Make Your Life Better by Doing Less
When we want to improve life, we think of adding things–new goals, efforts and commitments. Removing things to improve life is often overlooked.
Every Yes Implies a No
- Since time is a fixed quantity, everything you say yes to implies a no to something else and vice versa
- Saying yes subtly squeezes everything else, but rarely in ways we can easily perceive
- When saying no, what is left over is enriched, but this additional space is often neglected
Overwhelmed with Easy
- Committing to doing something you know will be hard paradoxically, often results in an easier time than opting for something that seems easy
- When you take on a hard goal, you naturally make room for it
- A goal that pretends to be easy doesn’t require adjustments, so they’re rarely made
- Easy problems fill up lives, leaving little room for what really matters
“No” or “Not Right Now”
- Saying “no” to a particular pursuit can be hard, but saying “not right now” works just as well
- This prevents the pursuit from taking up time while leaving open the possibility of change later
- It keeps your schedule sane without closing the door on it altogether
Only Home-Run Projects
- Only take on “home-run” projects
- If something doesn’t have a significant and near-certain upside or a potentially enormous and uncertain upside, it probably isn’t worth considering
- Don’t work on any project if it has the potential to increase revenue by at least ten per cent
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