We no longer take the time to sit down and reflect in the modern world. We are always on the go, juggling tasks and meetings, and we spend our time responding to emails and phone calls.
The issue is that you never take a step back because you are constantly looking down at the handlebars. We lack perspective and clarity. We focus on pointless activities without even realising it. Even worse, we waste time on activities that don't make us happy.
Essentialism serves as a reminder to prioritise what is important to us in our daily lives. In real life, this means that each day you should take a moment to reflect and ask yourself:
In order to stay focused on what is most important, you must ask yourself this question at least once per day. Because if you don't, you'll fall into the whirlwind of daily life. There will be a plethora of things vying for your attention, and you will become overwhelmed.
You'll remember what's important and spend less time on unimportant things if you remind yourself of it every day.
Nowadays, we believe that everything is important. We add items to our to-do list that we believe are urgent and important. Nothing really is a priority unless everything is.
The word priority is also singular and constant at its core. Priorities have only been used in the plural since the turn of the twentieth century. We seem to have forgotten what the word itself means somewhere.
Don't ask yourself, "How am I going to do everything today? " when you look at your to-do list. As an alternative, you ask yourself, "If I could only accomplish one thing today, what would it be?"Then you'll be certain to concentrate on what's important.
We have a propensity to concur frequently. To attend the meeting, of course. To assist with a project, yes. Yes, to go with a friend to a gathering.
Because we want to succeed, we answer yes. We don't want to offend people, but we also want to help them. The issue is that if you constantly say yes, you end up committing to too much. Many small tasks are moving forward for us, but nothing is advancing more quickly.
Paradoxically, the more we agree, the more we let people down, even though that is exactly what we are trying to avoid. You run out of time when you take on numerous projects. Additionally, it becomes impossible to effectively assist others when time is of the essence.
To finish the work more quickly, we either rush through it, turn it in late, or completely ignore it. In any case, it does not benefit the person at the base who we were trying to assist.
You have to get better at saying no in order to avoid disappointment. You'll have more time for the things that matter to you if you say no, and you'll be able to help people more effectively.
You'll interact with fewer people, but those you agree to assist will gain from your assistance because you'll have more time to devote to them.
So, don't be reluctant to decline. Remind yourself that this is the only way to continue being effective, avoid disappointing others, and keep their trust.