Doing Less is Doing More

Clint Monfort, Co-Founder of Evolve

Sound like a pipe dream or clickbait? It’s not. But most of us sure think it is.

We have been conditioned to believe that the more we do and the less we rest, the more we get done and thus the more productive we are. This former lawyer was no exception. For years, I constantly raced through my day, getting as much done as possible during the day and during my week. “I’ll rest at the end of my day… after I’m done being productive.” Or “I’ll rest at the end of my week... after I meet my deadlines and get as much done as humanly possible.” Duh. I never really considered the idea of resting and recharging in the midst of all that and skipping getting something done. And certainly not on a regular basis. What a waste of time!

How wrong I was. After driving myself (and surely everyone around me) crazy for years with this “doing more is better” approach, I was sick and tired and stressed enough to start searching for help with how to cope with the downside of this “obviously productive” approach. What I found was not a coping mechanism, but a completely new approach altogether. An easier, more productive, and less stressful approach. One that didn’t drain my energy and my soul. I certainly wasn’t expecting that.

But as it turns out, when we rest (and I mean really rest), we activate our parasympathetic nervous systems. This won’t happen if we just take a break to scroll on our phones or have a conversation or watch a video. It happens when we get still, in the moment, and recharge with presence. Doing things like breathwork, meditating for a few minutes, or taking a mindful, technology-free walk. When we guide our nervous systems into this state, it not only calms us and makes us feel better, it actually increases blood flow to our brains. This gives us more energy and more brainpower. With re-energized brain cells, we can perform the rest of our work more efficiently and more effectively. And the additional brain energy we gain will sustain our brains for longer periods of time, allowing us to execute with clarity and focus later into the day.

So, the next time you find yourself with too much to do and not enough time, remember to stop and take time to do nothing… your productivity literally depends on it.

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