Simplifying, Stage 2: The Meltdown

Not long ago, I wrote about setting out to simplify my stuff.

So far, I have identified two clear stages to this process. Stage 1 is Inspiration: my desk will be clear, my home will be uncluttered, my mind will be free. I will embody mnmlist.

While delighting in Stage 1, I had little idea what loomed around the corner. Stage 2 is the Meltdown. Stage 2 is realization and reality. Realizing that a step forward can require two or three — or a few dozen — steps backwards.

Having committed to the idea of reducing my stuff, I am now struggling with the actual doing. Sitting in front of me at this moment, on the basement floor, are six boxes of paper files, electronics cords and connectors, one printer and one computer tower that needs to be de-commissioned. It’s not the only little pile of stuff that is being shifted from here to there.

I moved the six boxes and printer and tower down here in order to clear enough physical and mental space so that I can work at my desk. It really should be heading out the door, but all this stuff needs to be sorted before it can be turfed. I have started the process but struggle with finding the time and energy to carry on.

Then there are the challenges of consolidating electronic data. Part of my simplification plan was to collapse my three office locations into two, with the majority of my electronic documents in a ‘cloud’ as the IT guys say — online. At the same time, my wife was leaving her full time work so needed to shut down her out-of-home office and beef up her in-home workspace.

Long story short, some computer simplification was called for.

Now, common sense would suggest that migrating email data from one Microsoft product (Entourage for Mac) to another Microsoft product (Outlook for Windows) would be straightforward, especially since many of these emails originated on Outlook some time ago. Almost all email programs have simple export and import features that support this. Almost.

After spending last weekend downloading quirky little data transfer programs, copying files, getting cryptic error messages, and opening files to find that only half of them transferred, I found myself in Stage 2: the Meltdown.

Computers are a curse. Technology eats up more time than it saves. We are becoming slaves to silicone chips. All data is doomed. The end is near.

So it is that I learned one basic lesson of simplicity: do not enter Stage 2 on your own. Ensure that a spouse, trusted friend, social worker, nurse or karmic advisor is at hand.

Last weekend my wife ushered my babbling and glazed self into a dark and padded room and ensured that I didn’t hear the words “computer” or “data” for a week. Now, I have healed and am looking tentatively ahead to whatever Stage 3 may bring.

Photo Credit

“Soapy Wings” Madamoiselle Lavendar @ Flickr.com. Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved.

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