worthwhile.

Whether your time vampire be video games, Facebook, twitter, movies, TV, etc. – they all fit this bill.  They are familiar and therefore they are easy.  Easy is easier than hard.  Mix this with the conception that being creative is extra super-duper hard and you have a recipe for sitting on your butt and being complacent.

So, the next time you have a great idea for a new creative project, act on it.  That could be as simple as writing down some notes on a piece of paper, making flow chart, emailing your self a reminder, or scheduling a time to think more on the idea at a later time.  Whatever you do, don’t do nothing.  If you make that first step down the creative path, the rest will come much easier.

Filed under: Focus, Lifestyle, Creativity, GTD

“HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT THE CLOCK”

I was browsing along today and I came across an article on ZenHabits that I thought was truly fascinating.  It is about trying to worry less about how much time our projects are taking and living more for the moment.  It also deals with listening to your body when it comes to taking breaks.  However, the most interesting portion for me was about setting “themes” rather than goals.  If any of this sounds interesting to you I’d encourage you to take a look.  Enjoy

Filed under: Focus, Lifestyle, Focus, Lifestyle, Productivity