Laws of Simplicity

Welcome 2010.

As I look back on 2009 it certainly was a year of ups and downs (mostly ups). We got a lot of projects off of the list in the past year, I switched jobs and I continue to be a proud father and fortunate husband.

Not going to get into a list of resolutions here but needless to say there is always room for improvement and adventure. I did start off the year diving into Lake Michigan in 17 degree weather. After not feeling my feet for a few minutes, everything returned to normal and I would consider doing it again.

The single biggest area that I would like to improve upon is organization. The house, my workspace, my digital life (e-mail, songs, photos, files, etc.).

I got the jump on 2010 by organizing all of my contact information in one place(Google Contacts) and sent out an e-mail to everyone in the list giving them the vitals (e-mail, mobile, facebook, twitter, etc.). Something I have wanted to do for a long time and a great feeling to have accomplished. A nice by-product is that I was able to reconnect with some people that I have lost touch with.

In late December I finished reading the Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda. Maeda is a professor at the MIT Media Lab. As such, I will share some of the "golden nuggets" in the book.

Central to the book - 10 Laws

1) REDUCE - The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
2) ORGANIZE - Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
3) TIME - Savings in time feel like simplicity.
4) LEARN - Knowledge makes everything simpler.
5) DIFFERENCES - Simplicity and complexity need each other.
6) CONTEXT - What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.
7) EMOTION - More emotions are better than less.
8) TRUST - In simplicity we trust.
9) FAILURE - Some things can never be made simple.
10) THE ONE - Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.

3 Keys

1) Away - More appears like less by simply moving it far, far away.
2) Open - Openness simplifies complexity.
3) Power - Use less, gain more.

Use the SLIP method for organizing - Sort, Label, Integrate, Prioritize
Tools for using can be found on lawsofsimplicity.com

Use your BRAIN

Basics are the beginning
Repeat yourself often
Avoid creating desperation
Inspire with examples
Never forget to repeat yourself

Always be learning (example):

In Karate, it is a symbol of pride to wear your black belt long enough so that it turns white again.

Focus:

Become a light bulb vs. a laser beam. You can either brighten a single point with laser precision or use the same light to illuminate everything around you.

Swimming:

A swimming teacher kept having his students lean back in the water. The students kept wanting to swim. After numerous times leaning back in the water, the teacher instructed the students to roll over in the water and flap their arms and legs. A formative moment occurred when the students learned that they could always swim they just needed to trust the water.

And BTW, a book about simplicity was 100 pages long. Easy enough to finish on a shorter flight.

2010 is going to be a great year.