Do you find yourself constantly procrastinating with your studies or work tasks? Do you find yourself unmotivated on a Monday morning? When I started learning more about minimalism and its benefits, minimalists constantly talk about how they are more productive and get things done efficiently, how they are more inspired to work and how they feel more fulfilled or satisfied with their life. I always respond to saying "Oh! I want that!". Hence, I delved into decluttering my way to productivity. And here is how minimalism can make you more productive:

1. Staying Organized. By eliminating physical clutter in our work or study area, we also create a visually clean space that gives you more physical space to work on, and promotes thought and creativity.
2. Prioritize. When you are about to start working, it is important to double check your list and prioritize what needs to be done, what is important and decide whether to delay or cancel a certain task that isn't so important for you.
3. Eliminate Distractions. By shutting out the digital distractions such as social media and physical distractions (i.e. clutter), you get to minimize procrastination and get things done. I don't eliminate social media fully but I schedule four 15 mins scroll time for twitter and instagram as a break from work or study.
4. Finding Passion. Some people think minimalism is all about not having a day job, meditating for the entire morning, travelling, etc. Minimalism actually helps identify what matters to you the most and discard the things that don't add value to your life. Hence, most minimalist I know quit their 9-5 jobs that are making them miserable and now they are doing the things that they love such as blogging, travelling, opening their business. I, for example, replaced my regular day job (that has also led me to weight gain and stress) and I am on my way to doing what I want to do with my life. Currently, I do have a 9-5 job but it is not as stressful and demanding as my previous job and I am maintaining my blog as a creative outlet. The point is, do something that makes you happy, that doesn't ruin your health because at the end of the day, we need a job or business that will make us live (financially) or feel alive (satisfaction).
5. Minimize decision fatigue. We start making decisions even before going to work.  We decide what to eat for breakfast, what to wear, what to do with our hair, etc. We make so many decisions in a day that it sometimes affects our productivity and focus, it drains our energy as well. Hence, minimalists suggest creating morning, work or evening routines to (kind of) put our actions into auto-pilot, decluttering your clothes and plan your outfits during the start of the week, meal-prep your meals to help lessen prep time, etc.

Tips to Become More Productive Through Minimalism:
- Start with a clean work space.
- Create your to do list. Identify your most important task, do list queuing, omit a task that is not important.
- Do a "mind dump".  Write on a piece of paper your "mind dump" of things that pops out of your head that may be dealt with later.
- Learn to say "no" to things you don't want to do.
- Stop multitasking. Focus on one task at a time.
- Take meaningful breaks. Such as a 15 minute snack or walk break.