Doing More vs. Doing Less

When it comes to productivity, there are two tradition schools of thought.  On one hand, you’ve got the “do as much as possible” philosophy; on the other, it’s all about minimizing the workload and doing the best job possible.

Which one is better?  At the risk of sounding ambiguous, I recommend both.  Depending on the situation, one will be more effective than the other.

When you aim to maximize your output, the focus is on quantity, rather than quality.  The idea isn’t to do everything equally well; it’s to dabble into everything so that can experiment while keeping your options open.

In contrast, the minimalist mindset strives to do as little as possible.  By concentrating on quality rather than quantity, you save time and will probably create a much bigger impact with whatever you’ve chosen to do.

The latter approach is more commonly supported, and rightfully so in most situations.  The glaring exception is when you start a big project or task in which you aren’t yet sure of the direction you’re going to take.  In this case, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket right away, so it’s beneficial to stay open-minded and do everything and anything to get past that initial hump.  That very first hurdle is usually the most difficult to pass, especially when you’re trying something new, so you really have to push to get yourself ahead of the game.  Once you’ve got things running smoothly, you can then be pickier and concentrate what works the best.

This is the approach I’ve adopted for this blog.  I’ve done attempted and failed many times to get this website out there, but I’m learning from my mistakes and moving forward with renewed determination.