A treatise on minimalism.

by hKnight Posted on May 1, 2025May 1, 2025

Chapter 01: Last Great Lent, I thought to declutter my life by using less social media, selling a lot of shit I didn’t need, and overall trying to be surrounded by fewer screens. After Pascha, I couldn’t hold it much longer. I needed to get rid of my screens. De-screening is a phrase that I will use. I took down my two PC monitors, unplugged the PC itself, shoved it into my closet, and switched to a Lenovo ThinkPad (yeah, I know, I fell for that meme.) And I got myself a digital and smart watch.

That might seem counterintuitive, but if you think about it, it’s a much smaller screen that acts like your phone but doesn’t carry any of the social media features. You get a notification on your watch, and that’s it. I don’t have to pull out my phone at all, which actually saves me more time. On days that I don’t plan on doing anything, I’ll switch to my Casio watch. I moved all social media to my laptop, so now I would be forced to boot it up to access it when I want to see anything. That also meant I got rid of social media on my phone. However, I haven’t fully committed to the true minimalist lifestyle. I’ll still use Snapchat to message my friends and use Facebook Marketplace. These are just baby steps.

Chapter 02: De-cluttering and minimizing might seem really hard, almost impossible. Let me tell you, you are absolutely fucking right. The first week without social media was already painful. Boredom has almost become some sort of demon that we need to ward off with stimulation and consumption. My solution: Just replace it with something physical; more on this later. What do I look at now? These black squares seem to carry some kind of potential energy, always an opportunity to turn on and entertain. When you get rid of screens, you get forced into a brand new environment. You check your phone and then realize, “Oh wait, I don’t have Facebook installed; I guess I’ll do nothing for my 15-minute break.” Now that I do… nothing when I don’t have a black box to entertain me. How do people react to this? Surprisingly, VERY negatively, people look at you like you’re fucking psychotic or something.

My priest told me a funny story. A guy went to a coffee shop and just sat there doing nothing. He was at the coffee shop, unironically drinking coffee. He might have even read the newspaper.

People have been conditioned (I’d more appropriately say brainwashed) to think they need to be productive 100% of the time when doing any daily task. Take, for example, driving; texting and driving is my vice (a vice that was remedied by minimalism.) I learned that driving while listening to a podcast gives you this false sense of company. You think you’re actually there with the people talking. This is one of the more mild examples. Another one is working out; believe it or not, you don’t actually need to listen to anything when lifting. And yet again, people will look at you like you’re prepping for John Wick, that is to say, “This guy must be insane if he doesn’t need any music to work out on.”

A side note: people will also think you’re a psycho if you casually drive in complete silence. “What, you just drive without listening to anything?” I’ve naturally been like that ever since I started driving, so this wasn’t a new thing to me.

We as a society have stigmatized the non-use of phones and other devices when doing mundane tasks; it’s part of the new paradigm of perpetual productivity.

Chapter 03: How does one start minimalism? It’s simple: ask this question, “Do I really need it?” If you hesitate to find a reason to keep your household items, then it’s a telling sign to get rid of them. Cables were the toughest ones to get rid of because every now and then, I would have that scenario that it would be a lifesaver when I least expect it.

That’s all for tech; now to other aspects of minimalism. If you’ve got more than a total of 14-16 pairs of anything in your wardrobe, get rid of it. You’re more than likely the type of guy that generally wears the same stuff every week. Any kind of electronics you haven’t used in the last 3-6 months, put them in a box and shove them somewhere; come back to them in 6 months; if you still don’t use any of the stuff in the box, get rid of it.

On the flip side, I’m not saying buying is bad—nonsense! I recommend these items for beginner minimalism: Get a dedicated alarm clock without a radio. I got me a classic 50’s-style alarm clock. Get a paper calendar; if possible, get a daily tear-away one. Get a watch, any kind, smart or not. I got myself a Galaxy Watch FE and a Casio watch for a fake fancy look.

These are my final thoughts: that we don’t get rid of tech altogether. I’m not in favor of this. However, in the age of tech being everywhere, sometimes being offline lets you breathe. (In a metaphorical way, in the literal sense I currently can’t do that because of weather allergies.) Minimalism also isn’t just about the things we own. It also includes the way we spend our time. The feedback from others is normal; people are confused or even weirded out when we stop performing unnecessary behaviors that are considered normal. The ones on the right will eventually get tired of their screens and will desire to take back their lives. The ones on the left will continue to get addicted to their screens, fry their brains and attention spans, and be blackpilled.

P.S. This article was originally written by hand.

—hKnight