
Minimalism Will Not Make You Happier - kelvinp
https://medium.com/the-understanding-project/minimalism-will-not-make-you-happier-627c83c788e8
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torstenvl
More accurately, "Minimalism: happiness from reduced cognitive load, not just
reduced possessions."

The author points out that it isn't the physical ramifications of less clutter
(more room to move, etc.) that improved his quality of life, but that he felt
he had more room to _think_ without so much stuff around.

I agree. Clutter isn't just about whether you have to side-step more ottomans,
coffee tables, and exercise bikes. It's also about whether you're being
bombarded with sensory information from your surroundings.

Whether it's a crowded home, a crowded coffee shop, a crowded social circle,
or a crowded desktop, the deluge of in-your-face options and potential
obligations makes focus much more difficult. Frontal cortical processing is
responsible, after all, not just for organizing but also for executive
decision-making, and its resources are limited. See, e.g., K. Vohs et al.,
_Making Choices Impairs Subsequent Self-Control: A Limited-Resource Account of
Decision Making, Self-Regulation, and Active Initiative_ , 94 J. PERSONALITY
AND SOC. PSYCHOL. 883 (2008); N. Meand et al., _Too Tired to Tell the Truth:
Self-Control Resource Depletion and Dishonesty_ , 45 J. EXPERIMENTAL SOC.
PSYCHOL. 594 (2009); W. Hofmann et al., _And Deplete Us Not into Temptation:
Automatic Attitudes, Dietary Restraint, and Self-Regulatory Resources as
Determinants of Eating Behavior_ , 43 J. EXPERIMENTAL SOC. PSYCHOL. 497 (2007)

