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Fewer Things, Better

Inspired by Cal Newport · Slow Productivity Go to the source ↗

Doing less is not the same as doing little. Every card here is a way to carry fewer things at once, work at a pace you could hold for years, and make the few things good.

Choose from 7

What am I actually carrying?

Take Stock of What's Underway
I will look at everything I have genuinely taken on, and put something down.

I list everything I have genuinely taken on and look at the length of it. Then I put one thing down honestly rather than carry it half-done, and finish one before letting anything new begin.

Let It Be Pulled, Not Pushed
I will take on the next thing when there is room for it, not the moment it arrives.

What pace is honest?

Give It the Time It Takes
I will plan for how long this will actually take rather than how long I hoped.

I plan for the real length rather than the hoped-for one, asking what this looks like in a year rather than by Friday.

Leave Room in the Day
I will leave part of the day unspoken for rather than fill every corner.

I leave part of the day unspoken for, and let a slower week be slow rather than find something to fill it.

Stop Before I'm Empty
I will end while I still have something left rather than work to the bottom.

I end while I still have something left, and rest because rest is part of the work rather than because I got through enough.

What would make this good?

Make the Version I'd Show
I will make the thing I would want to put in front of someone I respect.

I spend some time with work in my field that is genuinely good and notice why, then make the version I would put in front of someone I respect — and take something out to see whether it improved.

Ask for What It Needs
I will ask for the time, the quiet, or the help this needs rather than absorb the shortfall.
You get your own editable copy — change anything, drop what doesn’t fit. They land in your Intentions, tagged Pace; you pull in what each day is for.