Be More. Do Less. Improve Results.
busyness is an enemy of productivity
I still meet executives and business owners who wear being busy as a badge of honour.
In my observation busyness is bad for our well-being and therefore our productivity.
The following is a regular conversation starter. Me “How’s things going? Other person “I’m really, really busy.” Me “Busy doing what?”
Silence is often the initial response. As the conversation becomes deeper we uncover that a reimagining of what to focus on is required.
I too once wore busyness as a badge of honour.
Everything changed in 2012 when for health reasons I had to stop flying regularly. At that time a couple of aeroplane rides was an almost weekly occurrence. I was working 100 or so hours per week.
Over the next three years I completely changed everything. Today I work maybe 20 hours per week and I fly on very few occasions. The very interesting thing is that I’m 10 times more productive and valuable for my clients.
Three main reasons for my success:
1) My work is focused primarily on one topic - wise conversations.
2) I only work with people who love my work and are fully committed to enhancing their conversation skills.
3) The focus of my conversations is to be helpful and valuable and provide input and support that people find meaningful for them.
What’s your one topic or one area of expertise that means being the best version of you?
Who loves your work?
How focused are you on being helpful, valuable and providing in ways that the people who love your work find meaningful for them.
Recommendation
I highly recommend the book ‘Essentialism’ by Mark McKeown.
I’ve read this book five times since Nick Haines and Matthew Newnham recommended it to me in 2015 when they worked for a time as my mentors.
A central theme of the book is “less but better”, a design concept by the legendary German designer Dieter Rams.
I apply “less but better” to every aspect of my life (I’m a work in progress). I say much less in conversations than I once did for example. I’ve gone from being an ordinary listener to a very good one which of course has increased my positive and productive impact.
How could you apply “less but better?”
I suggest applying this concept, along with others in ‘Essentialism’ is a key to making 2023 your best year yet.
I can help. Check out my new program ‘The Art of Wise Conversations’.
Very true Ed "when we know what we value we then know what we are willing to do and not do. It makes it easier to say no" Thank you for commenting.
I was a part of a entrepreneurial cohort several years ago who read Essentialism. It had a profound impact upon us. We read it in tandem with Gary Keller's The One Thing. As I pondered the lessons of these two books, I realized that one of the obstacles to practicing this form of simple, focused work was the lack of clarity about what mattered to people. This led through several interactions with various people where I came to realize that the major problem was the inability to say No. From that I wrote a short book called May Your No Be A Yes: A Guide To Making Better Decisions (https://www.amazon.com/May-Your-No-Yes-Decisions-ebook/dp/B0977GDQ2B?ref_=ast_sto_dp). The simple message is that when we know what we value we then know what we are willing to do and not do. It makes it easier to say know. However, it does require us to be clear about our values, which is different than knowing what we value.