#34 - Effortless
Let's start with a multiple choice question: What do you do when you already focus only on the essential things and it's still too much? Answer honestly.
A. You carry on, try harder, and work yourself to death.
B. You aim lower and give up on your goals.
C. You find an easier way to achieve the success you want.
Making It Easier to Do What Matters Most
"Effortless" by Greg McKeown is about how to find an easier way. We need three things. It starts with Effortless State - when we are rested, at peace, and focused. Being in Effortless State makes it easier to take Effortless Action - accomplishing more by trying less. You have clarity about what "done" looks like, you stop procrastinating and take the first obvious step. You simplify the process and remove unnecessary steps. You pace yourself rather then power through. Finally, Effortless Results is about looking for leverage that will multiply and compound the return on our Effortless Actions so that we can reap the benefits again and again (Book Recommendation: Effortless)
Does Your Schedule Suit the Work That Matters Most?
There are two types of schedule.
The manager's schedule is for bosses, and the day is typically cut into 1 hour intervals. It's the schedule of command. Meetings are not a problem. And you can easily fit in speculative, "grab a coffee" meetings if you have an empty slot.
The maker's schedule sees time in units of half a day at least. You can't write or program well in units of one hour. Meetings are a disaster because they blow a half-day into pieces, each too small to achieve anything meaningful. And it can have a psychological ripple effect on the other half-day too.
Each type of schedule works well by itself. Problems arise when they meet. Solutions?
One solution is to simulate the manager's schedule within the maker's - office hours. These chunks of time are at the end of the day and so they are never an interruption.
Another solution: break your day into 2 halves: one on maker's schedule (any work that requires uninterrupted time), another - on manager's (meetings, "business" stuff) (Paul Graham - Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule)
Do You Work or Do You Do Work About Work?
There's this really consistent result that knowledge workers say they're spending 60% of their time on what we call "work about work", sending these long email back and forth, going to status update meetings, or generally just in some way, communicating about work, rather than doing the creative work that will result in output for the business.
(...) we can not only, hopefully give back all of that 60%, but we can also make the 40% more leveraged and effective, by giving people clarity about what's most important, what the strategy is, what the goals are that they're working towards. (Eliminating Work About Work - Colossus®)
Find a Position of Leverage
I only really want to do things for their own sake. That is one definition of art. Whether it’s business, exercise, romance, friendship, whatever, I think the meaning of life is to do things for their own sake. Ironically, when you do things for their own sake, you create your best work. Even if you’re just trying to make money, you will actually be the most successful. (...)
Humans evolved in societies where there was no leverage. If I was chopping wood or carrying water for you, you knew eight hours put in would be equal to about eight hours of output. Now we’ve invented leverage—through capital, cooperation, technology, media, productivity, all these means. We live in an age of leverage. As a worker, you want to be as leveraged as possible so you have a huge impact without as much time or physical effort.
What you want in life is to be in control of your time. You want to get into a leveraged job where you control your own time and you’re tracked on the outputs. If you do something incredible to move the needle on the business, they have to pay you. Especially if they don’t know how you did it because it’s innate to your obsession or your skill or your innate abilities, they’re going to have to keep paying you to do it.
If you have specific knowledge, you have accountability and you have leverage; they have to pay you what you’re worth. If they pay you what you’re worth, then you can get your time back—you can be hyper-efficient. You’re not doing meetings for meetings’ sake, you’re not trying to impress other people, you’re not writing things down to make it look like you did work. All you care about is the actual work itself.
When you do just the actual work itself, you’ll be far more productive, far more efficient. You’ll work when you feel like it—when you’re high-energy—and you won’t be trying to struggle through when you’re low energy. You’ll gain your time back. (FIND A POSITION OF LEVERAGE — Almanack of Naval Ravikant)
Stay effortless, look for leverage and take it easy.
Arina
Illustration: Rendy Novantino (@novantino) | Unsplash Photo Community