Do you ever feel like you're stretched too thin?
Like you're busy but not productive?
Like you're working constantly but not actually achieving anything?
Well, I've been there.
Flashback to two years ago, my life should have been great.
I had gotten a huge promotion and was now in a leadership position at a top agency in London.
I was making great money and was helping massive creators and entrepreneurs to launch hugely successful businesses.
But I was miserable.
I was exhausted, burnt out, and woke up every day dreading getting out of bed.
I knew something had to change, and that's when I read the book "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown.
Two key points from the book really stood out to me:
Point 1: It's not just you
Very successful people almost all feel like this at some point.
And interestingly it's because of how they become successful in the first place:
- You join a new team and want to impress them.
- To do that you help everyone out with their problems.
- You solve all the problems and everyone realizes how great you are - success!
- But then people get used to asking you for help and quickly you end up with more and more extra jobs.
- Next thing you know you're working on a thousand different tasks, but none of them are the most important things you should actually be working on.
This is exactly what happened to me and lots of people I've spoken to.
So its relieving to know most successful people run into this problem at some point.
Point 2: A simple phase to live by
The second point was one simple quote:
"Remember that if you don't prioritize your life, someone else will."
This point really resonated with me.
I had been so focused on proving my value that I hadn't stopped to prioritize my own life.
If you're at this point now, don't worry.
I can tell you from my own experience that just a few simple changes can help you take back control.
The book offers lots of ideas and frameworks for helping you to prioritize what is essential.
By only doing only what is essential you can achieve the guiding principle of Essentialism: Do less, but better.
Here are two of my favorite concepts from the book that helped me to achieve this myself:
Idea 1: Everything is a Trade-off
When we get an opportunity, whether that's a new project at work or an invite to a friend's birthday, we tend to want to take it because we're scared of missing out.
The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a powerful psychological phenomenon that all humans struggle with.
FOMO is what makes it so hard to say no to a good opportunity, even if we know we don't really have time for it
So how can we evaluate opportunities more objectively?
Well, when you consider an opportunity, also consider the trade-off.
Every opportunity, no matter how small, has a trade-off:
- If you buy something, you won't be able to buy something else.
- If you take on a project at work, you won't be able to commit as much time to other projects.
- If you go to a friend's party, that means less time for your other hobbies or side hustle.
When you get an opportunity, consider what you're giving up by taking it.
You might not want to miss out on the original opportunity, but you might not want to miss out on the trade-off even more.
Idea 2: What Is Your Essential Intent?
In the book, an essential intent is defined as a clear and compelling goal that provides you with direction and focus.
It must have these three components:
- Inspirational: It should motivate and energize you.
- Concrete and Measurable: It should be specific enough to track progress and measure success.
- Meaningful: It should align with your values and what is truly important to you.
For example, if you want to start an e-commerce business, your essential intent might be:
"In the next year, I will start a sustainable fashion brand that earns $100,000 and promotes eco-friendly practices."
Then, when you get new opportunities, you can ask yourself if the opportunity helps get you closer to your essential intent.
This can be a great tool for helping you filter out all the good, but not essential, opportunities that come your way.
Conclusion
The further I get in my career, the more I realize that doing more does not mean achieving more.
Despite having read this book years ago, the lessons in it have only proven to be more useful the more I progress in my career.
There will always be millions of good opportunities available to you.
The trick is not to take all the good opportunities, but only take the great ones.
By putting all of your effort into only the great opportunities, you can achieve more while doing less.
This is a constant challenge for most people (myself included) but it's an important skill to practice.
Particularly when you don't have much time or face unexpected challenges in life - but more on that next week.
So if you're feeling overwhelmed at the moment, hopefully these ideas can help you to start prioritizing your own life.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you're having a great week.
- Tim