Encouraging Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

It was so encouraging last night to meet many of you in Phoenix for the official kick-off to the Things That Matter Tour. More photos here.

I was impacted by many of your stories and hope the evening further inspired all of us to remove distractions to focus on the things that matter.

There are 11 U.S. cities remaining on the Summer Tour (Midwest and South). You can find the all the dates/locations here.

In the meantime, I hope you will make an effort this weekend to find a quiet moment to enjoy some of these hand-picked articles to encourage more simplicity in your life.

7 Simple Habits for a Happier Life | The Simplicity Habit by Julianna Poplin. By incorporating the right ones into our routine – and saying goodbye to negative habits that aren’t helping us – we can breathe more freely, smile more, and ultimately be happier.

Use Story to Change Your Life | Zen Habits by Leo Babauta. Most of us don’t realize how powerful stories are in our lives, because we don’t even notice that we’re telling ourselves a story. But stories shape everything.

Inbox Pause? How About an Inbox Reset? | Study Hacks Blog by Cal Newport. Several readers have recently pointed me toward a productivity tool called Inbox Pause, which allows you to prevent messages from arriving in your email inbox for a set amount of time.

Minimal on Purpose | No Sidebar by Karen Trefzger. Minimalism is not about having or doing a certain number of things. It’s not about rigid rules. But it is about making choices to remove what isn’t important or isn’t working for you in order to highlight and make room, time, energy, and/or money for what is.

Owning Less is Better than Thinking About Owning Less | Becoming Minimalist on YouTube