This post is my entry to The Minimalist #KISS challenge for this week with the theme: Are You Minimalist to the Core? This weekly challenge is hosted by @millycf1976. There are two options given, and I am going to answer the question given under option 2: 

<blockquote>
Share some of your day-to-day activities to showcase what living as a minimalist involves. Tell us the when, why, where, how, and what motivates you to do those activities. Share some of your personal favorite photographs of you doing those activities. ~ <a href="https://peakd.com/hive-194848/@hive-194848/kiss-blogging-ideas-25">#KISS Challenge 25</a>
</blockquote>


The question under option 1 requires participants to talk about minimalist accommodation. I decided not to do that because I already mentioned a bit about my living space in this post: <a href="https://peakd.com/hive-194848/@coloringiship/the-minimalist-lifestyle-or-designing-and-living-my-best-life-in-four-different-areas-in-my-life">The Minimalist Lifestyle | Designing and Living My Best Life In Four Different Areas In My Life</a>

##### How Do I Practice Minimalism In My Daily Life?

The best way to answer this question requires me to talk about **WHY** I practice minimalism. What motivates me? Well, as someone struggling with anxiety, it is essential for me to cut down so many things from my life. When I attended counseling a year ago, my counselor and I discussed the possible root cause of my anxiety. After processing many thoughts and experiences, we zeroed down on my habit of multitasking. I wanted to achieve many things while juggling multiple roles - wife, mother, daughter, friend, and artist. I was involved in numerous projects and initiatives because I wanted to achieve certain things within a certain period. 

This endless hustling eventually leads to burnout, producing nasty episodes of anxiety attacks. Anxiety is not a bad emotion by itself. It becomes an issue when it affects your quality of life. In my case, it started to affect me physically, specifically my heart. My heart beat irregularly, and that health scare lasted almost a month. I had to seek treatment with a cardiologist, and thank God I recovered, and it never happened again. 

That crisis forced me to stop and think about my life and priorities. Something got to give. And I decided to change and make peace with unachieved dreams and aspirations because I admitted I couldn't do it all at the expense of my health. 


So I took a long break to "work on myself", to examine my priorities, dreams, and what truly matters to me. I finally realized that while achieving many things in life is good, those achievements are hollow and empty if I do not put love and connections with my loved ones as my top priorities. I also realized that achievements and successes, no matter how impressive, are useless without good health. 

I finally resolved to rearrange my life and strive to achieve what truly matters to me: love, connections, and good health. I have to think of ways to cut down unnecessary elements in my life; like getting rid of useless possessions, time-consuming activities, the kind of food I consume, the kind of news or information I read or view etc. 

##### ❤️ My Typical Day ❤️

This is what my typical day looks like. Of course, it may vary daily, but I try to maintain the consistency of my daily routine as much as possible. 

I start my day at 6am in morning. I am not an early bird, but I must prepare breakfast for the family before the kids go to school and my husband to his workplace. Right after everyone left at 7am, I did the laundry and cleaned the house. I don't like to procrastinate on these boring tasks because I want to focus the rest of my day doing more productive things. I usually finish housework by 8am and take a break by having my devotional time with God on my desk. This is what my workspace looks like. I mostly keep everything neat, and since I dislike clutter, I keep most stuff in the cabinets. 

<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/coloringiship/23xKxwAMK9otQvh3WnpEFzWAcVsRBFw6MyRnLXjQviE3AiM8ddvZQfcz8CYqPSREpkoCc.jpg" alt="1.jpg">

Image source: my own

Right after devotional time, I get ready to cook lunch. Yes! I prepare lunch early in the morning because cooking is not something I enjoy. Like the housework, I want to finish cooking as soon as possible, so I don't have to fret and worry about it later in the day. 

I cook mostly [simple food](https://peakd.com/hive-141359/@coloringiship/super-simple-home-cooked-dish-2-or-minced-pork-vegetables-soup) and try to keep my diet as clean and wholesome as possible. If you are familiar with Malaysia, this country is a food haven and the most obese nation in Asia. Not shocking news, considering the type of food a typical Malaysian eats daily - high fat, high carbo, high sugar food from breakfast until supper at night. Twenty-four seven a week. And Malaysians like to eat out a lot, mostly greasy street or hawker food. And you see fat people everywhere. I am not insulting anyone, but this is a painful fact about Malaysians, and we need to do a drastic change before obesity-related diseases burden our healthcare system. 

![31072019-OBESITY-RATE-IN-ASEAN_0.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/coloringiship/Eoia7DhNZagnVQSNvmahMb1m3gFhZaTfSmwin8Duec7v9z9JWMbFRYrQcrNzn4nKdT6.jpg)

Image credit: [The Asean Post](https://theaseanpost.com/article/obesity-rise-asean)

So what do I cook? I focus on the macronutrients -carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water; like you see in these photographs. Simple 2 dishes (protein and fiber) meal with rice. I am Asian, and you can't take away my rice. It's my main source of carbohydrates. I cut down processed food and sugary drinks from my diet, but I allow myself to indulge in them once a week. And since weekends are filled with activities, our family tends to eat out on those two days. 

<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/coloringiship/EpEHo1KyAhNKHnD3drwRB7N2ZUVgTHffReSoS2MVBgMHXEAqDWecQaWwHzb8KiJVASv.jpg" alt="2.jpg">

Image source: my own

<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/coloringiship/AKKTsYQU24gUT3mMPcT68VeAP6KP9aNooXJBGkbEd8o7MTpKheGCoskDbYQA4YF.jpg" alt="3.jpg">

Image source: my own

I usually finish cooking by 10am, my favorite time of the day - time to exercise! Since a healthy lifestyle is top of my priority, working out is something I must do at least 5 times a week. I wrote about my preferred working out routine in this post: [Girl Power | Three Reasons I Fell In Love With Cardio Boxing](https://peakd.com/hive-124452/@coloringiship/girl-power-or-three-reasons-i-fell-in-love-with-cardio-boxing). 

<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/coloringiship/23xpGs5KSZduWbMkz3zWTJs9w3kb3WSMCcAfkKCKw21Hwspzj7iwNKPBvDRSXRGzc2AVF.jpg" alt="4.jpg">

Image source: my own

I strive to exercise for one hour every day, but if I am strapped for time, I try to finish everything within 40 minutes. After a quick shower, it's time to pick up the kids from school. I know not everyone has the privilege to personally pick up their kids from school because most kids take the school bus. It can be quite inconvenient to drive in heavy afternoon traffic, but I don't complain because it's one thing in life I am grateful for. 

<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/coloringiship/23xVPTQTWKwScKqfRLS84mPmCVs1wLgxQAgpwtASTxqE5sYnsE9stDKPvkJWJBqPb7QhT.jpg" alt="5.jpg">

Image source: my own

The rest of my day is typically filled with helping the kids with their schoolwork, and sometimes if I am tired, I take a quick power nap. And once the kids finish their revisions and stuff, I finally have a quiet moment to focus on my art and planning my Hive post for the day. This is also the time I do my reading on topics related to spirituality or self-improvement.

<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/coloringiship/23wMePGs7dZE82CkPNYfJBBdSYPpnwuyhwHCmbtdfiYgytXj9b1SjH4ff3t5LsuofB74m.jpeg" alt="6.jpeg">

Image source: my own

So yeah, that's what my typical day looks like. I strive to focus on the important things that truly matter. I cut down useless time-wasting activities like endless scrolling on social media, and reading news or articles on information I don't need. By doing so, I managed to have more time to do things I love the most - art, exercise, spend time with my family. I am proud to say by practicing a minimalist lifestyle, I reduced the frequency of my anxiety attacks. I hardly have it these days; if I do, it usually goes away after calming down for several minutes. And I think the effort to rearrange my priorities and eliminate unnecessary elements in my life has been worthwhile and extremely rewarding. 
_______________
That's it for now. If you read this far, thank you. I appreciate it so much! Kindly give me a follow if you like my content. I mostly write about making art, life musing, and our mundane yet charming family life here in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

#### Thank you for visiting and reading my post. I hope you like it!
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