A few weeks ago, I was in a session with one of my clients and offered to help him with something he’d been struggling to do on his own. He said “Ok, if I haven’t done it on my own by the the next time we meet, you can help me. But, I don’t want to take the easy way out.”
My instinct, and response, was “Why not??”
If there are 2 ways to do something, easy and hard, I’m taking the easy way. If I can do something easier, faster, with less effort, and less resistance, then that’s what I’m going to do. Every time.
I’ve been know to refer to myself as a “very driven lazy person”, which often surprises people. There’s an assumption that I must be productive ALL the time. That I wake up bright and early and start getting sh*t done. Every day.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. (And in fact, waking up in the morning is the hardest part of my day!) The reason I love efficiency, the reason I’m always trying to figure out ways to get the highest ROI on time (for myself and my clients) is because I think having a lot of time to do the stuff you WANT to do is equally important to getting the stuff done that you HAVE to do.
While I love what I do, more than any other work I’ve ever done, there’s still a lot of stuff that I like doing more. Lazing around. Reading. Watching movies and TV. Knitting and crocheting. Cooking elaborate meals. I like having at least a few hours for myself, every day, where nothing is required of me.
And the way for me to achieve that, is to figure out of the easiest way to do all the other things well.
To take the easy way out may have a negative connotation in your mind. And if so, I want to change that.
By taking the easy way out, we’re not talking about cheating. Definitely not. And we’re not talking about cutting quality to a level that’s below “good enough”. We’re talking about finding better, easier, faster ways to achieve high quality results.
So, the next time you’re doing something, and it feels hard. Ask yourself: “How could I make this easier?” or “Is there an easier way?’
And if you’re just not sure there is an easier way, here are a few methods to get you can use to “take the easy way out” and feel great about it:
Ask
Ask for help. This is a simple one, but it’s easy to forget. If you’re doing something, and it feels hard. Ask for help.
- If you’re moving a heavy piece of furniture across the room, don’t struggle, huffing and puffing. Ask whoever is sitting in the room with you to get off their butt and give you a hand.
- If you’re working on a project and you’re not sure where to start, ask someone whose done it before.
- No one around to help you figure something out? Ask Google, Siri, Alexa or Youtube. Build off the work someone else has already done.
Batch
Group like work together and do it less frequently. It’s often possible to make things much easier for yourself in the future, without requiring much extra effort now, by batching like work together.
- Making a soup? Double the recipe and freeze half.
- Paying a bill? Pay them all while you’ve got your head in your finances and all the right tabs open.
- Running an errand? What else can you do that’s on the way.
When my kids were babies, I use to make all their baby food in batches once a month. Once a month, I’d spend a couple of hours pureeing fruits, veggies, etc. and freezing them in ice cube trays. Then for the rest of the month, it took 15 seconds to prepare a meal for the baby. Just pop out the cube and nuke it for a few seconds and voilà, instant, healthy, baby food.
Templates
My clients all know that I use the word template very broadly. And that I’m obsessed. Templates make everything easier. A template can be anything: a checklist, a process document, a meal plan, a packing list, a grocery list, email templates (specifically for high-emotion type communications, like saying no), etc. Anything that ensures you don’t have to start from scratch next time is a template.
Pro tip: Often, you can piggyback off the work someone else has already done. Use someone else’s template as the base for your own. For instance, I use Canva templates all the time when creating anything related to graphic design.
Outsource or Delegate
And finally, you can “take the easy way out” by getting someone else to do the work. If it makes sense for your budget, outsource the stuff that feels hard. For instance, I’m not a particularly handy person. If the sink is leaking, I’m not going to spend hours trying to figure it out myself. I’m just going to call a plumber.
And if outsourcing isn’t in your budget, think about delegation. Are you doing more than is necessary? For instance, I don’t clean the kitchen anymore. Why? I’ve got children. Two tweens who are more than capable of cleaning the kitchen. So now that’s their job.
At work, are you taking on all the pieces of a project, when there are others that could help? Share the load.