#220

I’ve just returned from a work trip to find a mountain of unfinished tasks waiting.

It felt like some mischievous conspirator had multiplied them while I was away and served them all on a very small plate.

My first thought? I need a bigger plate.

But then I caught myself.

Was that really the answer?

Or was the real question whether everything on the plate deserved to be there in the first place?

That moment reminded me of how often we’re told to “do more with less.”

It’s become a relentless corporate mantra - fewer resources, tighter budgets, leaner teams, faster turnarounds… and then throw it into AI.

Efficiency disguised as progress.

But at some point, more becomes unsustainable.

And the pressure to endlessly stretch leads to fatigue, not brilliance.

So, I tried something different.

Instead of falling into the trap of solving for “How can I do more?” I paused and reflected on, “How might I do better with what I’ve got?”.

That single shift didn’t happen immediately, but it changed everything.

I pruned instead of added.

I focused on depth, not breadth.

I chose quality over quantity.

The result?

More calm.

More clarity.

Better work.

And done in time for dinner with the family.

It’s a reminder that enough can be a powerful word.

You don’t have to double your output to make a difference.

Sometimes the real progress lies in less but better - as Greg McKeown reminds us in Essentialism.

So next time you hear that familiar phrase - from a colleague or the voice in your head “Do more with less” … pause.

Ask instead:

“What might it look like to simply do better with what I’ve got?”

Because progress isn’t about doing more.

It’s about doing what matters - better.

So, how about you?

> Where in your life are you still trying to “do more” instead of “do better”?

> What could you prune that would create more clarity and calm?

> What does enough look like for you - and would you recognise it if you saw it?