“The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed. Proficiency and results come only to those who have learned the paradoxical art of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity.”
— Aldous Huxley
2 Important Lessons Today:
Save this email and come back to it in 12 months after you read it. Print it out if you have to — Use the snooze function and have it pop up on November 9, 2024— so you know how far you’ve come.
1. Progress Through Subtraction
Psychologist Nick Wignall writes about the mindsets of highly disciplined people— but in it, he shifts the ‘highly disciplined’ part and thinks of it less as becoming ‘more disciplined’ and becoming ‘less distracted’. You don’t need more time: you need fewer distractions.
When people think about discipline, the term willpower usually comes to mind — pushing yourself to work hard or stay focused. But if you actually observe highly disciplined people closely, you’ll notice something striking…
Disciplined people don’t rely on willpower.
Sure, they make use of it from time to time. But willpower isn’t their main tool for getting things done. Instead, highly disciplined people cultivate mindsets that help them do consistently great work without needing to use willpower.
One of the better parts of this idea is the concept of “Progress Through Subtraction: Saying NO to things. The Less But Better mindset is about giving yourself permission to focus on what really matters and ruthlessly eliminating everything else.
2. Rest to Get Things Done
It sounds like a paradox, and it is, but the human mind is not built for constant motion. It is, however, designed for bursts of activity and processing, followed by deliberate and instinctual periods of rest and recovery. “Work Like a Lion, Not a Cow.”
Read Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less
By Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
The book is well worth buying as a hardback, for kicking back with your smartphone in another room for maximum absorption. The writing style is easy and it’s a relatively quick read. It avoids a lot of the clichés and clunky metaphors of most other books in this sort of ‘self-help’-themed genré. (Not one mention of the prehistoric man, or sabretooth tigers in any chapters. Amazing!)
I highly recommend starting this book while you’re still in holiday mode, but it works wonders on a Sunday when you’re trying to take stock of the week’s madness. There’s a good chance this might be the best book you read on a weekend… that is, if you’re not trying to clear your email inbox when you should be relaxing. (Order it now so it arrives by Saturday)
I first discovered Alex’s work through a Google Talk he did in promoting this book.
It may seem counterintuitive to insist that getting things done relies on ‘not’ doing things, but the book slowly takes you through the logic.
The human mind isn’t designed for constant stimulation, endless productivity and gapless work. It isn’t designed for cognitive—switching or multi-tasking (See also: Deep Work by Cal Newport).
Homework:
I would highly encourage you to look at the resolutions you wrote yesterday and pin them somewhere you’ll see them every day. The fridge, above your workspace, near your catch-all by the door— whatever works.
Then, every time a request comes in that will take your finite time away from the things on that list, PAUSE, then consider if saying Yes is really the best option. You already have the scripts to say NO. Use them. Start memorizing and personalizing them to your own voice. And whatever you do, do NOT apologize.
Again, telling your boss NO is quite simple, but not easy.
Enduring your peer pressure is quite simple, but not easy.
Protecting your irreplaceable time is quite simple, but not easy.
Staying on your course when everyone tells you to change it is simple, but not easy.
Baby steps. NO takes practice. Start small, and work your way up.
This week, we’re going to look at working from a calendar instead of a To-Do List, JOMO and learning to sit with the idea of not having to fill every minute of your day.
Good luck,
- Jason
I like this one!! I also very much love that this entire series was introduced in the Outback Steakhouse email (classic) as “naaaauur!”
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