My previous manager Pavel used to say that there’s a simple program trying to break free in this complex code. He would say it almost every time he reviewed my code. It’s such great advice that unlike most things, I was able to internalize it. That’s what I advise people now.
Thinking back I think it makes even more sense for a couple of reasons.
- Simple is good. It’s what most people are looking for in their lives. We apply this principle of only keeping the things that are essential to life and we get (drum rolls please) minimalism.
- Simple lets you do more in software and in life.
- Code is maintainable and is more likely to be bug free if it’s simple.
- Products (think Apple) are usually much better when they’re simple to use.
- Life is more enjoyable when you have to think less about the non-essentials. Okay, I’ll acknowledge life is much more complex than software. Umm, is it though? Have you worked at big tech? Haha, joking. Life’s probably millions of times more complex.
Okay, we gotta unpack life a little bit. I was listening to this podcast episode called Do Less and it talked about how subtraction could be the key to building better. The podcast was obviously promoting a book called Subtract but it also cites some research like this paper in nature. You have to believe it now that it’s in nature.
I gravitate towards this as I have been a minimalist without even knowing the term or the fanfare (or scam, depends who you ask). I like the idea of simple life. The podcast suggested that a core reason is that to most people addition is stimulating while subtraction is a loss. Fortunately or weirdly to me both the things are stimulating. Honestly, I feel more psyched when I get rid of stuff than when I buy. I love it. I regularly get rid of all my stuff and move to a different city. That’s the most fun part of my life, starting a new chapter.
P.S. I spend so much time with software that it creeps into everything I say.