What did you do today that you should do less of tomorrow?

Miyagi explained to his young karate apprentice that the best way to block a punch is to not be there. 

Paradoxical as it sounds, this principle is actually quite useful when fighting the battle of productivity. 

Because we can make all the lists, use all the software, optimize all the calendars, and rank all of our tasks in order of high priority to low, but in many cases, the easiest way to accomplish a task is to eliminate the need to do it. 

One of my friends literally has two hundred items on her do list. She showed it to me. It made my eyes bleed a little. And my only thought was, wow, this is not a productivity problem, it’s a boundary issue. 

This person needs to learn how to say no. 

With two hundred items on her list, every magnet for her attention could not possibly be that urgent or important. 

The best way to block a punch is to not be there. 

My advice was to consider a few boundary exercises. 

What if she perused the list and culled anything that was not a hell yes? 

What if she threw the list away and only did the items she could remember? 

What if she showed the list to her husband and allowed him to challenge some of the more irrational tasks? 

None of these boundaries would tilt the world on its access. They might make the controlling instinct start welling up inside of her, and they might trigger a sense of loss or a fear of missing out, but in the end, should would survive the difficult feeling. 

It just seems to me that when trying to organize our time, we allow the complexity to consume too much valuable energy. 

When we could give ourselves the equivalent to a second life by simply saying no. 

The easiest way to accomplish a task is to eliminate the need to do it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Where could you benefit from doing less?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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