Occasional Thoughts

Occasional Thoughts

Jim Kast-Keat  //  Jim Kast-Keat is a writer, speaker, pastor, and pathological optimist. Congratulations on finding his blog. Ten points for you. To find out more, head over to jimkastkeat.com and start exploring.

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Mar 9 / 12:05pm

The Difference Five Miles Less Makes

This month I'm giving up five miles per hour.  Whether it's downtown Holland, the highway, or any roads in between I am driving five miles under the speed limit.

This means I'm that annoying person cruising along at 65 mph as I pass the semi you've been waiting to zip around.  I'm the one forcing you to slow down.  You're welcome.

I realized a few weeks ago just how much the highway is a depiction of the way we live our lives.  We are either looking at where we're going, watching for what's ahead through the windshield, or we are looking at where we've been, watching the traffic behind us through the rear view mirror.  The one thing we are missing is where we are, this present moment that is sailing past us at a steady 70+ mph.

By driving five miles less, I am reminding myself that the present moment is the only true moment.  Anticipation and recollection only exist in my mind; the present is the only moment that truly exists.

What difference does five miles less make?  When it comes to being (and remaining) present, it makes all the difference.  What about the time it takes to make my daily commute from Holland to Grandville?  I haven't even noticed a difference.  I used to push my speedometer higher and higher, only to shave of seconds from my overall drive.

Drive five miles less.  It will change your life without changing the time of your commute!
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Mar 2 / 4:33am

Categorize My Life.

I thought I had this figured out.  All last month I focused on simplifying, minimizing, and organizing my corner of the digital world.  

One major part of this was creating a simple and usable folder system to categorize my life.  I want to use this folder system for my email, my online bookmarks, all my computer files and documents, and everything else that needs a "place."

Here's my current list: 
  • 01 Mars Hill 
  • 02 FamFriendsEtc
  • 03 Jim, Inc.
  • 04 Education
But I'm not sure if it's the best.  Because technically "Mars Hill" is a part of "Jim, Inc." but since it's the part of "Jim, Inc." that I spend most of my time and attention on (and receive the most consistent paychecks from) I gave it it's own file.

FamFriendsEtc works decently well as an email folder, but not the greatest as a computer folder.

And where do pictures and music go?  (On my computer I've created an "All Media" folder for all things media.)  Writing and speaking obviously fits in Jim, Inc. but what about design work?  Should that be collected in one space or just wherever I use it (for this website thing, for that Mars Hill thing, etc.)?

What it comes down to is this: I need your help.  From what you know of me (and if you don't know, feel free to ask), how do you think I should categorize my life?  Your words could aid to my lifelong organization.

(A similar conversation could be had for the use - or misuse - of tags/categories on a blog like this...)

Ready, set, help.
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Mar 1 / 6:02am

Five Miles Less

With the first day of a new month comes the first day of another of my "12 months of simplicity."  

Just as January's "100 things" and February's "digital directory downsize" drastically changed the way I view my possessions and my digital clutter, this month has the potential to drastically change the way I am present in the world.

For the entire month of March I will be giving up five miles per hour.  Whatever the posted speed limit is, I will drive five miles less.

I realized the other day that when we are driving - as well as with most of life - we are not truly present.  We are looking through the windshield at where we're going and what's coming next or we are looking in the rear view mirror at what's behind us and what we're leaving.  When all the while the world is flashing past us at a deadly speed.

In the Pixar classic Cars, Lightning McQueen is forced to slow down.  And when he does, he realizes the beauty and the wonder that has been present the entire time, only his life on the highway led him to perpetually overlook it.

Life is right here; it is not somewhere else.  My driving five miles less throughout the month of march, I hope to recognize the present, free myself from the tyranny of life on fast-forward, and discover a world that has been here the whole time while I was ignorantly speeding along.
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Feb 28 / 6:11pm

Complexity by Jim Kast-Keat.

My friend Lori just launched the website for her concierge business, Simplicity by loribeth.  She offers an array of services that will help simplify your life.  She'll do your shopping, plan your events, and other things to reduce the complexity that fills up your life.

Speaking for myself, my life is naturally complex.  It's not intentional, but for some reason new things seem to creep up and add up, giving me too many blogs, online profiles, activities, projects, and more.  This weekend is proof.  I (re)discovered Foursquare and Gowalla, signed up for them both, and deleted them, all in one weekend.

My life is simply complex.

With the first two months of the year behind us, my Project 2010 is 1/6 complete.  I have reduced my personal possessions to under 100 and I have reorganized my digital life, reducing some online profiles and arranging (and backing up) my computer files and documents. 

And I want to, I need to keep going.  Because, as my friend Ryan reminded me the other day, simplicity wins.

Most recently I have revamped my daytum site, eliminating my collection of coffee shop and sleep data, focusing it purely on water.  As I mentioned above, I jumped into and pulled out of Foursquare and Gowalla.  And I am continuing to rethink all the websites and groups I am a part of and contribute to.  Which ones are essential?  Which ones are necessary?

As I continue moving my fingers in this probably disjointed rant, I want to request your help.  
  • Of all the online things you participate in, which ones are truly essential and which ones are absolutely necessary?  
  • And feel free to make suggestions for me - what should I keep and what should I drop?

In case you're wondering, here's the "short" list of everything I contribute to or participate in online:
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Feb 24 / 5:22pm

100 Things + Website

Congratulations to me.  I "officially" own (less than) 100 things.

Want proof?  Check out my one hundred things website.

Please, no gifts for this amazing accomplishment.  They would kind of defeat the purpose...

   

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Feb 22 / 6:14am

Essential.

Project 2010 has changed (and is changing) my life.  Yesterday was a tipping point.

I have long recognized the need for simplicity in my overly-complex life, and while I had cognitively embarked on this journey, I am beginning to physically take more and more steps forward.

The latest steps are the result of two separate voices: Twyla Tharp and Leo Babatua.

One of our Fifty6 interns gave a report on Twyla Tharp's book A Creative Habit.  From the list of quotes he passed out and walked through, a few struck especially close:

"The routine is as much a part of the creative process as the lightning bolt of inspiration, maybe more."

"Every day you don't practice you're one day further from being good."

"Get busy copying."

"If I stopped reading, I'd stop thinking.  It's that simple."

Later that same day, with these quotes and ideas fresh in my mind, I read Leo Babauta's less on mnmlist.com.  All fifty words are worth reading, but the middle section especially stood out to me:

Taking both these authors (prophets?) seriously, I want to identify four things that are essential to my life.  I want to develop an intentional routine, practicing every day, getting busy copying, and reading, reading, reading.

My four essentials are:
  1. Love Jes.
  2. Write.
  3. Read.
  4. Stop and breathe.
My plan?  To intentionally do these every morning (before noon).  And like nearly everything else in Project 2010, I will be keeping track of how I do (the facade of public accountability works wonders in my life).  So check out the latest addition to daytum.com/jimkastkeat to see my "yes/no" ratio.  (I have a bit of catching up to do.)

But enough about me, what about you?  What are the four most essential things in your life?
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Feb 12 / 2:32pm

TOO MUCH [digital] CLUTTER

Last January I realized I owned too much stuff.  It just kept (and keeps) piling up.  As I minimized my personal possessions to under 100, I realized how much of it I never used and didn't need.

Now I'm doing a similar task, only for my digital life.  And I'm realizing that I have even more crap/clutter in this realm.  There is so much to pour through, so much to (re)organize.  Because what's the point of having something if it will never be useful?

My goal is to create a system to both store and access all things digital, making them usable for me (and maybe even for others).  This includes my own file system, web browser bookmarks, online accounts, delicious.com, various websites I manage, dropbox, and more.

What have I done so far?  Two things.  I remade my computers file structure so it's actually usable.  And I set up a system for my bookmarks in my web browser.

Below is (the first three layers of) my folder structure.  How does it compare to what you use?  How could I improve it?
  • EVERYTHING
    • All Media
      • Images
      • Music
      • Software
      • Video
    • Education
      • Articles + Things Worth Reading
      • Books + Lecture Notes, Outlines, Etc
      • Cornerstone University (2002 - 2005)
      • Western Theological Seminary (2008 - )
    • FamFriendsEtc
      • Finances
      • Hobbies
      • Kast-Keat Library
      • Wedding
      • Other
    • Jim, Inc
      • Archive
      • Design
      • PR
      • Song Charts
      • Speaking
      • Websites
      • Writing
    • Mars Hill
      • Archive
    • On Deck (downloads)
As for my web browser bookmarks, this is my latest configuration.  (They all have various subfolders that are in various states of disarray; that's a whole other project...)  How do you manage yours?  How could I improve mine?
  • 01 Mars Hill
  • 02 FamFriendsEtc
  • 03 Jim, Inc
  • 04 Education
  • TRY THIS
  • BLOG THIS
Now that I have the structure, time to reformat and consolidate the content.  And then actually use the thing!

And like I said earlier, this is only the beginning.  I am hoping to "finish" things by the end of the month.  But ultimately this becomes an ongoing process, a structure that I maintain and utilize the rest of the year (and maybe even the rest of my life?)
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Feb 8 / 5:27pm

Delete, Delete, Delete.

That's what's my computer was doing last night.

I'm on day eight of my Digital Directory Downsize (or "D3" if you want to sound hip).  While there is no magic number like I had last month, but it is many the digital version of my 100 things project.  I am reorganizing folders and files, creating a usable (and hopefully permanent) structure.

And I'm deleting files and folders and programs that I do not need.

While simplicity is the opposite of complexity, minimalism is realizing what is and isn't necessary.  Is it possible to discover what is truly essential and delete the rest?

There's still a ways to go with Project2010 and my 12 Months of Simplicity, but I'm ready to find out.

Ready, set, simplicity.

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Feb 6 / 4:40pm

this is what happens when I give the internet a facelift.

Welcome to the internet.

This is my corner.  Or at least one of them.

And this is what you can expect from here on out.  No more wordpress (at least for my own personal blog).  No more billion new themes.  No more complexity.

Welcome to simplicity.

Looking for Project 2010 blog posts?  This is the place.  Looking for Whatever You Do blog posts?  Yep, they're here too.  Along with all of my Occasional Thoughts that you've come to know and love.

But this downsizing isn't the only facelift I've given the world wide web.  Check out the latest updates to Simply Creative, Project 2010, and Whatever You Do.

Internet, you're looking good.
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Feb 5 / 11:29am

Digital Directory Downsize

A new month means a new motif of simplicity.  Now that I own less than 100 things, time to tackle my digital life.

My plan for this month (and hopefully tomorrow) is to pour through all my files and photos as well as the fingerprints I leave online, honing them all in to a manageable system and number.

And here's how you can help:

What programs do you use to manage your computer?  What works?  What doesn't?
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