Something to Read: The Power of Less

I wanted to recommend a book to all of our clients and anyone else reading the blog. I’m recommending this because it’s such a short read and I think many of our clients could benefit from this.

For those who don’t know, our clients fill out a form when it’s time for a new program. They answer some questions that detail the goods and the bads in their personal and gym lives and it gives me guidance as a programmer.

One of our final questions is “How are your stress levels, both in and out of the gym? (1-10 scale)“.

If you’re one of those people who consistently answer 7, 8, 9, or 10, this book is for you.

 

Empty Your Plate

Goal setting is one of the most important steps to changing your behavior, managing your life, and getting things done. When you’re setting too many goals and over-committing yourself to many different people/tasks/events, you’re sure to feel overwhelmed and your performance will be subpar.

I know you don’t want to give anything less than your best.

Start by writing down all of your obligations, then proverbially empty your plate. Hack away the unessential requirements that aren’t necessary life tasks or making you a better version of you.

What’s left?

 

Division of Labor

Look at your remaining list of tasks and pick the top five most important. From there, dedicate each day to one or two of them. Multitasking is a myth; don’t spread yourself thin, be fully engaged.

• If you’re having a conversation, you’re not checking your phone.
• If you’re at work, you’re being the best employee (or employer).
• If you’re at the gym, you’re incinerating your fat.
• If you’re at home having dinner, you’re enjoying your food and family.
• If you’re coaching your kid’s softball team, you’re focusing on how to make the kids better.

The best part about this strategy is that it eliminates worry. Whatever you aren’t doing NOW can wait. It’s truly liberating and you’ll come to find that the world won’t collapse.

 

Set Up for Success

Now we have less goals. Perfect. Let’s divide down each goal into smaller parts.

You have your medium-to-long-term goals, but you need a plan to achieve those end states because it won’t be happening in one day. I would suggest setting up tomorrow’s schedule the morning of or the night before.

What are the little things you can do?

• If you want to be a better conversationalist, listen to the person speaking and practice empathizing with them. Find someone with whom you can practice.
• If you want to be a better employee, think about what your employer really wants. Vice versa if you’re the boss.
• If you want a better body, substitute a pizza night for a home-cooked meal.
• If you need help enjoying your food, use 2 different colored vegetables in a meal or try out a new recipe.
• If you want to develop those softball kids into better humans, do something that makes them smile.

Every goal can be broken down into smaller parts. The key is to make these little tasks easy to complete. You can always add more during the day if you finish sooner than expected, but not hitting your target means a hit on your self-esteem.

 

Summary Steps

1. Write down all of your current tasks/engagements/goals.
2. Hack away the ones that are unessential. Try to make it 5 or less.
3. Decide which goals you will work on each day. Stop trying to multitask.
4. What small pieces of each goal will you do in a day? Make it something that you can easily get done.
5. Remember: start with less because you can always add more.

If this post wasn’t enough, pick up the book.

What are your top five goals?