#Reverb11 / #WEverb11 Day 12 : 12 Things

Simplicity is Hard by Will Lion 

12 Things {via Geekin' Hard email list}

What are 12 things your life doesn’t need in 2012? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 12 things change your life? 
(Props to original Author: Sam Davidson) 

If you did Reverb10, how are you making out on your 11 Things from last year?

When looking back at my 11 Things from last year, I was pretty successful with a number of them. The decluttering process has been wonderfully freeing, even if it feels like it's never-ending. I've gotten really good at saying no when people ask if we want a hand-me-down and avoiding all forms of freebies that I don't really need. We've also taken at least 12 boxes of items over to Goodwill this year. The kitchen and living room are feeling much more airy and comfortable than they used to, but the bedroom and office still need some serious work.  As for bad TV shows/movies/books, I have no shame in bailing if I'm not drawn in or actively detest it {ahem, Dexter season 6, I'm looking at YOU}. I'm doing better with filling up my previously empty social calendar, and I'm continuously working on eliminating excuse words like "busy." And I only bought two ecourses this year, The Joy Equation from Stratejoy and Elise's "Big Minibook Workshop" PDF. I took a month-long break from Facebook and deleted my LinkedIn account as a part of my assessment of time wasters.

Onto 12 in 2012. A few of these 12 things to eliminate are repeats from last year, and I've added some new ones that seem pertinent for the year ahead.

1. Dairy. This was something that I had been avoiding pretty consistently, but recently fell off the wagon. We've had too many get-togethers where I haven't been able to avoid the cheese and crackers platter, cheesy pasta dishes, and have indulged in at least one glass of dairy milk with a chocolate chip cookie. And my formerly-clear complexion is suffering for it {cystic acne in particular can often be helped by eliminating dairy, as well as some issues with (eww) congestion/mucus}. I felt so much better by only eating *small* amounts of goat cheese and Greek yogurt, so I'll be returning to that way of eating.

2. Doubt. Stop second guessing myself, my abilities, and my choices. Simple as that.

3. Buying clothes. I didn't buy much this year, but I enjoyed the decluttering and simplifying process so much that I've decided not to buy any new clothes in 2012 {except for basics like socks and underwear and other completely necessary replacement items like the white t's that get grody}.

4. Buying books. This is much harder for me to commit to than clothes, because I like books more than clothes. But after Kaileen decided to challenge herself not to buy new books, I took a look at my bookshelf and found 67 partially-read and unread books. I'm joining in on a book ban, except for book club books. This also means no trips to the library. If a book purchase happens, there has to be a "one in, one out" policy.

5. The "all or nothing" mentality. This often deters me from trying new things, because I fall into the trap of feeling that the only things worth doing are the things I can do well. I know that's not true, especially with all the thought I've put into the idea of closing the gap that Ira Glass spoke about.

6. Flakiness. I've written about "stick-to-it-ness" before, and although I now have more tools in my toolbox for setting and sticking to goals, I really would like to work on utilizing them regularly. This also applies to social situations-- while I've definitely been better about trying to meet new people, I admittedly flake out on commitments on occasion. I don't want to be that friend so this is something else I'd like to eliminate in 2012.

7. White foods -- white bread, white rice, white pasta, white potatoes, flour tortillas. While I already love health foods like brown rice, quinoa, and whole wheat bread, I also have a weakness for pasta, fresh bakery bread, sushi, mashed potatoes and burritos/fajitas with flour tortillas. I don't plan on banning them completely {because that would give me the sads} but I do want to incorporate healthier options like whole wheat pasta and sprouted grain bread and tortillas, saving the white versions for the occasional treat.

8. Time wasters. Namely, the internet. I have some ideas for time management to put to use that should help me stay focused and on-task as I work on committing to my goals.

9. Devaluing. I want to be able to take a compliment, be proud of my work {no matter who else is or isn't}, and not be afraid to share myself and my work with others.

10. Convention. I'm really good at being creative and living my life in a creative way, and I love that about myself. BUT. I so often try to fit into convention, the norm, what's possible or "normal." This causes me to worry too much about what other people are thinking about what I'm doing, and therefore limits my creativity and my sense of possibility. A better approach: Ignore the people who seemed concerned with what's standard or traditional, and focus on pushing my own boundaries.

11. Background TV. Because it's annoying. Background music {or NPR or podcasts} is so much better.

12. Multi-tasking. I used to pride myself on my multi-tasking abilities. I'd go to the gym and have my iPod on, the TV on the machine going, and be holding a magazine. I work with a ridiculous number of tabs open in Firefox, and open a new one every time a new thought pops into my head. But I don't feel productive this way anymore. I feel distracted. Maybe this is what happens as you get older, or maybe I've hit my mental threshold when it comes to how many pieces of technology I need to manage in a given day. I've already found myself unable to continue at my former pace, and I plan to scale back even further to get to a comfortable state of focus instead of trying to do it all at once.