Simple is not easy. Meditation, for example, is a very simple thing to do: sitting still for some time while observing one's thoughts. But it’s really, really hard. Easy is not simple. It’s easy to follow a 30-step instruction sheet. But it’s very complex.
Simplicity is extremely hard. It’s at the core of the designer’s work. It means always saying no. Saying no to temptations, no to social activities, no to commitments, no to frivolous tasks, no to new features, no to new projects, no to new ideas. By contrast, it is easy to add more and bigger stuff to your life: a bigger house, a shinier car, more furniture, more decoration, more toys, more tools, more apps, more games, more clothing, more activities and outings, more pets, more clutter, more meetings, more unfinished projects, more waste. This all comes with less time, less energy and less focus.
Taking the difficult decisions today makes a better, easier life down the road. If you eat healthy today, you’ll end up having less health issues further along. Elegant solutions always come with deep thinking. It takes intense focus and dedication through many iterations. A simple solution is the outcome of a difficult and long process. Taking the time to come up with a simple system design makes a better, more reliable, and more flexible product.
Simple makes life easy. If you have less things to worry about, you have more options, you are more flexible, and you have more energy to focus on the things that are important to you. It’s then easier for you to switch gears. If you don’t book a hotel far in advance, it’s easy to decide to not go and stay longer where you are if you’re having a great time, or to go someplace else. It’s easier to change a software component if it isn’t tightly coupled with others. It’s then just about making the choice, without the overhead of constraints.
The way to bring simplicity in daily life is by applying via negativa: the negative way. Removing stuff, not doing stuff. Doing less, and doing better, getting more value. Focusing on the essential. Simple software applications adopt the UNIX philosophy: doing one thing, and doing it well.
Simple processes make life easy. When you take the time to carefully think through a new process, you’re making the decision in quiet time to help you succeed when you’re in the heat of the moment. You won’t need to sweat out a decision for each and every occurrence of the same situation: the decision has already been made, you just follow the process. Think deeply about a process you care about, make the decision, and don’t look back.
Rules are the simplest of processes: a rule is either followed or transgressed. You can’t cheat. A single exception destroys the rule. It’s easier to follow "I don’t eat animal products" than "I try to eat less meat". Once you’ve decided that you are vegan, there’s no struggle when you see an animal product: you just pass, because you’ve already made the decision. Imagine how much more difficult would life be if you had to decide every night whether or not to brush your teeth before going to bed. Remember why you’ve made the decision. What would someone like the person you aspire to become do?
Taking the first step is the hardest part. It’s awkward because it’s different. Avoid spending too much time pondering how it feels, how fake you are; just do it and move on. Your ego only needs a couple of seconds to talk you out of it. It hates change because it doesn’t want you to evolve; doing so would kill it. So don’t give it a chance: just follow the process. Almost like a robot. This is precisely how processes make it easy.
As everything we do, we get better at it over time and practice. The more often you repeat a given pattern, the more it becomes part of you. Each time you follow the process, you’re making it easier for you the next time. You’re turning your processes into habits. At some point it becomes the new norm and you’ll feel awkward not doing it.
It takes 10,000 hours to master a new skill. There isn’t a whole lot you can become master at in a lifetime. You’d also better like the process, because that’d be an awful lot of hours wasted otherwise. So be deliberate about which ones you choose. Pick a handful, and fully commit. It’s that simple.