Less is More; Newsletter #24

4 Little Wonder Bites 💭

📖 Current Read; The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck — Mark Manson.

One key point from this incredible book; less is more.

Less is More

The Wrong Notion

As a whole, we have a completely inaccurate idea about what it means to be truly successful and happy.

We are always looking for more.

We chase the things we do not have, we desire the things that are not ours, all so that we can have more. We work longer hours, take on more projects, and do more things.

This is due to the fact that, wrongfully, we equate doing more work with more success.

It makes sense, right? If you work for more hours, surely you’ll get more done and be successful?

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Always doing, wanting, and trying to have, more, is in fact incredibly counterintuitive.

Negative Impacts

It seems as if doing, having and being more, etc, is the most efficient way to go about things.

However, in reality, things are the exact opposite; always striving for more harms your productivity.

A few examples of the negative consequences;

• You have less energy for the things that matter (family, friends, exercise etc)
• You’re constantly fatigued, and maybe even sometimes angry and frustrated
• You’re likely to become overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work
• You’ll be more inclined to procrastinate
• Having and doing more serves to keep your environment constantly cluttered.

In short, there’s a great bunch of negative impacts when it comes to wanting and doing more.

The most significant consequence is the fact that doing more leaves you with incredibly high chances of burn out, which is a state of intense physical and mental exhaustion.

In regards to being burnt out, you simply lack the energy for any type of work, even if it is meaningful and deadlined.

Your chances of reaching burn out are much higher when you push yourself to work more than needed.

Less is More

It’s clear that doing, trying and having more has negative impacts, ones that serve to harm your productivity more than help it.

And so, what’s the solution?

It’s not quick magic, but it’s a pretty good solution nonetheless; do less.

In this case, less is always more.

Rather than trying to do every job in the office, or help out all your friends, condense it down, try and do just a few things.

Why?

As seen with the negative impacts of doing more, there’s positive impacts of doing less;

• You can focus on those few, meaningful projects
• You have much more energy, ambition and motivation
• You’ll have time for other activities (gatherings, exercise etc)
• Your focus, when working, will be much more enhanced
• A general increase in productivity overall
• Much less risk of burnout

The most significant reason to do less is that, however paradoxically, it actually helps with your productivity! It can increase it significantly.

When you’re working on a million projects, your time is split haphazardly, and it’s unlikely that you can ever get any real work done, for you always have another thing to do.

If you focus on just one or two meaningful things, however, you can devote lots of time and energy there, ensuring that the work is of a much higher quality.

How?

There are plenty of ways to do this, ranging from Warren Buffets 5/25 strategy, to simply picking 1 thing to focus on.

For Warren Buffet (even though we’re not entirely sure if it’s his strategy), he uses the 5/25 rule.

Step 1. Write down your 25 most important goals

Step 2. Draw a circle around your top 5 goals.

Step 3. Focus on Your Top 5 Goals and Say No to the Rest

This strategy enables you to eliminate any other distraction, any other thing that could potentially harm your productivity! You can just focus solely on those 5 things.

However you do it, the message is clear; pick only a few (maybe 1, maybe 5) key things to work on, and don’t divide your attention elsewhere.

Less is always more.

📹 Current Video; The Most Valuable Skill in the 21st Century — Nathaniel Drew

For an extended piece on this idea, take a look at this article!

Art Is Not War ❌

Within the urge to express ourselves, we can get the wrong idea.

Sometimes, we think that art, writing, or any form of creativity, is similar to the battlefield, that it is all turmoil, stress and hard work.

For some, it is. There are people who, when creating, do go to hell and back to make it work.

However, for most, and especially for me, art is not at all like war.

Art is not the destruction that comes with war, art is not the pain and the struggle, there is no enemy, and there is no vengeance. There is something else, something gentle and beautiful.

Where is the enemy?

Within war, there is some common enemy that you are going to fight. It wouldn’t be a battle if there was no enemy. You gear up, you grab your gun, sword, bomb, and you charge, all with the intention to harm the opposition.

Within art, however, where is the enemy? Who are you charging against?

With art, and all types of creativity, I cannot find an enemy. I do not want to find an enemy. The desire to create does not come with the desire to destroy or to harm; the two ideas do not coincide.

We must ask ourselves, who, or where is the enemy?

If you find yourself creating from a place of hatred and destruction, try and reshape that into a place of love, for even though anger is fuel, it is bad fuel.

Art Enables Us to Flourish.

In war, who is flourishing? You fight for glory, but even years after victory, is anybody truly glorious?

Instead, you end up with pain, suffering, death. Shattered economies and lifeless bodies, everywhere. You may feel victorious, but the tragedies are simply too immense for anybody to truly flourish.

With art, at least for me, it is the exact opposite; art enables one to flourish. It pushes one to that higher being, out of the comfort zone and into greatness.

We are creative to learn, to grow, to blossom. Not to fight an enemy.

It is not you vs anyone. Not even you vs you.

Instead, it is you with you. You are working, creating, for you.

With creativity, you work so that you can flourish, so that you can learn more about yourself, not so that you can destroy yourself, or anyone else.

‘If you get close to what you love, who you are is revealed to you, and it expands.’

Summary;

In short, art is far from war.

Art is not a gruesome, bloody battle. Rather, art is a wonderful expression, one that enables you to get closer to who you are within.

Tweet of the Week. ✍🏻

Untalented action > talented inaction

This tweet from @nicolascole77 outlines how, in all circumstances, untalented action overrides talented inaction.

Talent is great, but action is always superior.

Talented Inaction

What is the point in having a talent, be it a talent for communication, art or music, if it is not harnessed?

Inaction is the enemy of all productivity; you cannot expect to move forward if you don’t take the first step.

In regards to talents, they are a great gift, in the sense that they can provide a stepping stone for a future path or career. They make things a whole lot easier. But this is only if you act on it.

Having a talent, but not developing it is simply wasted potential. Inaction is wasted potential.

If you have a natural talent, work upon it, strengthen it and make it into something wonderful. This happens with action.

Untalented Action

Untalented action, on the other hand, is always the better choice.

Action is always better than inaction, whether you’re talented or not is a secondary issue.

If you take the first step, no matter if you think you have the skill or not, you’ll be 10x closer to achieving that goal than the person who stayed inactive, even if they have greater natural talents.

And the great catch is this; through action, through constant repetition and practice, you will build those skills, and talent will develop.

Through action can you build yourself up, even if you lacked all knowledge whatsoever at the beginning.

Idea of the Week. 💭

Adam Grant, psychologist and author, on criticism:

“Criticizing is easy and fast. Creating is difficult and slow. The two hours you spent on a book or movie usually took two years to produce.

Anyone can tear down someone else’s work. The true test of insight is whether you can help them improve it or build something of your own.”

To end, here’s a question from me! ⚡️

How can you implement one, or more, of these factors, to increase your chances of winning the day?

• Create daily
• Read daily
• Plan daily
• Write daily
• Show up daily

If you do just one of these things each day, with consistency, you’ll make immense progress.

Thanks for reading!

Sam. 😆