Doing less: the hardest thing I’ve ever done
Today, I would like to discuss with you something that has seemed counterintuitive for far too long: doing less. How do you do that in a society where people who work hard are valued? I’d like to tell you why doing less has been (and still is) the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And why it is essential for me to do less.
Although these are my inspirations and my wills, doing less is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a long time
What if we stopped valuing burn-out? What if we didn’t equate people who spend their lives working (“workaholics”)? It is true that we live in a society that tends to value hard work. For many years, I also worked hard at my job. I was convinced that this would allow me to reach my goal more quickly. The more I progress, the more I realize that working hard is not necessarily the best way. From now on, I put more and more effort into doing less. I am convinced that working smarter is the way to success. And what do you think?
Well, saying it, thinking it, feeling it is one thing. But putting it into practice is another. I asked myself, how do you go from an 80+ hour week to a balanced life that allows you to take care of yourself and your family? And for good reason, I think that’s the question most entrepreneurs ask themselves. To be honest with you, until recently, I hadn’t found a method either.
Human biology is not designed to work non-stop. Resting the machine is essential.
At first glance, doing nothing seems very simple, even innate. Moreover, if we go back to our beginnings. Experts have shown that it is essential for a child to be bored. Doing nothing allows the child to develop his self-knowledge and develops his imagination. So why is it so difficult for adults to do nothing? Why do we feel guilty about “doing nothing all afternoon” exactly?
Look at all those top athletes. It goes without saying that rest is very carefully planned for athletes. It would be inconceivable to think of doing 10 hours of sport a day without a break. They allow themselves several breaks between each effort. The same principle applies to your physical energy and concentration at work.
How to learn to slow down
Here are some strategies I’ve implemented for my well-being. Try some of them and tell me how you found it.
a. Learn not to work on the weekends
For starters, I had to unlearn how to work on weekends. I might as well tell you that it was challenging for the entrepreneur in me. It’s true that we entrepreneurs tend to give our all to our business and sometimes lose ourselves in it. I ended up realizing that I was burning out and therefore losing a lot of quality of life. It’s important as a business to preserve yourself. I think taking a break on the weekends is made easier by the fact that we are aligning ourselves with the pace of the company and the workforce.
b. Learning to be
Second, I had to relearn how to be. What I mean by this is that I had to introspect on who I had become after all these years of life experience. It is easy to qualify ourselves based on our family or our work. But sometimes we forget ourselves, we forget what our deepest aspirations are.
c. Resume reading
Thirdly, I started reading again. In the hustle and bustle of life and work I had to give up reading. Again, it may seem counter-intuitive to take time to read when you are overwhelmed. But reading has its benefits that will seduce you. Reading keeps your brain in shape, it reduces the risk of certain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, it makes you empathetic and helps you understand the world better, it reduces stress, it helps you sleep better. Like setting a small realistic reading goal and then adjusting your reading time. Here are 3 books I recommend: do less, chillpreneur, and Hygge. 📚
d. Get back into sports
Finally, if you were to forget your obligations and commitments. What sports activity would you like to do? Is it possible to practice it at home according to your schedule or is it a group activity? How can you organize yourself in the next few weeks to practice it, even if only occasionally to begin with? For me, one of my goals for the year is to go back to my Capoeira classes.
That concludes it. I hope you enjoyed your reading. What about you? What do you plan to do less?
Photo by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash
