0:01

Every little thing

0:03

you think that

0:06

you need every

0:08

little thing you

0:11

think that you need

0:14

every little thing you

0:16

think that you need

0:19

every little thing you

0:21

think that you need

0:24

Every little thing that's

0:26

just feeding your greed.

0:29

Oh, I bet that

0:31

you'll be fine without

0:34

it. You're listening to

0:36

the Minimalist podcast with

0:39

Joshua Fields Milburn and

0:41

T.K. Coleman, recorded live

0:43

at Earthing Studios in

0:45

Sunny California. Yes, thank you,

0:47

Alabama. A little special bonus episode. You're

0:50

here in my voice right now.

0:52

Our studio is actually closed this week.

0:54

I'm on the East Coast, I'll

0:56

be out in DC and Virginia and

0:58

Maryland, filming for the minimalist new

1:00

documentary. But we didn't want you to

1:03

go another week without a little bit

1:05

of the minimalists in your life.

1:07

And so I thought we'd answer a

1:09

question today about smart devices. What

1:11

do you got for us, Alabama? We

1:14

have a question here from Mindy.

1:16

She said, I would like to go

1:18

without so many smart devices. I have

1:20

an Apple watch, Appellaton, a Whoop, and

1:23

some additional health and fitness and fitness

1:25

trackers. How much do I really need

1:27

to be obsessed with my health and

1:29

fitness measurements? Whoop, there it is. Come

1:31

on, CK. You've been saving that one

1:33

for a long time. Yes, he has.

1:35

Since the song came out. Yeah, yeah,

1:38

right. So the smart device thing is

1:40

interesting. I have a smart device on

1:42

right now. It is an aura ring.

1:44

I used to track my sleep. But

1:46

I also know that my wife went

1:48

a period with just completely going without

1:50

it because she began to obsess over

1:52

it. And I think to me that

1:54

is the point where it makes sense

1:56

to set something down. If it becomes

1:58

an obsession as opposed to a... Sometimes

2:01

measurements are helpful. They allow us to identify, maybe

2:03

it's a blood glucose monitor, right? Or maybe it

2:05

is some sort of sleep tracker, or it's a

2:07

fitness tracker. This actually does both. It helps me

2:09

understand what my patterns are. It also helps me

2:11

understand when do I go to bed on average.

2:13

Here's a stat I looked up this morning because

2:16

I knew we'd be talking about this question. And

2:18

my worst sleep nights of the entire week. on

2:20

average almost every week are Monday nights because we

2:22

come in here. I know we come in here

2:24

on Tuesdays and so like I think I just

2:26

hyped myself up the night before like I've got

2:28

to get a great night's sleep I got to

2:31

get a great night's sleep I got to get

2:33

a great night's sleep oh what's my sleep? I

2:35

don't even look at the sleep scores in the

2:37

morning because then it makes me even feel worse

2:39

because every other day it's like oh you got

2:41

another amazing sleep score your sleep score was 93

2:43

last night I'm like well. on podcast days like

2:46

your sleep score was a 63 and you were

2:48

tossing and turning and it took you a while

2:50

to fall asleep and And sometimes that type of

2:52

measuring can make us a bit neurotic, or it

2:54

can point us in a direction in which we

2:56

want to travel. Reminds me of the old CS

2:58

Lewis quote, a man who tries to measure how

3:01

quickly he is falling asleep is likely to remain

3:03

awake all night. Sometimes we forget that measurement is

3:05

a means to an end. And when measurement becomes

3:07

the thing itself, when it becomes the focal point

3:09

of the obsession, then it's just another distraction. I

3:11

think some of these devices are a real blessing.

3:13

They help us better understand our biology. I have

3:16

a friend who has a continuous glucose monitor and

3:18

she was talking about how it really helps. She

3:20

understands like if I eat a banana, I get

3:22

this huge insulin spiker and it makes me feel

3:24

a particular way as well. So you can see

3:26

which foods trigger you don't have to have that

3:28

in perpetuity. And I think the same is true

3:31

with any of these devices that can be a

3:33

wonderful blessing. As soon as they become obligatory, I

3:35

have to use these. things, I have to measure,

3:37

I have to monitor, these obligatory blessings become a

3:39

burden. And you know, it's like that when we

3:41

start a new venture. Maybe there's some new subject

3:43

you want to learn, and someone says, oh, here's

3:46

a great book to start, oh, but this one's

3:48

really good too because it... highlights these aspects of

3:50

it. Now this one's really good because it makes

3:52

all the ideas accessible, but this one's good because

3:54

it has a lot of good stories that really

3:56

stick with you. This is really good because it's

3:58

more nuanced, and then you buy five books on

4:01

the topic you haven't read one, or you buy

4:03

a new computer, you buy some new technology, you

4:05

buy some new technology, you buy a new TV.

4:07

Oh, you buy some new technology, you buy a

4:09

new TV. Oh, you buy some new technology, you

4:11

buy some new technology, you buy a new TV,

4:13

you buy, you buy some new technology, you buy,

4:16

you buy some new technology, you buy, you buy

4:18

some new technology, you buy, you buy some new

4:20

technology, you buy new technology, you buy new technology,

4:22

you buy new technology, you buy new TV, you

4:24

buy new technology, you buy new TV, you buy

4:26

new TV, you buy new technology, you buy new

4:28

TV, you, you buy new technology, you buy new

4:31

TV, you buy new technology, you, you in the

4:33

rhythm of our lives. Social media is another thing.

4:35

Oh, you got a business, you got a brand,

4:37

you got a product you want to promote. Well,

4:39

this is a social media where all these people

4:41

are hanging out. Here's a social media where these

4:43

people who are also your clients, and this is

4:46

the one that's popular in the US, this is

4:48

the one that's popular in the US, this is

4:50

the one that's popular in the US, this is

4:52

the one that's popular in the UK, this is

4:54

the one that's popular in the one that's popular

4:56

in the US, popular in the US, popular in

4:58

the US, this popular in the one that's popular

5:01

in the UK, this popular in the US, this

5:03

popular in the US, this popular in the US,

5:05

this is popular in the one that's popular in

5:07

the US, this is popular in the US, this

5:09

is popular in the one that's popular in the

5:11

US, this is popular in the one that's popular

5:13

in the US, this popular in the US, this

5:16

is popular in the US, and say, let me

5:18

give myself the chance to experience how this flows

5:20

and integrates with the rhythms of my life, and

5:22

then ask myself a month later, do I need

5:24

to add something to it? So you got

5:26

three things, or however many you got,

5:28

you don't need to get rid of

5:31

them all permanently, but you can say,

5:33

let me just see what it's like

5:35

to go this week wearing only one,

5:37

or using only one. And you can

5:40

rotate and see how that feels, because...

5:42

Maybe you bought all these things with

5:44

excitement and maybe they do all have

5:46

something amazing to offer, but you don't

5:48

have to have them all. And you

5:51

know what the most powerful sentence in

5:53

your question was that gives you more

5:55

guidance than anything we could say? It's

5:57

when you said, I would like to

5:59

go without so many smart devices. That's

6:02

your heart talking to you. And you've

6:04

got the power to make that happen.

6:06

At first, maybe your heart was talking

6:08

to you in a different way. I

6:10

would like to try to measure, to

6:13

try to track some things, but you

6:15

probably had a why behind that. My

6:17

sleep kind of sucks. Or you know

6:19

what? I think that if I measure

6:21

my fitness standards, then I will end

6:24

up becoming more fit. And then you

6:26

start to get into the more granular.

6:28

What do I want out of this?

6:30

Is it six-pack abs? Or I just

6:32

want to feel really good when I

6:35

wake up in the morning. I want

6:37

to feel really good when I'm playing

6:39

with my kids in the evening. And

6:41

so these things can help. point you

6:43

in that direction, but don't confuse these

6:46

things. This is the finger pointing at

6:48

the moon. It is not the moon

6:50

itself. And unfortunately, we often play dress

6:52

up. And this is fitness dress up.

6:54

It's like, if I just put on

6:57

all the right accessories, I get all

6:59

the right accoutrements, it's like, I think

7:01

about the guy who shows up at

7:03

the park and he's got the brand

7:05

new basketball shorts and the brand new

7:08

Jordans on, he's got the. Oh, this

7:10

guy's gonna get school today. He has

7:12

no idea, because he's playing dress up.

7:14

He's cosplaying as a basketball player. And

7:17

we have to be careful not to

7:19

cosplay as a fitness person. I want

7:21

to be this type of person, so

7:23

I'm just gonna buy that person's accessories.

7:25

I'll buy a really expensive computer, doesn't

7:28

make me Stephen King. And yet, these

7:30

tools can be useful. Jimmy Hendricks did

7:32

use a guitar. And... Of course, Stephen

7:34

King uses a computer or a typewriter

7:36

or a pencil. He uses some sort

7:39

of instrument to write these stories. The

7:41

tools are useful when you're able to

7:43

use them. However, if you're just buying

7:45

things because of what we call that,

7:47

Pleinoxia, the things that you can count.

7:50

I often think about minimalism. Minimalism is

7:52

not about counting your things. It's about

7:54

owning only the things that count. And

7:56

do these things count for you. And

7:58

if not, then they might be clutter.

8:01

They might be getting in the way.

8:03

Simple living doesn't have to do with

8:05

getting rid of everything, but if something

8:07

is in your way, getting it out

8:09

of the way is the best way

8:12

to move forward. Now, now you had

8:14

some more insights here. You had an

8:16

article. Was it from The Times? Yeah,

8:18

this is from the New York Times

8:20

called The Fitness Trends that experts hate

8:23

by Taylor Minzberg. Here's what she had

8:25

to say. Fitness advice on social media

8:27

can be littered with misinformation and impossible

8:29

promises. No single exercise can give you

8:31

a six-pack and just because someone has

8:34

a large following doesn't mean they're qualified

8:36

to give fitness advice, said Dr. Amy

8:38

Commander, the director of the Lifestyle Medicine

8:40

Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. If you

8:42

are setting a fitness goal this year,

8:45

it's wise to steer clear of any

8:47

fitness plan that promises a quick and

8:49

easy fix. If something sounds too good

8:51

to be true, it probably is. focus

8:54

on finding movements you enjoy and building

8:56

a regular habit rather than the latest

8:58

miracle workout. I asked dozens of experts

9:00

about the fitness trends that irk them

9:02

the most and what they recommended doing

9:05

instead. Number one. Skip the 75 hard

9:07

challenge. Do you guys remember talking about

9:09

this with Nicodemus? Yeah, and he really

9:11

enjoyed it So but I think it's

9:13

that for some people that's like a

9:16

reset and for some people I think

9:18

it's it's overwhelming Last week on the

9:20

private podcast. We were talking about the

9:22

the owning of or the investments right

9:24

and how sometimes when we get so

9:27

overwhelmed because it feels like I can't

9:29

invest enough or I need to put

9:31

so much in that I'm just going

9:33

to throw my hands up. How am

9:35

I possibly going? to set aside 25%

9:38

of my income or 15% of my

9:40

income, no, it's starting somewhere. And sometimes

9:42

these things can actually get in the

9:44

way when we feel like there's too

9:46

much to take on. Yeah. Here's what

9:49

the article continues to say is the

9:51

viral challenge 75 Hard took hold last

9:53

year. The key to mental and physical

9:55

toughness its proponents claimed was following a

9:57

set of daily rules for 75 days.

10:00

Work out twice. 45 minutes, maintain a

10:02

strict diet, drink a gallon of water,

10:04

and read at least 10 pages of

10:06

nonfiction, among other things. While the idea

10:08

of transforming yourself in 75 days might

10:11

sound appealing, the challenge is extremely unsustainable,

10:13

said Victoria Secoli, a physical therapist in

10:15

New Jersey and the founder of TrainSmart,

10:17

runs strong, a running and strength coaching

10:19

program. It is quite possibly the worst

10:22

way to set good habits. Exercising twice

10:24

a day, especially if you're new to

10:26

a workout, is a good way to

10:28

injure yourself and to create completely unrealisticistic

10:31

expectations around exercise, she added. To build

10:33

a healthy exercise habit, start simply and

10:35

find an activity that you enjoy enough

10:37

to practice consistently. If you have a

10:39

specific fitness goal, consider hiring a coach

10:42

or personal trainer who can work with

10:44

you to develop an individualized plan. Number

10:46

two, don't be fooled by targeted weight

10:48

loss workouts. Whether it's a side plank

10:50

for a flat stomach or Pilates for

10:53

toned arms, Tiktok and Instagram are brimming

10:55

with videos that claim there is one

10:57

move or workout that will help you

10:59

lose weight in one area of your

11:01

body, long before social media fitness magazines

11:04

made similar promises. But you should be

11:06

wary of anyone promoting spot reduction or

11:08

the idea that certain exercises will lead

11:10

to targeted weight loss, said Ray Rachlan,

11:12

the founder of Ladies who lived in

11:15

Chicago. While you can strengthen different muscle

11:17

groups by working different parts... of your

11:19

body, you cannot target where you want

11:21

to lose weight. Instead of hunting for

11:23

one move that can do it all,

11:26

practice a full-body strength training routine twice

11:28

a week, said Robin Lalonde, the head

11:30

coach and owner of the Edge athlete

11:32

lounge in Chicago. If you prefer to

11:34

work out at home, you can still

11:37

build strength with little or no equipment.

11:39

Maybe we pause there for a moment

11:41

just to recognize that Yeah, I think

11:43

that some of these going all the

11:45

way in like the 75 hard thing

11:48

is a bit challenging for someone and

11:50

it can be demoralizing but for some

11:52

people it can actually be inspired I

11:54

think about Nicodemus and I when we

11:56

first jumped into minimalism my approach was

11:59

a differently from his. I spent eight

12:01

months simplifying my life. I got rid

12:03

of about 90% of my possessions, but

12:05

it took me eight months. It wasn't

12:08

as extreme. He boxed up everything in

12:10

a weekend with me and then unpacked

12:12

only the things he needed over the

12:14

course of 21 days. I don't think

12:16

that would have worked for me. That

12:19

seemed too extreme for me. But for

12:21

someone like him, he benefited from being

12:23

able to do that and then carried

12:25

that forward, not because he was doing

12:27

a packing party every weekend or maybe

12:30

the 75. hard is not sustainable long

12:32

term, but maybe it sets up a

12:34

foundation upon which you can build. For

12:36

sure. Yeah, sometimes doing really hard things

12:38

can make you say, wow, that was

12:41

tough. I couldn't do that forever, but

12:43

what the heck? For 75 days in

12:45

a row, I did that? Well, if

12:47

I cut all of that in half

12:49

or down to the fourth, I could

12:52

probably live that. And now you know

12:54

what you're capable of. Yeah, you know

12:56

what your limits are, so then you

12:58

can set up a boundary that you

13:00

never have to go extend to those

13:03

limits again, but you can still have

13:05

a healthy habit in the process. For

13:07

sure. Number three is steer clear of

13:09

what I eat in a day videos.

13:11

Many fitness influencers share detailed videos of

13:14

their meals and snacks, often including calorie

13:16

counts and protein breakdowns. While these posts

13:18

may seem like harmless entertainment, they often

13:20

promote diets that don't fit everyone's needs.

13:22

All of us have different heights, different

13:25

weights, different body compositions, said Dr. Commander.

13:27

In some cases, comparing your own diet

13:29

to what you see on social media

13:31

might encourage disordered eating, said Meg and

13:33

Featherston, a sports dietitian in Kent, Ohio.

13:36

It's also worth remembering that those posts

13:38

may not even be accurate. What someone

13:40

shares may not be what they really

13:42

eat on a day-to-day basis, particularly if

13:45

they make a living promoting sponsored products.

13:47

If you're looking for guidance on what

13:49

to eat to support your fitness goals,

13:51

you will be better off making an

13:53

appointment with a nutritionist or a sports

13:56

dietitician. Number four, don't fixate on whether

13:58

your heart rate is in. zone 2.

14:00

In recent years everyone from running

14:02

influencers to Andrew Huberman has claimed

14:05

that low intensity zone 2 training

14:07

might be the secret to better

14:09

fitness. Zone 2 refers to the second

14:11

of five heart rate zones which

14:13

range from a relaxed effort to

14:15

your maximum intensity. Exercising in Zone

14:17

2 will help build endurance and

14:19

develop your aerobic capacity, and there

14:21

can be real benefits of spending

14:24

a lot of training time at

14:26

this effort, particularly for endurance athletes.

14:28

But he can also be counterproductive

14:30

to fixate on your heart rate,

14:32

said James McCurdy, the founder and

14:34

head coach of McCurdy Training, a

14:36

coaching service in Flagstaff, Arizona. Many

14:38

factors including stress, weather, and sleep

14:40

patterns can affect your heart rate and

14:42

your heart rate data on a smart watch

14:44

or fitness tracker, may not always be accurate.

14:46

Instead, Mr. McCurdy recommended paying

14:48

attention to how hard your

14:50

workout actually feels. If you're

14:52

focused on building your endurance,

14:54

many of your workouts should

14:56

be relatively easy. Aim for a pace

14:59

where you could hold a conversation. What

15:01

matters most is actual feeling

15:03

and intensity, Mr. McCurdy said.

15:05

Number four. Resist the urge to overshare your

15:07

workout stats. If you use a fitness tracker,

15:09

it can be tempting to obsess over the

15:12

data it gives you. But while some stats

15:14

can be helpful, it's far too easy

15:16

to go overboard, said Catherine Larson, a

15:18

cardiologist at the Sports Cardiology Clinic at

15:21

the Mayo Clinic. She said that some

15:23

of her patients are so fixated on

15:25

their devices that, quote, at the end

15:27

of the day, they've kind of lost

15:29

focus on why the exercise is important

15:31

in the first place. That can be

15:33

particularly true if you share and compare

15:35

your data on social media or apps

15:37

like Strava. The truth is those numbers

15:39

don't necessarily mean much without context, Dr.

15:41

Secali said. Instead of letting your watch

15:44

or an online audience shape your sense

15:46

of how you feel after a workout,

15:48

check in with yourself first. Don't

15:50

let the data dictate your day, Dr.

15:53

Secali said. If you felt good, that's

15:55

what counts. Even if your stats aren't

15:57

quite right, aren't quite what you expected.

16:00

Let's pause there and you know

16:02

we'll put a link to the

16:04

article in the show notes if

16:06

you want to read the whole

16:08

thing But I think that point

16:10

is an important one to wrap

16:12

up on here because sometimes you

16:14

might get some stats that demoralize

16:16

you and we get back to

16:18

these smart devices here and You

16:20

know what if I'm I exercise

16:23

every day, I go on a

16:25

long hike, and I go swimming

16:27

almost every day, and then I

16:29

also do some body weight stuff

16:31

in between. There are things I

16:33

tend to enjoy, and the measurement

16:35

is a byproduct of that. I

16:37

happen to be wearing the aura

16:39

ring when I'm doing that, or

16:41

if you're wearing a whoop strap,

16:44

or whatever else you're wearing. But

16:46

keep in mind, none of these

16:48

smart devices are essential. They're all

16:50

non-essential. Now they might add value

16:52

to your life, so they're not

16:54

junk if they add value to

16:56

your life, but you can exercise

16:58

without a smart device. You don't

17:00

need a particular piece of equipment

17:02

to be the fittest version of

17:05

you. You'll have access to whatever

17:07

you need in order to be

17:09

fit, and also understand that you

17:11

have access to things that you

17:13

enjoy. You know what? You don't

17:15

need any accoutrements to enjoy your

17:17

fitness. There is a pattern that

17:19

was present in that article we

17:21

just read that I'll apply to

17:23

this issue here and the pattern

17:26

of reasoning is XYZ can be

17:28

valuable. However, there is a context

17:30

within which XYZ can lead to

17:32

self-defeating or harmful results. That's true

17:34

of everything. Also the article. This

17:36

article can be valuable. If it

17:38

helps you avoid extremes, however, it

17:40

can be self-defeating and harmful if

17:42

you cause it to overwhelm you

17:44

and discourage you to the point

17:47

that you never do any work

17:49

out whatsoever. And so everything in

17:51

life can be valuable within a

17:53

proper context, but outside of that

17:55

context, outside of thinking critically and

17:57

knowing what balance looks and feels

17:59

like for you at a deeply

18:01

personal level, it can be harmful.

18:03

it all comes down for you.

18:05

What does balance look like? What

18:07

does balance feel like? If the

18:10

doctor said, hey I need you

18:12

to monitor your heart rate, all

18:14

right, what tool gives you that?

18:16

But I would take the approach

18:18

of saying, let me write down

18:20

the things that I can remember.

18:22

I want to focus on before

18:24

I look at the features, because

18:26

there's always an extra feature that

18:28

could possibly somehow benefit you. But

18:31

forget about that. What are the

18:33

features I can remember based on

18:35

the reason I bought these things

18:37

in the first place, because I

18:39

know I need to keep up

18:41

with these things. And then let

18:43

everything else go that doesn't give

18:45

you those essentials. How about you

18:47

listeners? Do you have any insights

18:49

about smart devices? Anything we haven't

18:52

talked about today. Send a voice

18:54

recording to podcast at the minimalist.com

18:56

so we can air your tip.

18:58

on a future episode. Let's do

19:00

a real quick right here right

19:02

now before we wrap up this

19:04

episode. We've been doing some decluttering

19:06

tips now over on Instagram and

19:08

our other social media platforms. You

19:10

can follow us at the minimalist

19:13

after our year-long hiatus from social

19:15

media. We have returned. We've returned

19:17

in a different way though. We're

19:19

creating short useful decluttering videos for

19:21

our audience and so we're easing

19:23

back into it. And as we

19:25

ease back into it, let us

19:27

know over on Instagram or your

19:29

preferred platform, what kind of minimizing

19:31

decluttering purchasing tips would you like

19:33

to see from the minimalist? Also

19:36

on my personal Instagram account, I'm

19:38

just at Joshua Fields Milburn. for

19:40

the next couple of weeks I'm

19:42

going to be doing some home

19:44

tour photos just on my personal

19:46

Instagram stories. And so you can

19:48

follow along if you're looking for

19:50

some minimalist home decluttering inspiration. Also

19:52

if you have a favorite tick-tock

19:54

video or reel that you'd like

19:57

us to comment on or you

19:59

think we might find interesting or

20:01

funny. insights with our audience. And

20:03

then finally, household clutter. Starting next

20:05

week, we're doing a five-part series

20:07

with some of your favorite minimalist.

20:09

Some of the most famous minimalist,

20:11

we're gonna be talking about your

20:13

household clutter, whether that's living room

20:15

clutter or. closet clutter, garage clutter,

20:18

bedroom clutter, or cabinet clutter. There'll

20:20

be a public podcast version and

20:22

of course a private podcast version

20:24

where we go in depth over

20:26

on Patreon. You can join us

20:28

over there. Speaking of joining us,

20:30

coming up, we have our next

20:32

Sunday symposium. It's in Orange County

20:34

and then we've got one in

20:36

LA after that next month. You

20:39

can get your free tickets. but

20:41

only while they're available over at

20:43

Sunday symposium.com. Come on out, get

20:45

a hug, we'd love to see

20:47

you, we'll give a talk, we'll

20:49

answer your questions, there'll be free

20:51

coffee, a sound bath as well.

20:53

We hope to see you in

20:55

Orange County in February. or in

20:57

Los Angeles in March. And that

21:00

is our episode for today, our

21:02

bonus episode for today. Big thanks

21:04

to Earthing Studios for the recording

21:06

space. On behalf of Ryan Academas,

21:08

T.K. Coleman, Malabama, post-production Peter, Spire

21:10

Jeff, and Spire Dave, Savvy D,

21:12

and the rest of our team.

21:14

I'm Joshua Fields Milburn. If you

21:16

leave here today with just one

21:18

message, let it be this. Love

21:20

people and use things. Because the

21:23

opposite, never works. Thanks for listening

21:25

y'all. We'll see you next time.

21:27

See you next time. Every little

21:29

thing you think that you need.

21:31

Every little thing you think that

21:33

you need. Every little thing that's

21:35

just feeding your greed. Oh, I

21:37

bet that you'll be fine without

21:39

it.