Less is More: Readjusting My Priorities
(... and it has nothing to do with finance).
Today, I am sharing some thoughts that have been on my mind for a couple of weeks.
Writing this, I feel shame and relief as my fingers smash down on the keyboard. I know that I must backpedal on the plan I shared on Feb 15th, where I outlined what's coming next with The Personal Finance Project. Coming back from Uruguay, I promised increased posting volume, content variety, and a brand-new look. Well, only two months later, I must reroute.
Lately, I have felt overwhelmed with the various priorities that I’ve been juggling. I have been working, validating business ideas, spending quality time with loved ones, and training. Considering the other things I get up to, like recreation, mechanics, and reading, it's no wonder I feel crunched for time. I simply cannot prioritize writing to the extent needed to fulfill the promises I made in February.
Prioritizing
Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism, would disapprove of my recent approach to prioritization. When I read his book some years back, I learned the true meaning of priority. Greg McKeown says it better than I can, so here it is from the source.
"The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities. Illogically, we reasoned that by changing the word we could bend reality. Somehow we would now be able to have multiple 'first' things.”
- Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
McKeown isn't suggesting spending 100% of your time on one single priority. The idea is to prioritize tasks in a way that allows deep focus on what is truly essential at one time, rather than trying to do everything simultaneously with divided attention.
I would add that having a few priorities is necessary to strike a balance that allows for operation at full effectiveness. It’s been years in the making, but I have established the key activities that are of basic necessity to my life. Here they are (in no particular order).
Working or generating value - making money, saving money, advancing my career and lifestyle.
Personal fitness and wellness - meal prepping, working out, reading, writing, learning.
Recreation and quality time - friends, family, Fernanda.
These are my 3 priorities - they are at the core of how I decide to spend my time, and without one of these pieces, I am ineffective and dissatisfied.
Writing
Writing has always been a small part of this balance. Within and outside of the blog, I use writing to clear my head, refine ideas, understand my feelings and opinions, and establish some truth. The greater purpose is to enhance my wellness, but lately, it has had a net negative impact. I’m putting too much pressure on myself to write and create new content, taking from the joy that makes it possible.
In and of itself, writing isn't the problem. The problem is that when I find time for personal productivity, I'm faced with the dilemma of which priority to tend to - validating business ideas or writing for the blog. Often, I pick writing because of the promises I have made to you, even when tending to my entrepreneurial goals was more desirable and necessary.
I’ve always been interested in the personal and professional benefits produced by creating and sharing content. If there was zero chance that this would pay out in the future, I'm not sure I would continue. As 2023 was wrapping up, I felt pressure to make something happen. I asked myself, “Why am I doing this if I'm not all in?”. Something guided me to say, “fuck it, I might as well take things to the next level”, and that's where my Feb 15th promise came from.
I have been caught up in maximizing the outcomes of writing by increasing my output, analyzing growth patterns, and toying with strategic innovations that may drive readership, monetize my content, or create some sort of personal brand. It’s taken away from the personal benefits of clarity and joy that I receive from writing, which compromises my writing quality while making me less effective in other areas of life.
As the first quarter of 2024 has flown by, I have clarified my priorities - as far as writing is concerned, less is more.
“Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
- unknown, but frequented by my brother Adrian
Less is More
I will continue writing for you but also (more importantly) for myself. I anticipate that decreasing the (personally inflicted) pressure to write will produce better content. Beyond that, only time will tell what I write about, how I share my ideas, and where we go from here.
I’ll sum things up nicely with one of my favourite quotes.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were lying bricks every hour.”
- James Clear, Atomic Habits
As always, I’d love to hear what you think.
Thanks for reading. 😌