Back in design school, one of our instructors used to like to refer to the KISS principle (Keep it simple, Stupid). In design, the most simple solution is usually the best, even though not always easy to get to. I learned this lesson over and over while in school and later in my work.
I'm finding that the principle applies to my life more and more as the layers of my life grow more rich and numerous. Simplify, simplify, simplify. The only way I have been able to manage all of the layers of my life is to start by managing my expectations. Not that I always succeed - my natural tendency towards perfectionism is a hard one to beat down.
For me simplifying does not mean settling for less. It just means that I simplify the parts of my life that I care less about (making meals, cleaning house) so that the parts I care about most (time with my family, and creativity) can be more full. Par exemple: Meal planning and prep used to take up a buttload of my time. Eating healthy is uber important to us but I hate the planning part of making menus and lists. Recently I spent an afternoon making 4 different weekly menus with accompanying shopping lists and we just rotate them during the month. It is so simple, and now we rarely have to think about what we are eating.
I honestly made this print as a reminder to myself - it is going to hang right there over my desk. But I decided that if I were going to look at it daily I didn't want it calling me stupid, and my guess is that most people don't want to be called stupid either.
And now the fun part! I'll be giving away one of these prints on July 13. To be in the running, just leave a comment below and let me know how you Keep it Simple in your life, or even if you are struggling to keep it simple, or prefer keeping it complicated. Whatevs! The winner will be picked at random and announced right there!
