Doing Less of what Doesn’t Matter. Hmmm….
Progress in life isn’t always about doing more. Many times, forward movement in the important areas of life can most easily be achieved by doing less of what doesn’t matter. Some people might relate to this as a call to be more efficient, but that’s a term we often hear at work which could make it feel like it’s going to take a monumental effort to achieve. The truth is, doing less of what doesn’t matter is really quite simple. All that’s required is a quick shift in perspective. That quick shift in perspective can deliver monumental returns. Isn’t this exciting?
Face it, we’re all constantly managing the important areas of life that comprise who we are, how we feel, and where our attention gets spent. Important areas like the 8 spokes on the Wheel of Life I’ve talked about before. The important areas of a person’s Wheel of Life includes Family, Financial, Community, Health, Work, Spiritual, Self-improvement, and Giving Back by Helping Others.
Frankly, it can feel overwhelming at times as we keep pushing forward, focused on the things we need to do to be where we want to be in life. We spend countless hours doing things that don’t yield the results we hoped for. Reminds me of the unique definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result…and that drives me crazy.
So, we start again, attempting to do more (something different) than we did last time without really thinking about what went wrong, what went right, and what ended up being wasted time and effort. We attempt to re-invent the wheel believing that if we just work harder this time, we’ll accomplish our goals. While the saying “work smarter, not harder” is valid and useful, it can also bring feelings of defeat which can lead to giving up. Since giving up is never the solution to anything, considering doing less of what doesn’t matter is an attractive alternative. So, what’s the shortest path to implementing a doing less of what doesn’t matter perspective?
Our upbringing in life teaches us that whenever we’re trying to make positive progress in any area of our life to keep doing more to get there. We’re never taught to do less of what doesn’t matter. We’re taught that doing less of anything is what leads to complete failure. We’re never taught to consider the value of our efforts. Rather, we get squeezed into the trap of “doubling” of efforts as if more is always the solution. Constantly trying to do more in every area of life can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, which can lead to feelings of feeling defeated, which can lead to just giving up and giving in to a life that isn’t what we want it to be. That learned pattern needs to be interrupted, replaced with a new perspective, and then anchoring the better pattern in our daily life.
The more time I spent pondering the “doing less of what doesn’t matter” perspective, the more the benefits of embracing it began to add up. All it took was having a talk with myself about what does and what doesn’t matter in my daily habits, routines, and the way I process what occurs throughout the day. It was an enlightening process. Taking everything I did and placing it into just 2 categories, namely “what matters” and “what doesn’t matter.
My best example that has had the greatest impact for me was cutting the time I spend on social media by 95%. I realized that the time I had previously spent on social media didn’t bring any real value to my life. The small amount of time I’m currently on social media is mostly spent staying connected with family and friends. Now, that other 95% of the time I used to spend is giving me a ton more time to spend on things that do matter most. I’ve spent that time learning how to productively utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the return on my time’s investment has been life changing for my wheel of life. I’m studying more now than I ever did in school.
Watching videos with content designed to grow knowledge in specific areas, listening to entrepreneurial or educational podcasts, reading how-to and self-help books, engaging in conversations with people who know a lot more about something than I do are all ways that fill my cup of curiosity and quest to understand things. All of this provides me with an exciting way to begin each day with a “doing things that matter most” mentality.
And it’s working really well. Every time I pause to consider whether my thoughts, words, and actions are making a positive difference or not, I gain extra time eliminating wasted effort doing less of what doesn’t matter and steering my focus towards the routines and habits that matter most.
I really feel that I’m winning more in life, even though the world continues to throw wrenches, hurdles, roadblocks, distractions, and nonsense at me day after day. And YOU can win more too! It’s why I’m sharing this simple perspective of “doing less of what doesn’t matter” at you today. I’ve explained how it works and hope that you’ll at least take it out for a test drive. If you do, you’ll provide yourself a new perspective path that leads to a huge increase in the amount of consistent joy, happiness, and positive direction you’re able to travel down. So, get busy doing less of what doesn’t matter right now.
Hey…I Believe In YOU! GiddyUp!