Everyone has heard the phrase less is more. We live in a day and age where everyone is obsessed with quantity. People acquire “things” in such ridiculous quantities that it oftentimes does not make sense from the standpoint of practicality. Some people love buying clothes and others it’s massive helpings at the dinner table. Perhaps you have a million apps on your phone and another million programs on your computer.
Is this starting to sound familiar?
When is the last time that you really stopped to see if all of the excesses in your business was actually helping you? Check and see if the “quantity over quality” approach does any of the following for you:
- Save you time?
- Make you more money?
- Increase your daily productivity?
- Increase your credibility in your niche or industry?
- Give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside?
That last point was a bit humorous, but it is important to evaluate what value you are getting from “more”. I have a simpler, cleaner, and less stressful approach for you all to try. It isn’t groundbreaking or anything new, but you may need to hear this today.
Here are 5 reasons why less will guarantee you more:
1. Clutter leads to the death of productivity.
Physical, tangible clutter and electronic clutter both leads to the same destination. Here is a hint: It’s not one where anyone wants to go. Clutter is a reflection of your mindset. Think about your physical desktop and the desktop on your computer. Are they a mess? How about the inbox on your email accounts?
The good news is that clutter can be cleaned up and you can start today! The challenge is making some changes to how you view and value your desktop space. You can do this and allow the hope of a more productive day to be your motivation. Less clutter equals more (and better) results. Period.
[Tweet “Clutter is a reflection of your mindset. “]
2. Multi-tasking will bury you.
Do you remember when everyone was first talking about multi-tasking? It was regarded as a HUGE asset until we figured out that nothing got done completely or well. How effective can any of us be if we are trying to handle three times as much as we can efficiently manage?
You will have a better experience in your work if you put all of your effort into one focus at a time. Would you rather take 4 tasks to 100% or 100 to 4%? It may seem like a silly question, but this is the situation that we find ourselves in by trying to be everything to everyone, all of the time! Embrace the less and create higher quality work, all of the time.
[Tweet “Would you rather take 4 tasks to 100% or 100 to 4%?”]
3. Work fewer hours.
I know some of you are thinking that I don’t understand “how busy you are.” Please stop. We all have exactly the same amount of time in a week and we choose what we spend that time on. We have 168 hours exactly; so choose your commitments wisely.
If you try to work 16 hours a day to get everything done, you are wasting your time. Trust me, I have tried. You are better off working 10 hours a day because, beyond a certain point, your level of fatigue trumps your effectiveness. Think of this as the law of diminishing returns. It is not possible to be productive when you never sleep and run yourself into the ground.
Less work is more. Repeat this and embrace it until it hurts. I am not suggesting that you go part-time, but I think you already know that!
4. Seek advice from fewer people.
A mistake that I see a lot of people make is asking everyone their opinion about everything. This is only going to overwhelm you and halt any forward progress that you hope to make. It is a huge mistake to ask close family and friends their advice on every area of your life.
If your best friend is broke, should you really ask him or her for financial advice? People do it every day. If your parents are divorced, are they people that you want giving you relationship advice? Would you ask your mechanic for surgery advice for the family dog? There is a touch of humor here, but the point stands out.
Be strategic in whom you seek advice from and what you seek them out for. Fewer opinions equals more focus for you.
5. Receive less and give more.
Making an impact on another person or an organization of people is among the most satisfying feelings that I know of. This also gives you energy, focus, and productivity in dividends. I challenge you to ask yourself how you can contribute more to all situations without the expectation of a return.
This may feel counter-intuitive at first, but I give you my personal guarantee that this approach will give you more, in return. More friends, more opportunities, more of all of the good stuff that life has to offer.
Happy people are productive and this approach will definitely point you in the right direction. Can we now agree that “quality over quantity” is the only way to roll?
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