How To Do Less But Have More
Do less but have more? Is it even possible?
The short answer is yes! The long answer is you have to unlearn everything that you have been taught. For all of our years here on earth, we have been taught that we need to do more, hustle hard, sleep less and never be satisfied. And the worst of them all…money comes hard and leaves easy. No shame in that because I’ve been there and I’ve done that too!
Disclaimer: This is NOT an invitation to put things off, nor is it an excuse to be lazy, procrastinate or call yourself a perfectionist. This is ONLY for those who are hard workers, heart centered, people pleasers and workaholics.
Here are a few ways I learned to reduce the nonsense in my life, do less and focus on what matters…
Start a don’t-do list
We have to-do lists, why not don’t-do lists? There are so many things that we do which don’t bring us joy purely out of habit or we feel obligated to do them. Remember last time you did something and thought, “That was an awful idea. I’ll never do that again” but then went on to repeat it a few months later? It’s like a really bad relationship, we keep going back to it. But what if you had a don’t-do list? Something that you can refer to when making a decision, something that can remind you of how much of a joy sucker making websites really are (that one’s for me. I made websites for over ten years and I hated it. But I kept taking on new clients). Old habits are hard to break but having a list to remind you will help. How about that friend you keep going out with that just sucks your energy? Every time you come home you remind yourself to never do that again, but a few months later you find yourself drinking coffee with her again? That goes on your don’t-do list!
Practice “instead of…”
Ever notice that you have a fresh perspective right after you come back from a vacation or after you take a break from the work you’re doing? A lot of times, to solve challenging problems you need to change your perspective and start seeing things in a new light. You give yourself distance from what you’re doing and give your mind room to be creative. It often doesn’t matter what you change, but rather that you change something, anything. This can help give you back your time, allowing you to solve things more quickly, come up with better answers and do less work. Here are some possibilities to help you break patterns and change your perspective…
Instead of frowning at an interruption… smile
Instead of talking… listen
Instead of making assumptions… observe details
Instead of obsessing with one solution… list ten possible solutions
Instead of filling every moment…. sit still for 10 minutes
Avoid negative people
You know those people who are energy drainers? We all have them in our lives. When you’re trying to do less, these people will always get in your way. Sometimes the best course of action is to simply limit your interactions with them. They will always find ways to make you feel bad for wanting to do less, for saying ‘no’, and for not hustling all the time. The last thing you need is another constraint on your focus, energy, or schedule. Instead, you should make a deliberate effort to spend time only with people who uplift and strengthen you.
Be intentional about who you spend time with.
Here’s to doing less and having more!
Putting it into action:
Ready to do LESS? Here’s how you can take action…
Ask yourself, “Am I using my time in the best way possible?” Take a hard (and honest) look at how you’re spending your day. Write down how you’re spending every minute. Is there something there that you can simply stop doing? Something you’ve been doing simply out of habit or “that’s how it’s always been done?” Eliminate ONE thing from your daily schedule. Do it apologetically.
Adopt this mantra: “Everything that is mine by divine right comes to me at the right place and at exactly the right time.” You have to start trusting the timeline of your life. You can’t force everything to happen and working your tail off won’t make anything any better. Choose to believe that everything comes to you in life at exactly the right time and that you already have everything that you need.
xo,
Zee
