Six Things I Want Less of in 2020

Who remembers the tragic death of Jennifer Strange? She’s the lady that died from drinking too much water. Yeah. A radio program called the Morning Rave hosted a game called: Hold your Wee for a Wii. During the game, Jennifer drinks nearly two gallons of water, without peeing, and dies of water intoxication shortly thereafter.

Too much of a good thing, including WATER, can become a bad thing.  For 2020, I want to cut back on excessive good things.  My New Year’s Resolution is the simple phrase: LESS IS MORE. Have you heard this oxymoronic cliché before? 

My friend Michael Bahn uses this concept often in leading musical worship. If every musician on the stage is always playing, ceaselessly shredding and soloing, the music will be distracting. If everyone knows when to play, and most importantly, when not to play, the music is far more enjoyable. There’s space; there’s margin. And it’s within that space that individual instrumentalists or vocalists can operate beautifully.  

So LESS instrumentation = MORE quality music. LESS smoking = MORE lung capacity. LESS eating out = MORE money.  You get the idea. And in our super busy lives, cutting back on the quantity of things may improve the quality of them, and increase our gratitude for them. 

Here are a few things I want less of in 2020.

1) Less Clutter

If I haven’t used it or worn it in a year, do I really need it? Should I really keep something out of obligation? I don’t think so. I’ve personally found value in the “Japanese minimalist” craze. It’s amazing how decluttering your physical spaces transfers value into your non-physical spaces (mind, emotions, spirit, relationships).  

2) Less Politics

This 2020 election is going to be crazy. Like many of you, I find our political climate to be both fascinating and frustrating.  But without intentional boundaries, we will be sucked into the vortex that is Trump vs Whoever. What kind of wall (pun intended) will you put up to prevent the political climate from coopting your mind and heart? For me, I’m planning on taking LENT (40ish days) away from politics podcasts, and probably Twitter as well (I don’t watch the news). After Easter, I’ll reevaluate. 

3) Less Social Media/Screen Time 

I probably don’t need to say much about this, there’s so much research indicating that those spend more time on social media are usually unhappier and less productive than those who aren’t. I’ve been trying to set 3-5 minute scrolling limits on my Twitter/Instagram habit. I turning off almost all notifications, my phone is almost always on Do Not Disturb, and I only check emails 1-2x a day. Because of this, I feel far more present with people face-to-face and far more productive in tasks. I’m hoping to press into this a little more in 2020.

4) Less Reading

Controversial! No, not really. I read a lot of books this year, but I don’t think I read them as slowly and carefully and I should have. I also felt obligated to finish the books I started. But I’m reevaluating this. When I push through a book I’m not enjoying, that’s time I could be reading something else! And if I read a book I enjoy more carefully, with a pen in hand, I think I will get more out of it.     

5) Less Trivial Checklists

Instead of starting the day with the easy, non-urgent tasks, I want to spend the bulk and best parts of the day doing the hardest, most demanding, and most fulfilling tasks. For me, that’s usually writing my sermon. The dishes, the laundry, and lawn, emails, even texts, exercise, for me, these things can wait until the afternoon. For those of us with more flexibility in your scheduling, I encourage you to do the hardest, more important things first.    

6) Less Saying “Yes” 

One of the greatest skills we can learn is the ability to say “no.”  There are TONS of great opportunities, options, and needs. But if I say “yes” to everything, I’ll be saying “no” to the main things. Again, as QUANTITY goes up, usually QUALITY goes down. We should carefully and ruthlessly evaluate what our main priorities are.  If I’m doing something out of obligation, and not joy or love, this is a major red flag.   

All this LESS is for the greater MORE. Here are Things I want MORE of in 2020:

1) More Conversation

Conversation with God: I don’t consider myself particularly good or conversant with God, and I’m a pastor! I would like to be more intentional in morning, midday, and evening prayer this next year, as well as spontaneous prayer throughout the day. My hope is that less noise and activity will result in more, quality times of prayer.      

Conversations with others: The less distracted I am, the more present I can be in conversations with others. I hope to grow in asking questions, being a good listener, and helping the person I’m with feel like they’re the more important person in that moment. 

2) More Contemplation

With constant activity comes a dulling of creativity. Creativity grows best from the soil of space, even boredom. Today, when we’re bored, we usually reach for our phone, and the problem is cured.  But we miss the opportunities that can arise out of boredom. I’ve worked out writers’ block, problems, and prayers by leaving my phone in office and going for a twenty-minute walk. And sometimes, we just need to let our mind wander without feeling the need to accomplish anything. I get a little worried that some of our Generation Z, “digital natives,” constantly stimulated by technology, have never actually experienced meditative state or a wandering mind. 

What would you like to experience less of in 2020? What would you like to grow in this next calendar year?

-Tyler