Minimalist CEO Part 0: Minimalism in Business
People associate minimalism with a kind of lifestyle. It’s the movement of downsizing one’s possessions to deprive oneself of stress, dissatisfaction, and over-consumption. But is it possible to be a minimalist in a working environment? For those who say yes, is there a way to make it work?
Everyone knows how practical minimalism can be outside of business. It’s not a secret that you can be successful and also own less. Less stuff means less stress, less clutter, and more time. It’s a good feeling because you want to handle your life as efficiently as possible to live the life you want.
But what about the other side? Minimalism in business? According to those who have practised it, it can work quite well. It’s a way of life and a mentality that can only be labelled as beneficial in work. If you start thinking about your business in a minimalist manner, you’ll have no problem making it work. It means that you don’t have to own over-burdensome and unnecessary items, and therefore reduce stress and discomfort throughout your everyday life. It also enables more time for work and fewer distractions, thereby improving efficiency. The second aspect is the elimination of waste. It’s the notion that what you own can be used as little as possible. This means that you get rid of anything used as little as possible, whenever possible, so your productivity doesn’t suffer. Plus, it also reduces the energy spent on keeping these items.
Therefore, we have the mentality of minimalism and the elimination of waste in business. Elimination of waste also means that you have to be sensible when acquiring new stuff in your office. You don’t have to be a minimalist, but you should try thinking about what your business looks like. Is there anything that you can do to make it look more minimalistic? Or is the mentality and elimination of waste in the industry a good idea for an office? It is a lot easier said than done, though, so take it easy and think about how you can cut down on the number of items in your office.
The first thing you can start doing is to think about what the business is. Is it a factory? A shop? If so, then a minimalist working mentality will be a lot less stressful if you’re in a factory environment. It will also go along with your identities as an employee and as a business owner. It will also reduce your stress and make you more efficient because you won’t be acquiring unnecessary junk that you won’t use but only waste. Plus, it will reduce your energy, because you won’t have to keep everything in check.
However, if your business is not a factory or a shop, you can think about how you can make it look more minimalist. The key to understanding minimalism is that you need to get rid of anything you don’t need. This includes paper documents, paperwork, pens and pencils that are just lying around in cabinets, stacks of papers on your desk and even unorganised documents with no files or labels attached to them. Start by getting rid of all the unnecessary junk on your desktop and your office as a whole.
It’s also essential to make sure that you’re using the things you own as much as possible, rather than keeping them around for a while then getting rid of them. It’s essential to make sure that you’re using everything you have to maximise the efficiency of your business. Minimalism in business can be a lot more interesting if it’s marketed correctly.
Second, consider the resources spent on travel, office contents and equipment and other stuff that doesn’t matter if the business does not function optimally. We all know that businesses nowadays need to consider the environment. But would you still be better off being a minimalist? It’s an interesting question and one that you can ask yourself when you’re thinking about your business. Many people have speculated about this topic, and many believe that being a minimalist concerning business is beneficial. But the question comes down to how much of a minimalist your business needs to be for it to work.
Business or not, it’s still a personal decision on what you should and shouldn’t do. You may be a person whose personality is that of noisiness, but if you find yourself constantly organising stuff and moving things around, then maybe it’s time to take a step back. You know that it will make your life a lot more stressful when you start doing that because all these things will no longer be organised as they should be. Perhaps you can use this as an opportunity to reconsider what your purpose is in business.
Finally, there are so many ways to practise minimalism in your business in terms of strategy. You don’t need to start with the unnecessary stuff just yet, even if you want to achieve the ultimate goal of minimalism. Be sensible because it still makes sense to keep some things in your offices like books and magazines for inspiration, for instance. Minimalism in business is an exciting concept that you’d want to consider in the future.
