I'm lucky to have the space to build out gardens. We've been working on a cut flower/pollinator garden this year and just doubled our food garden with the addition of some standing raised beds made from leftover building materials. I started some cilantro. dill, and chives seeds that should thrive for a fall herb garden. 

Two observations about cutting down the amount of time I have my cell phone in hand - either by leaving it on the dresser while at home, or on my desk as I walk around at work: (1) I have missed out on nothing of consequence. There are fewer crucial current events happening each hour than my feeds would suggest, and the those few that are in fact critical still manage to find their way to my attention through ways other than my device. (2) Because My head spends more time looking up -- seeing people, hearing their speech and music,  meeting even more dogs than I knew before -- I am becoming more aware of the actual community in which I live and work.

A walk is an opportunity for fresh air, movement, a time/space to clear my head & let go of any stress from work. It allows me to separate my work-self with my personal-self (in terms of where my focus may be) and process anything that I need to before I transition from work to home life (as much as that can happen these days).

I've been doing a short yoga/pilates practice of 20 minutes each day and can really feel the difference not only in my reduced stiffness and increased blood flow but also mentally. I used to feel like if I didn't put in 45 min to an hour I wouldn't get any good out of it but this daily routine is really helping my state of mind.

How is creativity a necessary ingredient for practicing simplicity?:

In order to stick with strictly a NEEDS vs WANTS attitude to consumerism, you have to get creative to do more with less. You also have to be constantly asking yourself the need/want question in creative ways in order to stay engaged in the exercise. I feel best when I'm making sure that I'm using every single morsel of food I bring into the house in creative ways as well so as to reduce waste. Not wasting food is at the TOP of my list of things to make a part of my every day life.

I really enjoy how meditating gives me a clearer mind and ability to focus on what really matters to me.