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The Best of Break the Twitch, 2016 Edition

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Best of 2016

Well, this year has been quite the roller coaster, hasn’t it?  I left my full-time job in February to focus on freelancing and continuing this site. Since then, the Break the Twitch YouTube channel has grown from 400 subscribers to over 14,000 while the website has seen over 280,000 of your lovely faces. I haven’t written nearly as much as I’d like to in 2016, but I’m working on changing that in 2017.

This year I discovered a passion for filmmaking and started working on some films as a production assistant with my friends over at A2F Pictures. I had a small role behind the scenes of this film, among several others that haven’t come out yet. I worked with my friend Josh Adams to produce and film this music video. I even did a 30-day daily vlogging challenge on my personal YouTube channel and made a short film about Amy’s sourdough bread.

Finally, I joined A Simple Year 2017 (a program to simplify your life one month at a time) with a group of incredible simple living advocates. The Simple Year program begins January 2nd but is available for purchase until January 15th.

Most importantly, I want to express my gratitude to the most important person here. You. Thank you for choosing to explore intentional living, thank you for pursuing a life of meaning and fulfillment, and embracing a vision of life beyond meaningless consumption. Thank you for your comments, questions, and sharing of the below pieces to help spread the message of living more intentionally. If you haven’t already, I’d love to connect with you directly via the Break the Twitch Facebook page or my personal Instagram, where I share more “behind the scenes” type stuff, and lots of videos.

I’m happy to share the most popular posts, videos, and images from 2016 with you. I look forward to seeing you next year!

The Best of Break the Twitch, 2016 Edition

Articles

Are You Taking The False First Step? – We often try to buy a better version of ourselves instead of doing the actual work.

6 Popular Decluttering Methods – Using a decluttering system is immensely helpful. Here are six of the most popular options for you to try.

The Exponential Benefits of Minimalism – It turns out, that the benefits of minimalism are compounding.

Videos

Avoid This One Minimalism Mistake – Don’t let minimalism become yet another unreachable standard.

How to Shop Like A Minimalist – An alternative perspective on shopping differently.

One Small Change That Creates Massive Results – There is one thing you can do that will change everything.

Images

Close the door, change the record, clean the house, get rid of the dust. Stop being who you were and become who you are.
Own less so you can do more
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Weekend Reads & Resources, May 2016

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I often share things that I find online through my social media channels, but I quickly realized that due to the nature of Facebook and Twitter they oft go unseen. Below, I’ve curated a collection of some of the videos, articles, and resources that I particularly liked, or wanted to share. These pieces are intended to inspire, provoke thought, or be a helpful resource on your intentional living journey.

I’ll be curating a similar collection on a bi-weekly basis in order to share important pieces that I believe are worthy of your attention. Enjoy!

What’s In Your Intentional Lifestyle Bag?

Really enjoyed this post from Cait as it has me thinking about a list of my own “directives” for living well. Finding a balance between unlimited options, but also having restrictions and directives for what you know is best for yourself can be incredibly challenging. I think she does a great job of highlighting her own in this post.

Scaling Back

This is an article from my friend Julie about the behind-the-scenes work that into lifestyle blogging. It’s an incredibly raw, honest look into what it takes to create the (completely gorgeous) photos and curated appearance that many fashion writers cultivate. Julie is a talented web developer, photographer, writer, and deserving member of the literati – her perspective is incredibly valuable on this matter and I encourage you to give it a read.

Breakthrough with Jeff Sandquist

If you haven’t caught it yet, I launched a brand new interview series called, “Breakthrough”. It shares breakthrough stories in the lives of people choosing to live intentionally. This one feels like cheating a bit as it’s my own content, but I’d love for you to check out this episode with Jeff Sandquist. He shares his story of switching careers, how he discovered minimalism, and how he chooses to intentionally wander through life.

Scrubb

This is pretty cool–a brand new service from some of my friends here in Minnesota. They recycle old electronics in a secure, safe way that fully destroys any sensitive data on those electronics. Old hard drives, computers, and phones are kind of a pain to get rid of. They have sensitive information on them, and local recycling services can be difficult to find. Scrubb provides you a mailing label, you plop it on the box, and they charge a flat fee to safely dispose of and recycle your gear. Use coupon code “#minimize-your-life” to get your first box for just $15.

Minimalism in Job Searches

This is a post about looking for jobs in the startup industry–traditionally they tend to be more flexible and in a way more ‘lifestyle design’ friendly. This post provides an interesting perspective on why you should take a minimalist approach to your job search. People tend to ‘spray and pray’ but looking and applying more intentionally can really help your odds. If this fits your life right now, have a look.

Intentional Weekend Inspiration Vol. 5

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Today brings us to volume five of the (now bi-weekly) intentional weekend inspiration roundup. Here are some posts that I loved this week, and I think you’ll enjoy them as well. Kick back with your favorite beverage and get your mind into the right gear this morning. I have a fun project announcement to make on Monday, so I’ll see you then.

Why Too Much Choice Is Stressing Us Out | The Guardian by Stuart Jeffries. People often act against their wellbeing. They also rarely make choices in a rational way.

In Defense of Doing Nothing | Blonde on a Budget (a guest post by Nathan Atkinson). The secret that helps me to be more productive is to take time to do nothing. Before you dismiss this as something silly or stupid, let me explain further.

Emotional Decluttering | Social Sara 612 by Sara Mutchler. My emotional decluttering is helping to create a drama-free zone. It’s a work in progress and I’m learning. But I must be doing something right because I feel better now than I did before.

Intentional Weekend Inspiration Vol. 4

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Today brings us to volume four of the intentional weekend inspiration roundup. Here are some posts that I loved this week, and I think you’ll enjoy them as well. Kick back with your favorite beverage and get your mind into the right gear this morning. Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you on Monday!

No Sidebar | Why positive thinking and clarity are essential to happiness.

The School of Enough | I looked at my iPhone this morning and finally said it.

One Green Planet | It is a great feeling, beginning to align your behavior with your values.

Everyday Mindful Living | Simplify Saturday: Practice gratitude.

Productive Flourishing | What counts as meditation?

Intentional Weekend Inspiration Vol. 3

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Today brings us to volume three of the intentional weekend inspiration round-up. Here are some posts that I loved this week, and I think you’ll enjoy them as well. Kick back with your favorite beverage and get your mind right this morning. Due to all of the magic happening this weekend at SimpleREV 2015, there will be something a little different for Monday’s vlog.  Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you on Monday!

So many aspects of minimalism can benefit both the physical and mental parts of our lives. Here’s a great post (with webinar included) by Marc and Angel: Three ways to clear the thoughts that complicate your life.

How impactful can an action from a single individual be? Check out the tipping point. Includes video of dancing, so it’s a guaranteed win.

True story: I’m an adoption worker that finds homes for hard-to-place kids.

Sweden introduces a six-hour work day. This is a movement I can get behind.

Consumer Education: On learning how to spend. (Thanks to my friend Kit for recommending these last two)

Intentional Weekend Inspiration Vol. 2

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Happily presenting you volume two of the intentional weekend inspiration round-up. Here are some posts that I loved this week, and I think you’ll enjoy them as well. Kick back with your favorite morning beverage and soak up the goodness. This week I’m heading to Chicago for a bike sharing conference, so Monday’s vlog will be all about what I’m bringing for the 3-day trip and how I pack light to make life easier. Have a wonderful weekend.

Minimalism

If you’re into podcasts, this one is worth a listen: Ryan Nicodemus (of The Minimalists) on the Intentional Wandering Podcast. I love what Ryan says about how happiness doesn’t exist.

I posted my 2015 travel pledge story over at Blonde on a Budget about how I gave up buying things so I could travel.

Owning less is great, wanting less is better.

True story: I don’t have a cellphone.

Personal Growth

Vulnerability is sometimes viewed as weakness, when in reality showing authentic vulnerability is one of the strongest things a person can do.

The short version: Nobody knows what the heck they’re doing, and that’s a beautiful thing. The longer version at Zen Habits.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with money, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing more of it, if doing so will help you become more you, and allow you to do more of what makes you feel alive.” – Colin Wright