Deconveniencing our lives.

Im obsessed with Blue Zones. (Like obsessedobsessed since the book came out in 2009.)

Ive integrated the Blue Zone Power 9 notion into my personal mission statement & it’s one of the reasons I touched down in my new city and immediately searched for purpose/a way to “belong.”

family sunday school starts this weekend!

It’s why I PLAYout not WORKout. For *me* that’s movement which comes naturally.

swinging = CARDIO!

I strive to eat only stuffs my grandmothers would recognize.

I challenge myself each time I intuitively reach for a food:

Is this something they’d have eaten? Would they have recognized this as “food?”

raspberries FTW!!

Id thought I’d created an OAKtown Blue Zone (me, the neighbors and my homeless peeps) yet was unaware I’d missed a piece until I stumbled on a tweet by (Blue Zone author) Dan Buettner.

He stated (paraphrasing) those who live longest arent marathon runners/triathletes etc—they are people who live a deconvenient lifestyle.

The word DECONVENIENT struck a chord and *jolted* me in a way Id not been for a while.

I employ all tricks (elevators? Never!) which squeeze steps into my day.

My home (and facets of my life) still wasnt set up as an environment which got me moving without my thinking.

My home—and I like to think Im not alone in this—was far too convenient.

I decided that moment—as much as possible—to commit to living a lifestyle my grandmothers would recognize, too.

I made the decision to deconvenience my home and set up my surroundings so the right behaviors more readily ensue.

I closed off the chute so I was compelled to *always* walk laundry downstairs:

in case I forgot…

We have a bathroom on each floor.  I chose to ‘act as if’ we only had one…and it was upstairs:

subtle reminder till it became habit

You literally CANNOT change channels without a remote anymore, but that doesnt mean it needs to be convenient:

not near the television

Im addicted to plain, sparkling room temperature water.  Instead of bringing inside (convenience!) I chose to leave in my car.  If I wanted water–I was ‘set up’ to walk for it.

(picture youre not getting of my incredibly messy trunk)

Id previously viewed work-from-home life through the lens of:

How can I make this easiest on myself so I get the maximum done in the minimum of time?

My home is now set up with a backdrop of:

How can I make this less convenient so my surroundings get me moving without my thinking?

Im not yet growing all my own vegetables and still use the ‘convenience’ of a grocery or farmers market.I dont yet wash all my clothing by hand and happily employ the ‘convenience’ of a machine.

That said, 20 years ago I never thought Id be able to go gluten free and sustain the change for decades so I never know where my new DECONVENIENT lifestyle will take me.

Now you.

Is your domicile as *convenient* as mine used to be?  What’s ONE THING you could do today to move toward DECONVENIENT living?

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