The Weekly Dose - The More / Less Model
“The answer is not more hours, it's less bullshit.” -David Heinemeier Hansson
Hello,
Well this week it’s mostly about doing better work by doing less. I like this topic because it’s anti quiet quitting. It’s more intentionally doing less to get more done - which has to be the better way?
For the first 6 months this year I was working on a contract that was about 3 - 4 days a week. So I only had 1 - 2 days for Another Door / writing / new project. Once the contract had completed I realised that although I now had more time I was getting less done. I was leaking focus all over the place. So this week I’m sharing a few things I discovered that helped me understand what was going on.
We are getting ready to launch our next evolution and the beta tests and pilot have been exciting. It feels like this is the next natural direction for Another Door so I’m looking forward to sharing with you soon.
Would love your thoughts on the Rethinks this week. I know Jason and Chase’s chat had a few penny drop moments for me! And, well, I bet you weren’t expecting a recommendation to watch a film about orgasms! But it is brilliant for many reasons.
Have a great weekend - until next time.
enjoy!
eleanor
(Don’t forget to download the app so you have all the notes in one place - so much easier to keep up with reading, searching!)
Five things this week…
1.Rethink space
Parkinson’s Law - provides an answer to why, even though you (and family) get up earlier than usual, you manage to be late for the school drop off.
And it’s an interesting model to think about in your work.
"Work expands as to fill the time available for its completion" -Cyril Northcote Parkinson
The theory goes that the more time you give yourself to complete a task the longer it will take and it will also increase in complexity.
For example you have a project to complete and given yourself a day to do it. You will fill that time and allow more ideas and things into your work. day. You might make a cup of coffee, you might read an article you remembered related to the topic, you might then see another article linked to the topic. The remit suddenly widens and you have more possibilities for the project. You have more opportunity for project scope creep. You might start overthinking. Worrying about details you hadn’t before.
If you’d only had 30 minutes to do it you would’ve been more focused on getting core task done, without the distraction of time fill.
An interesting one to think about. And catch yourself creeping into to fill time.
More time - less effort needed
Less time - more effort needed
2. Watch
It doesn’t have to be crazy at work by Jason Fried, founder of Basecamp. This is rethinking work in motion! The book has simple, short punchy messages that make you stop and think. This chat with Jason and Chase is a great listen which brings the philosophy alive.
3.Recommended
It doesn’t have to be crazy at work by Jason Fried
“Time-management hacks, life hacks, sleep hacks, work hacks. These all reflect an obsession with trying to squeeze more time out of the day, but rearranging your daily patterns to find more time for work isn’t the problem. Too much shit to do is the problem.”
― Jason Fried
4.What a tool!
Basecamp - ‘Managing people and projects under pressure is tough enough. Unfortunately, lots of software makes it worse by over-complicating things. Basecamp’s different.’ A brilliant planning and organising tool.
5.Something random and thoughtful
The top 25 most popular Ted Talks of all time
A brilliant list of the most watched Ted Talks - how many have you watched?
My favourites have to be (for all kinds of reasons!)…
Do schools kill creativity? - Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.
The danger of a single story - Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
10 things you didn't know about orgasm -"Bonk" author Mary Roach delves into obscure scientific research, some of it centuries old, to make 10 surprising claims about sexual climax, ranging from the bizarre to the hilarious. (This talk is aimed at adults. Viewer discretion advised.)
That’s all for this week - thank you for being here.