Less-Is-More Blog by Pierre Khawand

Something unique happens when we dive into and fully commit our energy to one task while letting everything else fade in the background. This forces us to go deeper and prompt us into moving the issues forward, into finding solutions, or even making breakthroughs. This is likely to unleash new levels of creativity, resourcefulness, and capabilities we may not even know we have.

"But why don't we do this more often (working on one thing at a time)?" one might ask. Maybe because, while committing to one task is liberating, it is also frightening at the same time. It is frightening because we would have to face the challenges and fears that come with this task--or project, or issue. This includes the fear of not knowing, the fear of failure, and the fear of success. This also means facing procrastination and acting against our strong tendency of taking the path of least resistance.

So what would happen if we commit to this "one thing at a time" and face the challenges and fear that come with it? This is what is likely to happen:

a) We learn more, develop more, and gain more experience. As a result, not only we feel accomplished--something we are largely deprived of in today's everything-overload era, but we are also likely to achieve greater results over time and reap the benefits.

b) We accelerate the progress and make things happen faster-probably much faster than what multi-tasking can ever buy us. We are likely to get to the core issues and get there much sooner. We are likely to prompt decisions and actions which we would otherwise avoid or delay. This means we shorten the time to market and capture the windows of opportunities. In other words, we gain time--the next best thing to discovering the "fountain of youth".

c) We set precedence. This task, project, or issues that we face will be now on the "I can do it" list. Our subconscious has witnessed it which is very disarming for any related doubts and negative self-talk. The world has witnessed it which means it is now on our track record. Next time, not only we are ready to do it again, but probably take it a step further. The process continues to feed on itself.

These are important ingredients for feeling good, feeling accomplished, and being happy. So happiness is "working at one thing at a time" and is a choice!

So how do you turn the above into action? Let me know by adding your comment below!

You have this report to write, or presentation to prepare, or project plan to put into place. It is daunting. Too many parts to it. Too many issues to think about. You find yourself deferring it and feeling a little anxious when you think about it. It is just too big of an undertaking, and/or a sign of procrastination, and/or a sign of wanting it to be nothing less than perfect . You end up delaying it until there is no room for delaying any further. Then it becomes a high pressure situation. In addition, work quality suffers. If other urgent demands come up at the same time, and they will, then you've got one of these "situations" on hand.

The power of working in iterations and helping better manage such a project or task could involve the following:

Iteration #1

Give yourself permission to spend, let us say 40 minutes, to do a brain dump relating to the project or task (let us call it project for now). Remind yourself that this is just a brain dump and not go into analysis or conclusions yet. Capture related issues, ideas, worries, whatever else comes to your mind. Don't worry about organizing or ordering yet. Include a list of potential resources that you may have access to or would like to have access to. Be creative! Be bold! Dare to put down freely what comes to your mind!

Iteration #2

Leave the above alone for a bit. This may be an hour or two, or a day or two, depending on the magnitude of this project. This will allow the mind to absorb the information and do its own background work on it. It may be quite beneficial to engage in some creative work or physical exercise type activities during this time.

Iteration #3

Take another stab at it. This can also be yet another 40 minute session. In this iteration, you may add additional thoughts, and your mind may have already come up with new and interesting ideas on how to approach the project. Capture them and then move into organizing your thoughts and get them ready to take action. This probably means breaking down what needs to get done into manageable components that you can then schedule on your calendar, and/or delegate to others.

Iteration #4

Now that you have a plan, start execution according to plan. If possible and applicable, involve others. Setup a dry run or a review session with the people who could provide meaningful input, and who might have some stake in the success of this project. Create a deadline that can help you focus your energy and motivate you to get things moving.

Iteration #5

Give yourself time to refine, gather more input, and go for the final victory.

Of course customize the above as you see fit. Don't forget to stop and celebrate victory against procrastination and perfectionism, before you start the next project or task!

You have this long to-do list, and items keep getting added to it, and the list gets longer and longer. So what do you do? Here are three suggestions that can help.

First: Acknowledge and accept the fact that this "overgrown to-do list" phenomena is a "reality" that is associated with today's information overload. It is a "reality" and we can choose to surrender to, instead of defying it. Paradoxically, if we surrender to it, and give up the idea and wishful thinking that we will do it all, we are likely to free up more of our energy and get more accomplished.

Second: Another way to look at it is to redefine your to-do list from being the traditional "rigid" to-do list that needs to get done, to being a "choice" list from which you choose what you will do. The key to success is choosing strategically what to do, and negotiating strategically what not to do.

Third: Create a new kind of list. The "not-to-do" list. These are items that you intentionally decide not to do.  Instead of dragging them along on your to-do list, and dragging along the guilt and negative energy associated with it, make that conscious decision of not doing them. Once more, choosing and negotiating strategically are key.

So "to-do or not-to-do" is the new question that you want to consider when faced with to-do items, and maybe some of these items that come your way, can immediately make it to the not-to-do list.