[pommers]

I've gone down the path of minimising my choices to a small good set for a lot of things. I do this for everything from clothes and shoes to managing my money.

Clothes are simple. 10 shirts that are either black or grey. Three shirts that are work branded. close to ten pairs of chinos and jeans (all work appropriate, some kevlar lined for motorbikes) Bulk undies and socks, all patterned so they are easy to pair up. Two pairs of shorts for summer and a pair of sports shorts for sport and the beach. A couple of suits for the odd time I need them (weddings and interviews)

For getting stuff done like cooking or making stuff, I operate with the minimum number of "tools". For actual tools, this means a cordless drill and screwdriver, couple of power tools, a good screwdriver set, a spanner set and a socket set. For the kitchen it means three good knives, the minimum set of kitchen utensils I need to make everything I make regularly, one good pan and two good big tiered pots that I can steam stuff in.

Financially I assign resources as they come in. I split my paycheck into fun money (pub and lunches/dinners out), food money (going to the shops and making stuff myself), savings and bills. All my bills are direct debited and the amount I put in to paying bills is higher than I worked out it would cost me over the course of the year. This means i only ever have to think about how much of the fun money and food money I have when making decisions.

By minimising my options when it comes to making decisions, I minimise my time working through all the options to make them.

[tchaffee]

Wow! That's a lot of clothes! ;-) For the past ten years I can fit everything I own (except my three guitars - all of which I use on an almost daily basis) into one suitcase.

And almost one half of the suitcase is for a large monitor.

I'm not suggesting everyone go as minimal as me, but it sure has improved my life by having so few things. If I had to name the programming discipline I used to get there it would be YAGNI: You're not going to need it. You'll be surprised. You really aren't going to need 99% of what you have stored away in case you someday find a use for it. Far better to use a website like https://freecycle.org/ and just find someone who can use it now.

[wskinner]

What you are describing has been touched on by a few other commenters here, and it really works for me too. Psychology even has fancy terms for why this works: devision fatigue and the paradox of choice.

[pommers]

I've taking minimizing my decisions to an extreme in some areas. My meals normally consist of food from a small group and when I'm travelling, the local food I go out to try or when I'm meeting people is normally burgers.

[thecupisblue]

> Clothes are simple. 10 shirts that are either black or grey. Three shirts that are work branded. close to ten pairs of chinos and jeans

I'd die living like this. No other shirts?

[pommers]

I have a couple of button up shirts with my suits. And three shirts with prints on them for casual friday, but they are mainly black too.