My 2024 New Year's Resolution: Do Less

I don’t know about you but 2023 was tiring. I went into the holidays mentally exhausted and with a general sense of anxiety around work. I think it was especially driven by social media. Was I keeping up with the latest AI trends? How would they affect me? Would the new world of work and its effects on commercial real estate have broader economic effects? 

Am I posting enough on Linkedin? Am I returning all of my emails? Am I following the latest advice on making my days more productive? Am I maximizing my relationships to ensure long-term success?

Enough. 

For me, 2024 is about doing less. 

More isn't always better. The last few days of the year I dove into the wisdom of the book "4000 Weeks.” In it, Oliver Burkeman muses, “The problem with trying to make time for everything that feels important—or just for enough of what feels important—is that you definitely never will. The reason isn’t that you haven’t yet discovered the right time management tricks or supplied sufficient effort, or that you need to start getting up earlier, or that you’re generally useless. It’s that the underlying assumption is unwarranted: there’s no reason to believe you’ll ever feel ‘on top of things,’ or make time for everything that matters, simply by getting more done.”

Enough productivity. 

This year, I am embracing the art of doing less, breaking free from the shackles of perpetual busyness, and rediscovering the joy in what we often label as 'laziness'. Imagine days when the agenda isn't packed to the brim, where you can delve deep into a conversation with a friend or colleague, utterly oblivious to the ticking clock.

The notion of doing less isn't about neglecting responsibilities or lowering ambitions. It's about prioritizing what truly matters. It's a call to embrace quality over quantity, to engage in tasks that bring joy and fulfillment rather than just ticking boxes in an endless to-do list.

In a society that glorifies being busy, choosing to do less can feel counterintuitive, even rebellious. But there's an undeniable charm in finding moments of stillness in a world that's constantly moving. As Tim Kreider eloquently puts it in his essay 'The Busy Trap', "Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body."

As I step into 2024, I look forward to challenging the narrative that to be more, we need to do more. Instead, I will focus on doing less, but doing it better. It's time to relish those lazy days, to find joy in the simplicity of life, and to remember that sometimes, the best thing we can do is to just be.