Simple + Straightforward is a weekly letter filled with essays, tips, and ideas to live life more simply and intentionally. If you find value in it, feel free to share with the friends and family you think might enjoy a dose of simplicity every Friday.
For me, every Thursday is Substack Ideas Day.
I carve out time to think long and hard about what I’m going to write to y’all the following day.
This week I initially wanted to write about Big Things. The wider picture, zooming out to 20, 30, 40 years’ time.
But as I was wandering around the internet this Thursday, I came across a piece by one of my favorite writers Michael Thompson about cultivating a 5 Minute Mindset.
This idea is about as far from big picture thinking as you can possibly get, yet it was one of those wondrous moments where you’re like, man, this is awesome. I MUST write about this.
Screw writing about the future this week, let’s focus on getting the present up to scratch first.
Here’s how it works.
What can you commit to for the next 5 minutes?
Break down your day into 5-minute segments and focus on those 300 seconds only, nothing else.
What are you going to do in the next 5 minutes that makes you ahead of where you were before?
For instance, for the next 5 minutes, I’m going to focus on writing this Substack for you. That is going to make my day better than it was 5 minutes ago because I’ll be on track for finishing a task I need to do today.
What about the next 5? Well, if I’ve already written for 5 minutes, I can do 5 more. And probably 5 more after that.
Before I know it, this week’s mailout will be complete and winging its way to you lovely lot.
All on the back of a string of 5-minute segments.
Putting one foot in front of the other
I still run with an old-school digital watch, which does nothing fancier other than telling the time and acting as a stopwatch.
Every time I head out the door to run, I set the watch to beep at me every 5 minutes.
I tell myself it’s only 5 minutes. That’s all I’m committing to run today.
The beep comes, OK Charlie, you’ve run 5, you can do 5 more.
Before I know it, I’m 30 or 40 minutes deep into a running trance before I remember I’ve done enough pounding the pavement for the day.
The psychological effects of focusing on putting one foot in front of the other ( be that figuratively or physically) are pretty incredible.
You don’t have to feel overwhelmed, because there’s nothing to be overwhelmed about.
It’s only 5 minutes.
The future can look fuzzy. The next 5 minutes are concrete
I’m a big picture person. I love zooming right out, pondering over what my life is going to be like, and planning for it accordingly.
But it can also put me in a tailspin as I try to account for every possible outcome. Of course, that is kind of a dumb thing to do - no one knows what their future is going to look like, the possibilities are endless. Trying to plan for everything just leads to a head fuck.
That’s why I like this concept so much. It’s micro-thinking at its best. It stops me from tearing my hair out because I’m trying to control more than I can.
All I have to do is control the next 5 minutes and try to make it awesome. Or at least, try to not let it suck.
I can do that. You can do that.
And you never know where 5 minutes on 5 minutes on 5 minutes can lead.
Something to read this weekend
3 articles from my collection
Use the “Decide Once” Principle to Free up More Time in Your Life than You Ever Thought Possible
The Photo That Encapsulates Everything I Love About Living in Small European Apartments
I’ve taken down the paywall for the above articles this week, so you can read them whether you have a Medium subscription or not.
If you do fancy subscribing to the best place for indie voices on the internet, however, you can do so here.
3 of the best articles I’ve read this week
The Future Belongs to the Focused. These 7 Unconventional Tips Can Help - Michael Thompson
Why You Should Run Away From Your Top 20 Goals - Diana Bernardo
These Tiny Pieces of Imperfect Decor Made It Into My Minimalist House - Melissa Frost
First, let me say if you’re an Easter lover, then Happy Easter! If you’re not, but you’re in a part of the world that gives you a long weekend off work, then happy long weekend!
For everyone else, a very happy Friday to you. Thanks for letting me invade your inbox yet again.
Any comments, thoughts, or things you’d like to see from me in the future, whack me an email by replying to this mailout or leave a comment below.
Much love from a sunny Portugal,
Charlie