How to Do Less Right Now

Last week, I wrote about rest.

I wrote about it because 1) I’m committed to writing weekly and 2) It was the only honest truth about where I was/am right now.

And then…surprise! It received the most attention of all the writing I’ve shared in many months.

My big takeaway: people are damn tired.

And you’re not just tired. You’re depleted, exhausted. Disconnected from joy, creativity and possibilities.

I continue to see you, stand with you and advocate for your recharge.

Part of normalizing rest is offering transparency. In my own experiment of doing less, I’m tracking to have a higher revenue month than those where I was “working through it” and pushing the boulder up the hill.

I’m leading calls with potential clients refreshed and ready to deliver results.

I’m showing up with presence and curiosity, guiding my Chief groups through discussions around intense leadership challenges.

Three of my clients received job offers in the past week! While that’s not truly about MY results, it doesn’t make me any less excited about this experiment!

One resource that can be helpful for you as you run your own experiment is this podcast episode from Hidden Brain: Do Less (shared by a client - thank you!!).

In it, Engineer and Author, Leidy Klotz offers up the idea of creating a “stop-doing list” in addition to your to-do list. He recommends that you should have an equal amount of things you want to stop doing as you do on your to-do list.

While I haven’t been able to accomplish that yet, I have clearly written on my stop-doing list:

  1. Create a new program or course.

  2. Take on clients who are not a fit for me.

  3. Work 40+ hours.

  4. Work on the low priority tasks before the high priority deeper work.


I’ve been walking around with this list in my mind for a few weeks now, but putting it down on paper has kept me true to what I want for the summer. Especially, as an entrepreneur with Activator as my #2 Clifton Strength (where my Clifton nerds at?). I LOVE to create new things. Even when I have a hunch they may not be the right things for my business or me. Cutting this out and focusing on the great programs I already have in place has already been a deeply felt lesson.

If you want to strategize on how you can recharge this summer, sign up for a single session and we’ll help you with your "Do Less" Plan.

Rachel GarrettComment