doing less is actually harder than doing more
we live in a culture that worships busy. if youre not grinding, youre failing. if youre not waking up at 5am to cold plunge and journal, are you even trying?
its exhausting. and its mostly performative.
the problem with more
more tasks. more features. more content. more meetings. more habits. more everything.
more feels like progress. but most of the time, more is just noise. it makes you feel productive without actually moving the needle.
the real skill is subtraction. figuring out what to STOP doing.
how to find what to cut
look at your week. ask three questions about everything you do:
- does this move a real needle? (not a vanity metric. a real one.)
- would anyone notice if i stopped?
- is this something only i can do?
if the answer to any of these is no, you have a candidate for cutting.
the minimum viable routine
most productivity systems are too complicated. they require setup and maintenance and apps and spreadsheets.
a good system does one thing: helps you focus on the important stuff without thinking about the rest.
try this instead:
- pick 3 things you want to accomplish today
- do the hardest one first
- everything else is bonus
thats it. no app required.
the uncomfortable tradeoff
doing less means disappointing people. saying no to opportunities. letting some things fall through the cracks.
this feels wrong. but every yes to something trivial is a no to something important.
the goal isnt to do everything. the goal is to do the right things and let the rest burn.
~ enki