I was recently talking with a friend who was drowning in their work.
Too many tasks on their list.
Too many meetings on their calendar.
Too many obligations in their life.
I had to ask, “When is too much… just too much?”
Always Doing More
Some people feel that they must always be doing more.
Maybe they are perfectionists. Type-A personalities. Or just always striving for more.
Whatever the reason, their productivity follows a predictable pattern.
They keep adding to their plate until they start to drop tasks. They begin to be late and miss appointments. They forget and miss deadlines.
Inevitably, the whole charade comes crashing down, as they simply cannot keep up with all the obligations they have put on themselves.
Something eventually has to give, whether is it is their job, family, or personal happiness.
All because they took on too much, by their own hand.
Ironically, our society still tends to favor those who do too much. Companies often reward busyness instead of results. They recognize so-called over-achievers, even when they are failing.
(True story… I once saw a company give an award to employee “because they were so busy and sent so many emails!”)
Doing Less Isn’t Lesser
Keeping your life simple and in control shouldn’t be a negative. Rather, it should be a guardrail for your happiness and personal success.
Today, I challenge you to look at what’s on your list and on your calendar.
Ask yourself, “I am trying to do too much?”
Remember, “Life isn’t about doing the most things, it is about getting the most important ones done.”
Question: In what areas of your life should you do less? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
I think you nailed it Craig, “They keep adding to their plate until they start to drop tasks. They begin to be late and miss appointments.” Sometimes I think we lose perspective when we look and see others around us running, gunning and going all the time and feel we ourselves are underachieving. When in many instances, we peal back the veil of those around us, and we see someone who had it simple at one time, had it dialed at “less” and got a little bit behind and they’ve been playing catch up ever since.
Companies do award business. I’ve started working-from-home as a lawyer, 15 hours a week, and since I am not at the office, only results count. I am basically getting as much done as I did in my 80-hour long “40-hour” work weeks.
Hey Craig,
It does seem that modern life has been rewarding busyness instead of results. It’s not much different from society’s views on consumerism and how it ‘”increases cash flow in the economy.” Consumerism causes us to purchase too many things, and the pressure created by our expectations of success causes us to try and do too much.
When I began improving my life, connecting with people(like you!) and building businesses I tried to do too much. This was lesson #1 for me along with not spending $300 in a project with no validation. Even these days I struggle not to add tasks unto my plate because of the potential benefits they bestow.
Hogwash. None of these benefits can be assimilated if you’re too strung out to do anything with them. The same can be said for when you eat too much. There is no way you are going to assimilate all those nutrients in an effective manner.
Now I focus on whatever brings the most return on time invested, both personally and professionally. Typically these include things like connecting with people, creating content and writing to assimilate information from books I read.
Thanks for the wonderful reminder,
Shawn Michael Hartwell
Good one..Useful
When I began improving my life, connecting with people(like you!) and building businesses I tried to do too much. This was lesson #1 for me along with not spending $300 in a project with no validation. Even these days I struggle not to add tasks unto my plate because of the potential benefits they bestow.