Addition by Subtraction

Notes

Claim

We think the improvements only comes from addition, adding new stuff, new layers, new features, and we are cognitively blind to thinking about improvements in terms of subtraction - remove Complexity, remove Friction is resistance that blocks action and behavior adoption, simplify the product. Distraction by novelty undermines commitment and depth

Explanation

According the minimalism, we are spending too much time, effort, money and attention is things that are negatively correlated with our wellbeing. Moderation. While those things are not bad of themselves, having too much of those has caused it to transition from useful to harmful Each additional unit provides progressively less value.

This means that in some areas of our lives, such as our online presence Our attention is the product that media companies sell, materialism and our habits, we need Self Reflection and distill each component to it's attributes and figure out when it is enough and when it's too much. The likely result is that we will figure out that we have too much things, and by having less, we would actually make our lives better.

Why it matters

Examples

This could be relevant to all parts in life, such as:

• when creating a new product, try to look for the most simple version, and not the most complex (with the most features) Distilling to essentials creates clarity and actionability
• when writing a document, sometimes there is such thing as too much editing
• when our life is too busy/difficult, looking for the things most interrupting us that we should remove might be more helpful then adding new habits (such as waking up even earlier to achieve all that we want, maybe we should just decrease the amount of the obligations we have) Saying no protects time and energy for what matters most

For example, having one car might make sense, but having a dozen is a hassle, since you need multiple insurances, parking space for all, etc. In this example, having less cars is actually better for you, while it doesn't contradict that having a car is better than no car.

Supporters

Opposers

Open questions

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Overview

🔼Topic:: Conditions for Creative Thinking 🔼Topic:: Prioritization and Leverage ↩️Origin:: Hidden Brain 🔗Link:: Source