The Key To Doing Great Things: Do Less … Not More

Everyone has had those days, or perhaps weeks, where you were caught up in all you had to do. We have experienced those days where we look at our ever growing “to do” list and feel overwhelmed because there is just too much we need to do.

Many of us feel a strong need to be productive and to continually get things done day after day.  We need to see signs of progress and our hard work paying off.  As a result, we set goals each day to get as much done as possible.  We fill our days with completing task after task and our focus is on doing as much as is humanly possible for the day. We aim to cross as many items as we can off of our “to do” list.

But … there is another way.  Maybe we should approach things a little differently.

The alternaview

Our goal each day should not be to do as much as possible, but rather to do a few things very well.  There is of course nothing wrong with being productive and getting things done.  However, we must always ensure that we are not prioritizing getting a lot done over doing things exceptionally well.

As we all know and have probably heard countless times, it is important to do things with the utmost quality and totally engage in what you are doing.  Whether we are writing a thesis or just sending a basic e-mail, we should always be completely focused on whatever is in front of us and devoting all of our attention and energy to it. We should aim to do everything in a great way because that is when we see the best results and when we set ourselves up to really be effective.

This means we should never sacrifice quality or really pouring our passion and energy into what we are doing.  We can never fall into the trap of thinking that life is about getting as much done as you possibly can everyday because that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

There is nothing more important than doing things in a great way with the utmost attention to detail and that takes time and requires we don’t just rush through things simply to complete them as quickly as possible.  We need to be able to continually tap into that great side of ourselves where creativity flourishes and where we really can connect and put everything we have into what we are doing. And, that means we most likely have to focus on doing fewer things each day and devoting the right amount of time and attention.

How to use this alternaview:

1. Don’t Be a Superhero. When it comes to creating your daily “to do” list, you are better off not pretending you are super human.  Don’t try and take on too much.  Be realistic about what you really can do on any given day and allocate extra time to do things so you can really do them well.

2. Give Your daily “To Do” List A Second Review. After you have decided what you are going to do for the day, take another look at your list and double check that it really is feasible.  Be ready and willing to take things off your list if you have taken on too much.  Remember the key is doing things with more quality, not doing more things.

3. Slow Down. As you go through your day, make a concerted effort to slow down while you are doing things.  It is amazing how we can slip into automatic pilot and do things in fast forward without even realizing it.  Focus on slowing down continually and doing everything as well as you can.  You don’t want to ever feel rushed as you move through your day so simply focus on slowing down.

4. Really buy into “less is more”. You most likely have been conditioned to believe that that the more you do, the better.  It may be necessary to reprogram yourself with the truth … doing fewer things really well will ultimately work out better for you.

5. Notice the Increase in Quality. Appreciate how much better you do things when you don’t do too much.  Notice and give yourself credit for the increase in quality of what you are producing.

6. Realize You Probably Have More Time Than You Think. It is amazing how we can convince ourselves that false deadlines are true and that things need to happen today.  Just let go and allow things happen and evolve on their own time line.  They always will.

Conclusion

If you are one of those people that takes on way too much, it is probably time to give yourself a break.  Remember that life is not about how much you can get done everyday, but rather about how well you are able to do things … that is the alternaview.

Do you agree with this alternaview?  Are you good at managing your daily “to do” list?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section.