If you want to really get great work done, do less.
At first, that may sound counter-intuitive. But the more things you do, the fewer things you can do really well. The less time and energy you can pour into doing really amazing work.
Would you rather do a bunch of things pretty OK, or just a few things really, really well?
Read fewer blogs. Spend less time on Twitter or Facebook. Watch less TV. Cut out a few low-value activities all together.
Then take the time and energy you’ve saved and channel it into doing the stuff that’s left even better.
This doesn’t work for me – I’m much more of a “the more I have on my plate, the more productive I am” kind of girl. I think it’s more of a matter of making sure everything on your plate has meaning. You have to choose the type of work you do.
@Rebecca – Interesting ideas. I really like what you said about meaning, but let’s be honest, there’s stuff you have to do in your life that doesn’t have meaning. Laundry. Cleaning the house. Putting gas in the car.
In fact, I think we do ourselves a disservice by seeking meaning in every single minute task in our lives. That’s why I think value is so much more important. There’s no meaning in doing laundry. But there is value.
And I’ve met many people who are more productive when they have more to do. As the old saying goes, if you want something to get done, give it to a busy person.
But of all the finite resources we have at our disposal, time is perhaps the most valuable. You can never find or create more of it, and there’s never enough.
You can only ruthlessly prioritize. At some point, you’ll have two things that add value (or, if you’d prefer, meaning) that you’d like to spend time on, and only enough time to do one or the other.
Thoughts?