🌱 Start saying No

​Read the essay on the web ↗​

Saying no will allow you to have more mental space and energy for what really matters to you now.

Almost one hundred years ago, a psychologist noticed something interesting while sitting at a café. A waiter could easily remember complex unpaid orders from memory with zero notes, but the moment the bill got paid, he would forget it instantly.

This is the Zeigarnik effect named after the psychologist who discovered it. And something I noticed weighing on me while planning for this quarter.

While the Zeigarnik effect can be more predominant on certain kinds of people than others, it resonates with me because it speaks to the natural wiring of our brains, which is to focus on the negative to keep us alive.

So, understanding that the brain is designed to focus on the incomplete rather than on the completed. How can we reduce the noise and focus on what matters? Experiment with saying no and shedding off:

1. Start saying no: If you are in a season of life where you have experienced enough to know what you don't want, then make decisions that get you closer to what you really want.
2. Start shedding off any projects and responsibilities that don't align with who you are today: This is the boring work that needs to happen while you do the exciting work. It's the kind of boring work that can take months, and that will eventually allow space for the new stuff.

This quarter, I set my mind to wrap up projects that speak to my past identity. If you are in a similar season of life, I recommend doing the same. Close those old projects, and say no to what doesn't resonate with who you are today. I'll share how this experiment went the next quarter.

The transformation I seek with this is removing friction from the main quests of my life right now. The more I can focus on doing rather than managing, the better!

🎯 The 1% Practice of the Week

Write down everything that you want to say no to during this quarter. If it's something that you own end to end, provide the reason for why it is no longer viable to you. And if this is something that is related to someone else, establish what the end result looks like.

Example:

• I'm saying no to [X] because [Y].
• I'm wrapping up project [A] because [B], so I intend to share all the documentation for [C] and move all the ownership to [D] by [E] date.

Bonus points: Start a No List, there's a simple app for that.