In the modern simple life, time is more plentiful than it ever was before. Time for relationships, time for self-care, time to relax, time to pursue interests, time to be home taking care of life’s essentials.
In fact, almost everything you could ever need is at home in the modern simple life. Or if it’s not, it’ll be delivered to your door before you know it. You can work from home, too. That’s a game changer.
The modern simple life is uncluttered and not over-programmed. There’s no commuting. There’s no spending money needlessly. There’s not nearly as much stuff. The modern simple life is efficient. It’s beautiful.
There are two major forces at play in the modern simple life. The first is a return to basics. We simplify. We spend more time with our family and stop running around so much. We cook at home and rediscover that making our own meals can satisfy us in more ways than one (it’s creative and fulfilling, not just filling). We work on our homes and transform them into spaces that find the right balance between function and comfort. We exercise more and get enough sleep and treat ourselves right.
In the modern simple life we focus on what we have instead of what we want, and we realize that we already have what we truly need. This means we can spend our time living instead of striving. We work just enough to provide for our families. With the rest of our time we enjoy and take care of ourselves, we learn, we help those that need us, we find meaning in our lives.
The second force at play in the modern simple life is the extraordinary technology that now exists. A massive infrastructure of production and delivery systems serves us on demand, and it constantly improves with each iteration offering us the opportunity to save a little more time. In the modern simple life we leverage this technology to the hilt.
Although this technological backbone that supports the modern simple life is mind bogglingly complex, it’s also easy to use. Its user interfaces are straightforward and uncomplicated. Things that used to take a significant amount of time and energy to get done can now be accomplished with the push of a button.
Everything you need is now delivered to your door, saving countless trips to the store. Your order history and preferences are also always available and well organized so it only takes seconds to place an order.
We meet with co-workers by videoconference so there’s less driving back and forth to the office. Ever-improving digital tools allow us to share and collaborate extremely effectively without leaving home.
New shows, games and educational tools are continually produced to entertain us and teach us. They keep getting better, more interesting and satisfying. We used to go to theaters, libraries and schools. Now we have it all right at home.
Of course, some things need to be done in person. People need to go to hospitals. Buildings need to be built on site.
There are also many things that are best in person, like live music and dining with friends. You can’t truly experience the outdoors from your bedroom. And as good as Zoom is in connecting people, sometimes you need to be together, face to face.
But so much that we do these days does not need to be done in person. Once you make it past that barrier, you realize that you don’t have to spend nearly as much time getting stuff done. You can replace those hours with time spent that’s more fulfilling or productive or less stressful.
There is a real opportunity here, one that rests on an infrastructure that has taken all of human civilization to build over literally thousands of generations. Today’s world citizens have the opportunity to live simpler, less constrained lives than ever before.
I want more time to be with the people I love. That’s what’s most important. From a certain perspective it’s the only thing that’s truly important. And that’s why I’m learning to embrace the modern simple life.