Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving

by Celeste Headlee

We work best when we allow for flexibility in our habits. Instead of gritting your teeth and forcing your body and mind to work punishing hours and “lean in” until you reach your goals, the counterintuitive solution might be to walk away. Pushing harder isn’t helping us anymore. We can and must stop treating ourselves like machines that can be driven and pumped and amped and hacked.

The average of answers from a large, independent, and diverse group of people will often be more accurate than the answer arrived at by a smart individual or a small group of smart people.

The truth is, productivity is a by-product of a functional system, not a goal in and of itself. The question is not whether you are productive but what you are producing.

End goals are non-negotiable. We don’t compromise on end goals, because we are unwilling to accept something less than a happy family or living an honorable life. Means goals are flexible.

You can use a version of Sakichi Toyota’s “Five Whys.” Keep asking yourself why until you ultimately arrive at your fundamental objective. If you don’t articulate your end goals, it can be easy to waste your time doing things that you think are good and productive but that don’t actually help you progress.

Choosing means goals in haste can waste a vast amount of time. You solve this problem by starting on the other end of the spectrum. Articulate your end goals and then choose smaller, specific goals that you are reasonably sure will bring you closer to the bigger objective. Check in frequently to make sure your habits truly are helping you make progress. If they’re not, don’t waste any more time on them. Dump them and try something else. Realize that everything you do is likely just a means to a larger goal. These tasks are not commandments but suggestions. They are fluid and flexible.