How to Do Less and Get More
I’m a big fan of Leo Babauta.
His book, The Power of Less, is required reading for anyone who wants a rewarding life.
But many of Leo’s followers think doing less means, well, settling for less.
I’m here to tell you it can mean achieving much more.
In the last 4 years, I’ve been living the power of less.
In fact, I started with that philosophy well before I knew it was one.
Do Less to Achieve More
I annoy many of my partners and friends with my approach.
But the reality is, engaging in busy work is not the secret to success.
Success comes from ignoring the busy and sticking with developing content and pursuing projects that matter to your goals.
That means you need time to think.
Enjoy the Stillness
Don’t get me wrong, I work hard and push the envelope.
But I choose the things I pursue very carefully.
And that means ignoring the immediate until I know the right thing to do.
Again, this often annoys people who want my immediate attention.
But when it’s right, I act . . . and everyone involved is a lot happier with the eventual outcome.
Don’t Do Things That Don’t Matter
The stereotype of the successful person is one who juggles multiple cats in the pursuit of maximum return.
I’m telling you to drop most of those cats, and lovingly embrace that special one.
Making clear decisions about content and projects that work requires clear vision, and you don’t achieve that in a frenzied, half-hazard mode.
Right decisions require the right mindset, and a clear path to achieving the goal.
How clear is your mind right now?
P.S. No cats were harmed in the writing of this post.
If that's true, then the best diet is the simplest one. So I asked myself: what's the one thing I can change that will make the biggest difference in my calorie consumption? Everyone has one thing.
When Peter Bregman says "everyone," he means everyone and everything. His suggestion is, well, quite singular: To be successful in life—whether you are dieting, starting a business, or even planning a sabbatical—the trick is to identify the one thing that carries the most influence and pour your existence into that one task. He writes:
Typically, people overwhelm themselves with tasks in their eagerness to make a change successfully. But that’s a mistake. Instead, they should take the time up front to figure out the one and only thing that will have the highest impact and then focus 100% of their effort on that one thing.
What would happen in your professional or personal life if you concentrated on one single, ragingly important aspect? What would that be? A thought-provoking and important question for anyone.
(On a completely stylistic note, this posts rocks. It is a masterfully guided, personally rich blog post with swagger. Enjoy!)
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