Less Choices

This is something I wrote a while ago but I think it’s good to read it again.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the amount of mental power we need to use and waste every day in order to be able choose from a ridiculously large amount of choices we are constantly assaulted with. I revisited and re-read two great posts by Patrick Rhone (of Minimal Mac): Final Choices and Sensible Defaults.

In Final Choices, Patrick talks about the conscious act of buying and how good quality stuff is factored in the equation when making your final choice. He wrote:

Anywhere I can make a buying choice that I, with proper care and maintenance, will never have to make again for the rest of my life, I do. In those cases, I’m willing to pay far more for an item if I know it will last a lifetime and, even more importantly to me, I will never have to spend the mental energy making a choice again.

I take the above very seriously when considering the things I want to buy, especially the things that are not disposable, like a good piece of luggage, a good pen, a good pair of shoes or clothing, a good knife, etc. Having a final choice will make it easier for me to chose from a large pool of choices I am confronted with, because right there on the spot, by choosing good quality stuff, at least 70% of the stuff goes away. My choices are now less.

On the other post, Sensible Defaults, he talks about the defaults one chooses to have when buying those items (including the transient, disposable objects). He wrote:

Sensible defaults can reduce friction and provide simplicity anywhere one can think to apply them. They are the bedrock of minimalist practice and a quiet mind.

Another good way of having less choices. By having a default choice, a choice you already made once and you know it to be a good one, you are again making your having to choose from a large pool of options less of a pain, in fact by having a default your pool of choices is now reduced to only one choice. Simple.

These two ideas can be applied pretty much to everything, like the software we choose for a specific task.

Less choices are better. Less choices simplify life.

Take, for example, something that it is important to me: packing light. You can choose to bring a piece of luggage that has 3 compartments, 5 internal pockets, 4 external pockets, security straps, 3 different carrying options, detachable wheels, etc… Or you can choose a simple piece of gear that is big enough for the things you need, has only one big compartment for your clothing and only the necessary pockets to keep your small stuff organized in a simple and very accessible manner. I’ll go for the last one.
Again, less choice. In this particular case less choice means not having to think too much about the amount of stuff to bring since the pack is relatively small, or having to think too much about where to put each thing: in the top internal pocket? The side external pocket? What if I needed later? What if I need more? What if…

Simplicity is necessary in order to have less choices.

I prefer simple things: gear, software, clothing, you name it. Then I’ll learn each and every detail and feature about that particular object and I will use them to the fullest of their capacities.

I’m trying to achieve the same with choice. Strip choice to the bare minimum: by choosing quality, simplicity of design and options, I am reducing the amount of choice I have. I can then learn each detail on those items left on the pool of choices and choose wisely from them; and in doing so I am sparing the pain of having to do this again soon.