Lessons learned from “Less Doing, More Living”
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How would it feel if you had more time to spend on the things you love doing? It could be spending more time with your loved ones or things you want to do or traveling to places you want to visit.
Unfortunately, time goes really quickly, and we Waste a lot of it on doing the things that don’t serve us well. No matter what we do, time is something we never seem to have enough of.
In his book “Less Doing, More Living”, Ari Meisel shares some valuable tips to help you create more time for the things that matter to you. So here are the 6 main lessons, I learned from this book.
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Start tracking your time to identify how and where you spent your time
We all have some general idea of how we spend our time in a day or even a week. But once you start tracking and writing everything down, you will be astonished by the result. Without being aware, we waste a lot of time on things that add no value to our life. We waste time on social media, watching nonsense on TV, or even thinking.
This process involves, writing everything down. It is a bit daunting process, but once you record everything down for a week, you will have a clear idea, of where you waste your time. The good thing is you only have to do this once and believe me you won’t regret it. You can record it in 30 minutes or 1-hour blocks. So every 30 minutes to an hour, you will write a quick diary about how you spent that time period. At times, it will feel like, you are wasting your time doing this, but trust me it is well worth it.
Clear the clutter in your brain
When you start a task, you open a loop in your brain. Your brain constantly reminds you to close that loop and as result, you keep thinking about it and get agitated and have sleepless nights. All those little tasks you started or the things you want to do transform into clutter that can eventually create a huge mental overload.
One of the few things you can do is, first finish the task you’ve started. Some tasks might be a huge project or might be a dead-end, but you still need to finalize them in a way that can give you a sense of accomplishment. Also, remind yourself regularly that you don’t have to do everything on your own. Whenever possible, try to delegate and ask for help.
Identify when and where you perform best
We all have a time of the day and a place, when, and where we can be more productive. So, you need to do a little bit of Trial and error to find out where and when your performance peaks. By identifying your productive place and time, you will automatically become more effective. Everybody has their own unique way to work. Once you figure out what works best for you, it will make your life a lot easier.
Identify what distracts you
Although this sounds the most obvious thing to do, it is the one we often miss or avoid. Because a lot of the times the distraction stares at your face and we choose to ignore it. Or we became so used to it, that it doesn’t seem like a distraction.
You need to take some time to observe your surroundings. Is it the noise, continuous alerts on your phone, unfinished task, and overthinking? Once you are aware of these distractions, you will have the upper hand to eliminate or at least minimize these distractions.
Limit the favors
It is nice to help. But you need to be aware of how much help you give to others and also why. Is it because you are trying to avoid the work at hand or is it because it feels rude to say no. One thing to remember is all these little favors add up and eat away your precious time. All of a sudden you might find yourself rushing and stressed to finish your own tasks. Remember this, to be able to offer the best version of yourself to others, you need to take care of yourself.
Master the art of doing nothing
(Sadly) Productivity is often associated with working a lot and being busy. The reality is switching off and sleeping well is one of the most important factors that determine how effective we are. If your Health deteriorates, no matter what you do, you can never perform your best. Always prioritize your mental and physical health. Quality sleep is the foundation of good health. Lack of sleep can lead to tiredness, depression, and all sorts of diseases that can be fatal.
