Doing Less, But Better

Doing Less, But Better

Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less has always resonated with me.

The word intentional has appealed to me for as long as I can remember. It was my word of the year for several years.

Decluttering has been a goal of mine for, well, many, many years.

And yet, I’m a "GSD" woman. Get Sh*t Done.

I love a good to-do list. I love checking things off. There’s something incredibly satisfying about watching that list get shorter, knowing I’ve made progress and moved things forward.

The irony isn’t lost on me that I’m drawn to the idea of doing less while simultaneously trying to get as much done as humanly possible.

Can you relate?

Right now, I’m in the busiest season of the year for Nourish. I’ve been working seven days a week since summertime, and the demands only increase from now through mid-December.

I don’t share that to brag about how much I’m doing. Quite the opposite. I share it because it’s my reality right now, and I know many of you are carrying a lot, too.

This season is especially important to Nourish. The decisions I make, the events we attend, the emails we send, and the work we do all contribute to the health and longevity of the business. We have a limited window to make a meaningful impact, and I want to use that time well.

But here’s what I keep reminding myself: Just because something is a good idea doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for me to do right now.

I have more ideas than I have time or capacity to pursue. Some are exciting. Some could genuinely help Nourish grow. Others would simply be fun to explore.

And I have to let many of them wait.

Not because they aren’t worthwhile. Not because I don’t care. But because I’ve learned (and continue to learn) that trying to do everything can keep me from doing the things that matter most really well.

The discipline of choosing

One of the biggest lessons I keep coming back to in Essentialism is that we have to be intentional about where we invest our time and energy.

It sounds simple enough. In practice? Not so much.

Especially when you’re a person who cares deeply about what you do. When you see possibilities everywhere. When you want to help, create, contribute, and make things better.

Saying no to something good can be harder than saying no to something that clearly isn't right for you.

But every "yes" comes with a trade-off. Our time is finite. Our energy is finite. Our attention is finite.

We can fill every available minute with productive activity and still miss the opportunity to make meaningful progress on the things that matter most.

This reminds me of an idea I shared in a previous newsletter about Cal Newport’s approach to Slow Productivity: pick fewer things and do them very well.

I keep returning to that principle.

What if, instead of asking myself, How much can I get done today? I asked, What matters most today?

What will make the biggest impact?

What deserves my best attention?

And what can wait?

Those questions help me separate what is urgent from what is important, what is worthwhile from what is essential, and what I could do from what I actually should do.

I'm learning that being intentional isn't just about deciding what to do. It's also about deciding what not to do.

Taking care of the person doing all the doing

There’s another part of this that matters just as much to me.

I can’t ask myself to accomplish a great deal and then ignore the person who has to do the accomplishing.

I need sleep. I need movement. I need to eat well and drink enough water. I need time to think, time to breathe, and time when I’m not trying to squeeze one more thing into the day.

I need to protect some space for myself, even when my to-do list suggests there are a dozen more productive ways to spend that time.

And I need to be willing to let some things be good enough.

That last one is particularly important for a recovering perfectionist like me.

There will always be another task to complete, another idea to explore, another improvement to make. If I wait until everything is finished before I let myself rest, I’ll be waiting a very long time.

Taking care of myself can't be something I get around to after the work is done. The work is rarely done.

Instead, I have to build self-care into the way I work and live. Not perfectly, of course. I'm still figuring it out, and some days I do better than others.

But I know that burning myself out isn't a sustainable strategy. I want Nourish to thrive, and I want to be healthy enough to enjoy the life I'm working so hard to build.

Both things matter.

A little less, with a little more intention

I don't think the answer is to stop being ambitious, to stop having ideas, or to stop caring so much.

I think the answer is to become more thoughtful about where we direct all that care.

We don't have to pursue every opportunity. We don't have to act on every idea. We don't have to do everything well, all at once.

Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is pause long enough to decide what deserves our attention in the first place.

So, if you're feeling stretched thin right now, I invite you to take a few minutes and look at everything you're trying to manage.

Ask yourself:

What matters most in this season of my life? Not what matters to everyone else, or what I think I should prioritize. What genuinely matters to me right now?
Where will my time and energy make the biggest difference? What are the few things that deserve my best effort?
What can I let go of, delegate, postpone, or simply allow to be good enough? What am I carrying that doesn't need to be carried right now?
How can I take care of myself along the way? What do I need to protect so I can keep showing up for the people and things I love?

You don't need to overhaul your entire life or create the perfect plan. Maybe you start by choosing three priorities for tomorrow.

Maybe you finally move that good-but-not-right-now idea to a list you can revisit later. Maybe you give yourself permission to leave something unfinished and go to bed.

Small choices count.

I'm reminding myself of these things right alongside you. I still love crossing things off my to-do list. I still have more ideas than hours in the day. And I still have to remind myself, sometimes more than once, that I have limits.

But I'm learning that a meaningful life isn't measured by how much we manage to squeeze into it.

It's shaped, in part, by what we choose to give our time, attention, and energy to.

Here's to doing a little less, doing what matters a little better, and remembering that we matter, too.

xoxo,
Jamie