Thinking simplicity

Simple things look, act, and feel beautiful and natural. However, it is hard to get to the point, in which simplicity rules. Apple is one of the best examples of the success of simplicity. In this text, I will show you how to think to get to this point by thinking differently. Ken Segall´s book Insanely Simply is the main source of this text. It tells about how Apple is using simplicity. I have tried to simplify the most important aspects of thinking simplicity to this text.

Think brutal. Simplicity doesn´t have an on/off switch. You can´t keep things simple if you compromise. Then, you complicate things. Thinking simplicity requires many things. One of the biggest obstacles for you is that your thinking is not brutal enough. You can´t have exceptions and too many rules. You can´t choose the second-best or more complex option to avoid a difficult situation. You have to demand this from your environment. Be brutally honest. It simplifies things. The amount of misunderstandings decreases. You and others don´t have to guess what other people think. You don´t have to be mean, to be honest. Explain your reasons and your honesty is understood. If you do the crappy work, you have to handle honest feedback. Otherwise, simplicity is not for you.

Think small. Groups with fewer members have less complexity. Avoid adding people to a group unless they are essential for the performance. Everybody needs to have a reason to be in the group. It means you too. Don´t offer yourself for a group that doesn´t need you. It is better for them and better for you. Don´t be a tourist. The ultimate decision-maker has to be present whenever the decisions are made. And there has to be only one decision-maker most of the time.

Think minimal. Minimize everything. Do only things you are good at. And do them as well as you can. Keep your options minimal. You will get less confused. Having too many options invites too many liabilities. You will be better understood and more easily remembered when you have created a minimized amount of possibilities to choose from. If you have many messages to deliver for your audience, choose the most important one and get rid of the others. If you have to deliver many messages, find their common theme, and deliver it. Minimizing is hard, but it is worth all the effort. Getting into the essential aspects of the message in a few words is one of the hardest parts of thinking simplicity. Minimize all the extra words and paragraphs. Use images. One image can tell you more than a thousand words.

Think human. Use a human voice. Focus on the benefits you can offer for others and emotions they are likely to feel when you offer them something. Think about why other people do things. Think about the underlying reasons, not the consequences. Have a set of core values and follow them in everything you do and say. Communicate these core values to other people.

Think phrasal. Keep your messages as simple as possible. Forget intelligent and complex words. Keep your sentences simple. Communicate your messages with clarity. Learn this skill and you can express yourself a lot by saying little. If you have to name a product or a service, use simple, short, and natural names and forget the jargon and the model numbers or longer explanations.

Think brevity. Fast is good for simplicity. Forget the irrelevant and go straight to the message. Be direct and forget all formalities. Most things you say are useless. Start fast and lay out the facts as fast as possible. Forget all the extra information. You will look smarter. Let smart people also make their conclusions and let them give their feedback as soon as possible.

Simplicity is a tool for a few people

Simplicity looks easy, but it isn´t. That is why you are in the minority if you are thinking simple. Only a few people can simplify complicated things as far as possible. Going too far is easy too. If you have this ability, it is good for you. It doesn´t mean that simpler ideas are always better. Do not forget about the quality of your ideas. Bad ideas stay bad no matter how much they are simplified. Do not forget this rule. Applying the rules of simplicity works for your advantage only when they bring better results.

-TT

One decision making system

Different situations and decisions need different decision-making systems. This system is for individuals who are making big decisions about personal matters without a single right answer. And you are not in a rush to make the decision. It is for important decisions like buying a house, choosing an education, applying for jobs, etc. These decisions have many options and some of them are better than others, but there is no one right way to do them. What I am offering is a framework about the process.

Start by limiting options and their parameters

You have limited bandwidth in your brain. Too much information will paralyze it. Start by first thinking about the most important parameters for the last options. For example, if you are buying a house choose the ranges for prices, square meters, amount of rooms, in which floors you can live, etc. Do not have an unlimited list of parameters. Some research suggests that ten different parameters is the maximum. Depending on the decision, three parameters can be enough. Whatever the number of parameters, keep things as simple as possible. The fewer the better, but be sure you have enough information.

When you get this far, think about the possibility of using some tools that are provided by other people, like price comparison and product disclosure information, and customer reviews before limiting your options. You can also have a system that gives different parameters different scores and sums them up. After doing this, choose a limited amount of options with most points to do the final decision. The number of options should be small. I recommend no more than three options, but you can have five. Do not surpass this limit.

Right environment and timing for doing the decisions

Having the right environment and making the decision at the right time are important no matter what decisions are made. The bigger and more effective the decision the more important these two factors become. No matter what decisions are made. Let's start with the right environment. If you have to make a big personal decision, allow no distractions while making it. Shut down all your communications devices unless you need them in your decisions. Shut off your pings for email and put your phone in silent mode. If the decision doesn´t affect others, be alone. Be also aware of any silent cues like paintings, etc. If you have three options, don´t have any single cues about decisions like photos of the houses you are choosing from.

Timing is also important. If you have to make a big decision, don´t do it during the slump. Do it during your peak hours instead. You have to also think about how well you have slept before doing the decision or how many decisions you have made during the day before doing it. The less the better. When you have to make a rational decision, you may need enough willpower to use your conscious part of the brain. The optimal time for having enough willpower is during your peak hours. The time you eat can also be important for making the right decision. Have a break after eating a lot before making the decision. And don´t make decisions when you are hungry. Your glucose levels can be too high or too low for effective decision making if you eat at the wrong time. If you have to meet another person to make a decision, schedule this meeting for the best time for you if possible.

You can have psychological tendencies that move you in the wrong direction. Their effect on you diminishes when you have the right environment and the right timing. Most tendencies are more useful than harmful. In big decisions, the conscious brain should have a lead. Sometimes you have a gut instinct that leads you to one direction. It can lead you to the right decision. When you have two equal options, listen to your unconscious mind and do the decision based on its impressions.

This is all for now,

Next week I will not publish anything. I will be back after a fortnight.

-TT

Sleeping

Last week I published a text about the daily cycle. It didn´t have anything about sleeping which is at least as important as maximizing the effects of the peak hours and minimizing the effects of a daily slump. I will also explain in the end how I improved my sleep. It is based on my own experience and has some scientific facts, but don´t copy my habits. Instead, do it on your own, if you feel it is needed.

Most adults need from 7 to 10 hours of sleep

You can see many business leaders, presidents, politicians, and other famous people boast about their lack of sleep. Most of them lie to themselves. One percent of the people can live a full life with less sleep than six hours a day. Genetic mutation accomplishes this trait in the people. There are some deciding factors for the need of sleep. Maybe the most important one is your age. Children need more sleep than adults. Children need at least ten hours of sleep every day depending on their age. After becoming an adult the need to sleep is somewhere between seven and ten hours. Professional athletes and other people who exercise a lot must sleep for about ten hours. It is normal for athletes to have a nap during the day. I assume that applies to people with lots of cognitive activity during the day too. These people probably need a little bit less sleep than athletes.

Sleep is the ultimate performance enhancer

Sleep is the ultimate performance enhancer. Sleep helps you to clear out toxins from your body. It solidifies your immune system. Your chances of getting diseases diminish. It improves your memory utilization. It helps you to store your memories which improves your ability to learn. You can use your working memory better and it also strengthens your long term memory. It helps you to make better decisions. It improves your willpower and diminishes decision fatigue. You will also be more focused during the day. It even enhances your physical performance. Sleep deprivation has all the inverse effects compared to the enhancing effects.

How I improved my sleep

A couple of years ago I didn´t sleep that well. I couldn´t get sleep very fast after I went to bed. I could turn around in the bed for an hour or for many hours before I could sleep. I was tired for the whole day after this. Now I have fewer problems and I usually fall asleep fast after going to bed. It took a while before it got better. I did several things. First, I started to turn off my laptop before 10.00 pm. I think this was the best single thing I did to improve my sleep. I don´t have a smartphone, iPad, or similar equipment that emits the worst kind of light, blue light. Some scientists recommend not to use these things for about two hours before going to sleep. In my experience, this works well. There is another reason to do this too. It reduces the need to think about all the tasks for the next day. It also reduces unwanted signals from the world. I used to think them so much that ”smoke came out of my head.” I couldn´t sleep because of this.

I also have a limit for getting caffeine during the day. The maximum amount of coffee for me is about half a liter, which is about one pound. I have to drink all the coffee before 01.00 pm. There is no exact science behind this. Scientists have different opinions about this. They say that caffeine stays in your body from five to ten hours after drinking. Some people don´t suffer from this at all. They can drink coffee whenever they want. Start experimenting in timing the caffeine intake if you think that this is one option for you to improve your sleep. Exercise during the day is recommendable, but I avoid heavy exercise if I have to wake up early in the morning. Staying outside for a while every day has helped me to sleep better. I have no idea if there is any science behind this phenomena but to me it is useful.

I also have about the same bedtime routine every day. I think you have to design your own if you have trouble sleeping when you go to bed. First, use the bed only for sleeping and having sex. Do not use it for anything else. Second, start going to bed at the same time every day. You can have one or two exceptions during the weekend. Your main sleeping hours need to be the same every day. Third, I also don´t have my laptop in that room. Put your smartphone, laptop, and iPad before you go to bed to another room if you have one. If you need to use an alarm of your smart device to wake you up in the morning, keep it so far that you cannot start seeing the blue light after you go to bed. I doubt there is any science behind this, but I find it useful. Fourth, use blackout shades in your bedroom when you are in bed. Fifth, change your bedsheets weekly. Sixth, don´t leave any unfinished tasks or business behind when you go to bed. For example, if you use to-do lists, finish them early. Seventh, I express gratitude for three things before I start sleeping. I am sure there is no science behind this, I just lie to myself that this helps. If you don´t believe in expressing gratitude, forget it.

Please be aware that these methods I used to improve my sleep might not work for you. These methods are not dangerous and probably need tinkering. Find out what is best for you. You can read more from sources like:

Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker
Sleep Revolution, Arianna Huffington

Until next week,

-TT