Book recommendation: “Goodbye, things” by Fumio Sasaki

“Goodbye, things” by Japanese minimalist Fumio Sasaki, published by Penguin, is an inspiring and uplifting book. It explores the philosophy and cultural history of minimalism from Zen Buddhism to Steve Jobs. Reading even just a few chapters in it from time to time always puts a smile on my face!


Fumio Sasaki is one of the hardcore minimalists whom we sometimes hear about: he’s a writer who lives in a tiny studio in Tokyo with just three shirts, four pairs of trousers, four pairs of socks and not much else. Minimalism has opened his mind to happiness he’d never experienced before.

Fumio Sasaki is someone like any of us,
who struggled with what we’re also struggling with

I found “Goodbye, things” heart-warming because Fumio Sasaki does not proclaim himself to be a minimalism guru or a decluttering expert: he’s just an ordinary guy. He’s someone like any of us, who was weighed down by too much stuff and struggled with what we’re also struggling with.


As a result, he set out to explore minimalism. He figured out that incorporating minimalism into your life not only transforms the physical space around you, but also can bring about a fundamental shift in life and lead to more happiness.

In the book, he offers 55 tips to help you say goodbye to your things and 15 more tips for the next stage of your minimalism journey. In addition, he sets out 12 ways in which he himself has changed since he said goodbye to his things.


His tips and his insights into minimalism are neatly packaged into short, compact chapters, which are written in a punchy and highly readable style. Special praise to translator Eriko Sugita!



In “Goodbye, things” Fumio Sasaki explores the philosophy and cultural history of minimalism from Zen Buddhism to Steve Jobs. It takes the reader on a fascinating journey into minimalism, which is defined as a lifestyle in which possessions are reduced to the absolute minimum that one needs.

The 5 Golden Questions of Translation

I love decluttering, especially because my ongoing decluttering frequently unearths (long-forgotten) gems from the past. And some of the things I find are downright amazing!

They often put a smile on my face. From 2000 to 2002 I was a student at the Institut für Fremdsprachen und Auslandskunde in Erlangen. While going through the materials from a class in translation of certificates, diplomas and public documents a few days ago, I found this:

If I remember correctly, the question “Do I need a cup of coffee?” was supposed to serve as a reminder that taking a short break from translation can be very beneficial in that you often come up with a solution while away from the desk (for example, to fetch a cup of coffee).

I’d completely forgotten about the “5 Golden Questions of Translation”: Do I need a cup of coffee? Can I leave it out? Can I find a synonym? Can I find a paraphrase? Can I risk translating it literally?

(A German translation of this blog entry is available here.)

The 80/20 rule: Achieving more with less

It is astonishing: we tend to use just 20% of our possessions 80% of the time. We habitually wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. And 80% of our phone and text communications typically are with just 20% of the contacts saved on our phones.

Since this is a blog about minimalism, I feel an article about the 80/20 rule has long been overdue. The 80/20 rule is widely used by minimalists in their decluttering approaches. Many minimalists choose to give away the things that don’t matter (about 80% of what we own), while making space for those that are important (roughly 20%).

The 80/20 rule, or Pareto principle, is named after Italian economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923), who discovered that 20% of the pea plants in his garden produced 80% of the healthy peas. Following on from this, he noted that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by just 20% of the population.

The 80/20 rule can be extended to many areas of life and in business. While, of course, those percentages do not always apply exactly, it is true that most things in life and business are not evenly distributed. And a minority often generates a majority!

The 80/20 rule can help us adjust our priorities, declutter our everyday schedules, and stay sane

In what ways might the 80/20 rule be helpful to translators and freelancers in how they go about their work lives and manage their businesses? How could we leverage this principle to our advantage? Here’s some food for thought:


Easy prioritisation of tasks

- If indeed 20% of the tasks we carry out account for 80% of the results, can we pin down what these tasks are? PRIORITISING those tasks accordingly would most likely benefit us in most surprising ways.

- If 80% of results come from just 20% of actions, should we not then expend more energy on, dedicate more attention to, and aim to OPTIMISE these actions?

- If 80% of the value of a work project is achieved with the first 20% of the effort put in, should we not then plan our workdays in such a way that this happens at a time when we know we WORK BEST?


Better customer relationships

- Who are the 20% of customers that, according to the Pareto principle, provide 80% of our revenue? In what ways can we STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS with them? But note also: is it safe to rely on such a ratio of our income, or should we better collaborate more with other customers as well?

- How much time do we spend on HANDLING CRITICISM? If 80% of complaints (especially unjustified complaints) tend to be raised by 20% of our customers, is it actually worth continuing to work for those customers?

- According to the Pareto principle, 80% of a business’s TURNOVER typically is achieved by 20% of its products or activities. I am aware that we sometimes feel we occasionally need a break from the areas we usually translate in. But against this background, perhaps translating too many texts outside our subject areas isn’t advisable.

- Marketing is time-consuming, and thinking about where to start in a campaign is daunting. Here’s an interesting thought, though: 20% of the marketing messages you come up with can produce 80% of the results. What’s more, 20% of the overall marketing effort often brings about 80% of the SUCCESS OF A MARKETING CAMPAIGN.


Eliminate, automate or delegate?

- Which activities can we ELIMINATE or AUTOMATE? Are there activities that don’t move us towards our goals? For instance, it might not be worth spending so much time on updating online profiles if perhaps in our current circumstances we don’t actually need them to be successful in business.

- And are there any tasks that we can DELEGATE? For example, wouldn’t it be better to entrust accounting tasks with an accountant and focus on translations instead? Find a cleaner? Pay for a meal occasionally (or regularly), rather than waste time in the kitchen, when work is piling up on the desk?

- 80% of software users apparently use just 20% of their software’s features. So could we undertake further training to also learn about other features of our software? Learning to use more than the usual 20% of features could make us more EFFICIENT.

Is it really necessary that all business tasks are completed to perfection?

A word on perfection

- No doubt we should strive for PERFECTION in producing our translations, but is it really necessary that other business tasks are also completed to perfection? Should we seek perfection in writing blog posts? Maintain a regular Twitter posting pattern? Zealously reply to every single message that reaches us?

- And lastly, how about deciding for yourself that your order book is full once it’s filled with orders up to 80%? A buffer or some EXTRA TIME that can be handled flexibly can feel like pure luxury.

The 80/20 rule can help us adjust our priorities, declutter our everyday schedules, and stay sane. By taking stock of the time percentages that our work activities take up, we can implement steps to free up space in our schedules and move ever closer to business success!

The 5-step guide to switching into minimalist work mode

This is my easy-to-implement guide to switching into minimalist office work mode for increased productivity, efficiency and job satisfaction:

1) Remove physical clutter.

Physical clutter invariably leads to mental clutter. Studies demonstrate that physical clutter around you tends to pull at your attention and hence impacts your ability to concentrate in a negative way. Therefore, creating a distraction-free environment by removing all physical clutter from your office will greatly boost your concentration.

2) Create a 3-item to-do list every morning.

I’ve already blogged here on the benefits of a minimal to-do list. I recommend it wholeheartedly! Having a 3-item to-do list in place will create amazing momentum that’ll keep you going until you’ve finished the 3 tasks that you’ve made your primary focus of the day.

3) Keep to your own natural rhythm of the day.

Whether it’s the early morning hours or late in the evening, it is vital to understand when your most productive part of the day is. Then make the most of that time! For example, I function best in the mornings, so I set aside mornings for essential work tasks.

It is vital to understand when your most productive part of the day is

4) Gear up for concentration.

I find that in my work as a translator – especially ahead of preparing the very important final version of a translation – I can best tap into the power of concentration if I “gear up” for it. For me, this usually involves taking in some fresh air on the morning school run, sitting down at the kitchen table to enjoy a cup of espresso mindfully, or having a power nap during the day.

5) Block out all distractions.

I love shutting out the outside world completely to create a hushed, tranquil and productive work atmosphere. I then most relish being a “minimalist translator” in that there’s just me and my translation for a while – with Twitter notifications, personal email and everything else far away.

Switching into minimalist work mode will remove many motivational barriers and help you become proactive and productive. Try it out!

Why eliminating non-physical stuff benefits translators

“Clutter is not just physical stuff. It’s old ideas, toxic relationships and bad habits. Clutter is anything that does not support your better self.” (Eleanor Brownn)

Are there any ideas, relationships and habits in a translator’s (or indeed anybody’s) life that had better be thrown overboard because they’re detrimental to our sanity or well-being?

"Clutter is anything that does not support your better self." (Eleanor Brownn)

Old ideas
The same old misconceptions about the translation profession annoyingly crop up again and again. Rooting out a few of them would require going out into the world to convince others. Yes, you need to be highly skilled to work as a translator. Yes, it is a good way to earn money. Yes, it is an enjoyable activity, as is working alone at home!

Toxic relationships
Is now perhaps the time to disconnect from people on social media who you constantly get worked up about? Or is the time ripe for saying goodbye to a few clients who, for whatever reasons, you don’t enjoy working with? Track down clients who are amazing, and surround yourself with people who are respectful and supportive.

Bad habits
Bad habits I personally struggle to overcome: being distracted by the news when I should be working; squeezing in rushed jobs, although my order book is already overfull; and eating too much junk towards the end of the day. Quitting bad habits means being intentional about what you would like to change and accomplish.

The benefits of saying goodbye to old ideas, toxic relationships and bad habits will be astonishing: more job satisfaction, higher self-esteem, and greater well-being in the long run!