Get Less Done: Stop Being Productive and Enjoy Yourself

There’s too much emphasis these days on productivity, on hyperefficiency, on squeezing the most production out of every last minute.
People have forgotten how to relax. How to be lazy. How to enjoy life.
Try this: read some of the best books, magazines and blogs on productivity, and see how many will tell you how to get the most out of the time you spend waiting, how to maximize your energy, how to make use of your commute time, how to make every meeting more effective, how to get more out of your workday, how to crank out more widgets.
People are working longer hours, constantly checking their inboxes, constantly focused on Getting More Done.
But to what end?
Are we producing more in order to make more money for corporations? Or to make more money for ourselves? Or just to hold on to our jobs — jobs we might not like anyway?
It’s possible we’re trying to get more done because we love doing it — and if that’s the case, that’s wonderful. But even then, working long hours and neglecting the rest of life isn’t always the best idea. Sometimes it’s good to Get Less Done, to relax, to breathe.
Let’s take a brief look at how to do that.
The Beauty of Getting Less DoneWhile working long hours and cranking out a lot of widgets is one way to go, another is to work on important things, to create amazing things, and then to relax.
I’m not saying you should surf the web all day, or take naps all afternoon … but why not? Why not enjoy a lovely nap? Why not take a long lunch and then a siesta? Why not enjoy a good book?I get people who ask me all the time, “What should I do on those days when I can’t seem to be productive?”
My answer: “Enjoy it!”
Sure, we need to produce sometimes, especially if we have to pay the bills, but an obsession with productivity is unhealthy. When you can’t get yourself to be productive, relax. Let go of the need to be hyperefficient. Stop feeling guilty about enjoying yourself.
But what if you can’t motivate yourself … ever? Sure, that can be a problem. But if you relax, and enjoy yourself, you’ll be happier. And if you work when you get excited, on things you’re excited about, and create amazing things, that’s motivation. Not forcing yourself to work when you don’t want to, on things you don’t want to work on — motivation is doing things you love, when you get excited.
It’s how I work every day. I work on lots of projects, on things I really care about, with people I enjoy working with. (See my guide to becoming self-employed if you’d like to do the same.)
How to RelaxIt’s funny that I’d even need a section on this topic — how to relax. It seems like it should be something we all know how to do. After all, aren’t we constantly searching for ways to be less lazy? And doesn’t it logically follow that we already know how to be lazy?
It’s possible you already have mastered the art of relaxing. And if so, congratulations. You are a Get Less Done master. All you need now, perhaps, is to let go of the guilt you might feel, and enjoy this relaxation.
But for those of you who have forgotten how to relax, you’re going to have a tougher time. Here’s a hint: don’t stress out about it. If you don’t know how to relax, it’s OK. Breathe. Take it slowly. One step at a time.
Some steps:
Take 5 minutes to go outside for a walk. Breathe the fresh air.
Give yourself more time to do things. More time means less rush.
After work, get outside, take in nature, run around if you can.
Play. Play like a child. Play with a child. Play when you work.
Give yourself a day off. Sleep. Watch TV. Eat bon bons.
At work, give yourself an hour off. Don’t try to be productive. Just have fun.
Work with someone who is exciting. Get excited about a project.
Take evenings off. Seriously, no working in the evenings.
Get a massage.
Breathe.
Step by step, learn to relax. Learn that productivity isn’t everything. Creating is great, but you don’t need to fill every second with work. When you do work, get excited, pour yourself into it, work on important, high-impact tasks … and then relax.

Your Life, Simplified

http://zenhabits.net/2009/08/your-life-simplified/

Our life is frittered away by detail … simplify, simplify.” - Henry David Thoreau

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.
A lot of people seem to connect with my message of simplicity, and yearn to find a simpler life in this world of ever-increasing complexity, of overwhelming technology.

We want to take the good things in our lives, the benefits of technology, but simplify things, get rid of the complexities.

And while I’ve written dozens of articles on simplifying (and an entire book on it), I’d like to offer a simple method.

Something you can do today, without being overwhelmed.

A 12-step method, perhaps, simplified into just 6 steps.

1. Write down your top priorities. We all have a long list of things we want to do, to try, to learn, to accomplish. Just pick 4-5. You can do that right now — make a short list of the things that are most important to you. My list: spending time with my family, writing, reading and running. These are the things you’ll build your life around, for now. You can always change this list later, as your priorities change.

2. Reduce one commitment. What is something you do every day or week that’s not on your short list? Is there any way you can get out of it? Make a phone call or send an email right now that will get you out of that commitment. It might mean disappointing one or many people — but you are going to create the simple life you want, not the complicated life others demand of you. By reducing this one commitment, you are simplifying your life, creating more time and space for the important stuff. Make the choice to put your priorities first, to find the time for them, by reducing your commitments.

3. Simplify your to-do list. Same concept, but at a smaller level — what’s on your to-do list that doesn’t need to be there? Something you’ve been dreading that you don’t absolutely have to do? Can you tell someone you’re just too busy to work on this? Can you give it to someone else, or automate it? See if you can pare your to-do list to just the most important things. Alternatively, just pick 1-3 things to do each day, and don’t worry about the rest.

4. Set aside some disconnected time. If you’re connected all the time, this step is essential. Don’t skip it! Pick one hour to be disconnected — no Internet, no email, no IM, no phones. You can use your computer, but just for desktop computing, like writing in a word processor or text file, or working in Photoshop, or what have you. Use this time to really focus, to pour yourself into important tasks that you love to do. Or you can use this disconnected time to relax.

5. Create your perfect day. You’ve blocked aside some disconnected time, but let’s take that a step further: what would your ideal day look like? What would you do when you woke up, what would your work day look like (hint: it doesn’t have to be the work you’re doing now, but it could be), would you have time for exercise or sports or taking a walk or relaxing or reading or doing a hobby, would you have time for loved ones, time to clean or do errands, time for checking email, etc.? List the things you’d do, ideally, then simplify to the most important ones. Then lay them out in a schedule. You don’t have to stick to this schedule exactly, but knowing what’s ideal gives you something to work toward. In some cases, you can simply start living this day, tomorrow, but in others you’ll have to make gradual changes to allow this ideal day to happen. The key: taking control and responsibility for making the perfect day a reality.

6. Declutter. You want a nice, decluttered, serene space to surround you in your new simplified life. So you’re going to create it. Two ways to go here: if you don’t have much time, just do 10-15 minutes for now, and continue to do small increments until you get to where you’d like to be. Here’s how. Second method is if you have an entire day or weekend — set aside a big block of time and just overhaul your workspace or one or two rooms in your home. Here’s a good method.

Next Steps
Once you get to this stage, things should be a bit more simplified. But you’re probably interested in going beyond that. Here’s what you can do next — but please, please, don’t try to do these all at once. Pick one at a time, and do it slowly, over time. Simplifying isn’t a race — it’s a life.

Declutter some more.
Letting go of wanting to buy more.
Reducing more commitments.
Transitioning to doing only work you love.
Creating time for solitude, quiet and relaxation.
Slowing down in everything you do.
Being present more often.
Single-tasking.

And most importantly: enjoy the process! The important thing isn’t a destination — a perfect, simple life — but the journey along the way.

Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.
- Lao-tzu

How To Live Without The Clock

“Clocks slay time… time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.” - William Faulkner

Have you ever wished that time would just go away?

I don’t mean time or “existence” in the literal sense. I mean time in the way we count things.

Because we’re always counting, aren’t we?

What time is it?
How much time do I have left?
How much longer until we arrive?
I hate waiting so long, I don’t have time for this.
We need to hurry it up.
If we’re late, we’re going to be in trouble.
When you really take a close look at all the hangups we have about time, it’s amazing how much we obsess over it. We think we can control time, how long things take, and what kind of results we get. Time management, after all, is how we achieve success, isn’t it?

Or so we think. Because there are so many other factors to success that have nothing to do with time, and nothing to do with counting it. There are priorities, there is leverage, relationships, resources, focus, commitment, and all of these other things. Yet we call it “time management.”

What I’ve personally found in my life is that the more I try to manage (control) time, the more anxiety I have.

I’m always trying to…

Make sure there’s enough time.
Schedule things efficiently.
Make sure I have time for this, or time for that.
Not let time “run away from me.”
Not spend too much time tracking time.
See how ridiculous this gets?

Jim Loehr, author of The Power of Full Engagement, says that “managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance.”

I have to agree. Trying to constantly manage and monitor my time has only led me to greater anxiety, and always feeling like I’ve not “done enough.” I’m always thinking about how I could have “spent that time more wisely.” But the purpose of life is to enjoy it, is it not? So can’t we perform highly without the anxiety of counting every minute?

I think so; at least I’ve been doing my best to live this way. After all, it takes time to ditch decades of time-bound conditioning.

So here are a few things I recommend to kill the anxiety of the clock:

Pick a theme for each month. A lot of people like to set goals. Well, I don’t. I find that goals give me too much anxiety because I’m always measuring myself up against what I could have done better. So instead, I like to set a theme for each month and focus my energy on that. This month, my theme is improving my ability to focus. Less email checking, distractions, and more highly focused, deep concentration work.
Work by the week. This has made a huge difference for me in getting the most important tasks done. Instead of setting my most important tasks for the day, I set them weekly. I’ve found this helps me better focus on the bigger picture. You may have heard the saying “We overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can do in a year.” I was always overestimating what I could do in a day, and beating myself up for not getting everything done. By focusing on the week, I’ve eliminated this issue.
Follow your rhythms. This may seem like a vague concept, but it’s about following the rhythms of your energy and listening to your body. When you need to take a break, take one. When you feel like plunging in, plunge in. Pay attention to what you’re drawn to working on and what you’re attracted to.
Schedule when you need to. We obviously can’t remove all scheduling commitments. There is a benefit to having a specific time and date setup for a meeting. This would be difficult otherwise. What you can do, though, is give yourself enough time to prepare beforehand and to transition afterward. That way you won’t always feel in a rush; the prime cause of time-based anxiety.
Flow. I personally love structuring my work around big, amazing and exciting projects. When I do this, I lay out the action steps and milestones necessary. Then I get to work. But the most awesome thing about working on big, amazing projects is that you are inviting the flow state. When you’re deeply passionate about a project, it’s easy to get absorbed in the work and lose track of time.
Stand still. We spend so much time trying to “go places” and “arrive.” And we spend a lot of time preparing for things in the future. While this is sometimes a necessary part of life, it’s also important to play, to let go, forget the future, and forget the past. What is so important that it cannot wait? It will be there tomorrow. And there will always be more. So relax, and let the world pass you by.
I heard a story from a friend about some business men that went to vacation in Bali. They had purchased one of the typical vacation packages from the local travel agency, which of course, had a schedule of events. As they were sitting at an outside patio at the bar, they asked when the entertainment would be starting that evening. The hostess just said “Oh it will start when it starts.”

You can imagine how much this troubled the men. Uncertainty… lack of control. Not knowing.

The locals in Bali are famous for being an incredibly carefree and happy people. They are also well known for not caring much about measuring time, or trying to be on time. They don’t care much about it. They are also extremely happy.

Meanwhile, the business men’s day has been ruined. They can’t count the minutes till the evening’s event begins.

So what would you rather be: in control… or happy?