Aim to make your life more effortless

The best decisions are the ones that eliminate many future decisions.
“The best decisions are the ones that eliminate many future decisions.”

Making choices can be draining. What you you want to eat, to wear, to do? When do you want to work out, to mow the lawn, to go to the park?

Where do you want to…

How do you want to…

The list is seemingly never-ending!

Instead of experiencing decision fatigue, make certain decisions once and let that be the end of it. Then you don’t have to waste time and energy deciding something everyday. I like doing this by having “rules” that I follow. It’s easier to say, I’m the kind of person who does ____ or who doesn’t do ____.”

Here are some examples:

• I work out everyday. Even when I don’t feel like it, I at least have to get on the bike for 30 minutes.

• I read and write something everyday.

• I brush my teeth every morning after breakfast and every night before bed. After I brush my teeth at night, I do not eat anything or drink anything other than water.

• I wear a seatbelt every time I’m in the car.

• I do not eat fast food.

• I do not “pay” for something on a credit card if I can’t afford it in cash (with the exception of a house).

• I do not participate in gossip. (This is the most challenging one.)

• When choosing what movie to watch on a streaming service, I only get five minutes to pick, (otherwise I’ll be scrolling forever).

These are just a few examples of rules I live by. Once you’ve established your own set of rules, you’ve made that decision once and you never have to make it again. Let it become ingrained in you. Follow the rules that you set and don’t break them. It will make everyday a little more effortless as you don’t have to make a decision on whether or not you should do something that you frequently encounter.

Small efforts repeated daily

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” - Robert Collier​
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

When many people think of success, the part that often gets overlooked is the consistent, focused effort applied by the successful person. They think if I just do this ONE THING, I will achieve my goal. But that’s only part of the equation. Sure, you should probably focus your efforts on the most important actionable step, but you’re probably going to have to chip away at that one thing for a very long time to get where you want to be. It’s a long, slow, boring process. You have to enjoy what you’re doing, have a bigger “why” (a reason to push through difficulties), and a lot of grit in order to keep going when you aren’t seeing progress as quickly as you would like.

Two quick notes:

1) Make sure you take the time to really give your focused efforts a chance to pay dividends. If you keep bouncing around, switching from one idea to another (like a fad diet), you’re never going to see the results you want.

2) At the same time, be cognizant of if the efforts you’re making are really what you should be focusing on – are they going to make the biggest impact? Do you need to modify what you’re doing to optimize results? Do not scrap everything you’re doing, but tweak one little part at a time. It’s like an elimination diet. You eliminate one item at a time until you can pinpoint where the problem is. If you eliminate/change everything, you won’t know what caused the results.

Sharpening the saw

Just like the analogy of “sharpening the saw,” you need to take time to sharpen your body and mind. Take the time to prepare for the future. When you a sharpening the blade of a saw, you may feel unproductive because you’re not actually “using” the saw to cut something down. But, in reality, you’re being extremely productive. Because of you being proactive in sharpening the saw, it ensures that when you do go to use it, it will be more efficient and cut more effectively with less energy being expended.

This is why it is important to work on “sharpening” your body and your mind. Eating healthy foods, working out, and stretching (which I enjoy the least, but need the most) are a few ways to sharpen your body. Reading, writing, drawing, painting, doing puzzles, building things, and meditating are ways you can sharpen your mind.

By working on yourself today, reducing your weaknesses or improving your strengths, you prepare yourself for the work of tomorrow to be easier. If your training is harder than the actual event, the event will seem easy to you and you’ll be able to perform better than the competition.