Do you believe your high goals have to be hard to accomplish?
Is it bad to seek out an easier path to get the desired results?
Does life have to be challenging and complicated?
After you’ve chosen the essentials, do you still feel overwhelmed?
It’s common to believe that any problem can be solved with hard, heads-down work. While diligence and determination are elements of success, you could also seek to make essential tasks easier to do.
We tend to think that important and valuable work has to be hard. This could be writing a book, leading a team, designing a new product, running a business, or preparing a presentation. But too much effort is counterproductive when it leads to chronic stress, health problems, sleep issues, and burnout.
You first need to decide where to focus your energy. Once you determine the essentials, how do you make them as easy as possible to do?
Work can be effortless if you break it down into small, easy to manage chunks. It can also feel effortless if you pair it with a fun activity.
In episode 22 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn three big ideas for Effortless Productivity:
1) How to move into an Effortless State (i.e., think the most essential things can be the easiest to do).
- Invert
- Enjoy
- Release
- Rest
- Notice
2) How to take Effortless Action (i.e., do find the easier path)
- Define
- Start
- Simplify
- Progress
- Pace
3) How to get Effortless Results (i.e., get the right results without burning out)
- Learn
- Lift
- Automate
- Trust
- Prevent
4) What happens next matters most. Whatever happened in the past pales in comparison to the power you have to choose what to do now. Instead of working harder and harder, and exhausting yourself, you can choose a more effortless path.
5) The Incrementalist ebook is on sale for $4.99, until June 20. After that, the regular minimum price of $9.99 will apply. You can find it at leanpub.com/incrementalist.
Resources cited:
- Greg McKeown, Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most
- Dyan Williams, The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps
- The Incrementalist podcast, Ep. 21, Find and Keep a Hobby You Love
To listen to episode 22, Effortless Productivity, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.
If you prefer to read, download transcript of episode 22.
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Dyan Williams is a solo lawyer who practices U.S. immigration law and legal ethics at Dyan Williams Law PLLC. She is also a productivity coach who helps working parents, lawyers, small business owners and other busy people turn their ideas into action, reduce overwhelm, and focus on what truly matters. She is the author of The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps.
