Why Less is Your New Superpower

A couple of months ago, I found myself staring at my colour-coded calendar. Every slot meticulously filled with meetings, catch-ups, and to-do items.
I thought it felt good, but then it hit me…

I've been playing the wrong game all along.

Most of us spend our lives chasing more.
More goals.
More clothes.
More productivity hacks.
More shiny, life-optimising habits.

But what if the real superpower isn't addition at all?
I've been thinking less about what I want to do lately... and more about what I desperately need to stop doing.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: We're crap at knowing what makes us happy. But we're experts at knowing what drains us.

Yet we keep these energy vampires in our lives anyway.
We drag ourselves to work drinks even when we don't drink.
Say yes to a 5km run with a friend when we'd rather be stabbed with a rusty javelin.
Force ourselves to attend another networking event, where we pretend we're "building relationships", but we're really just collecting social connections.

Saying yes gets applause. Saying no gets awkward questions.

If your social feeds are anything like mine, you're constantly bombarded with "side hustles" and "quick business ideas to make $2k per month."
We live in a time where building a small side hustle is the easiest it's ever been, BUT we also live in a time with more ideas blasting our faces than ever before.

Ideas are everywhere. I've got a growing list of over 50 business ideas. At least 10% are pretty good ones. The problem isn't ideas, it's execution.

If I keep adding ideas, researching that idea, planning for that idea, but then move onto the next shiny thing, I never actually get to stage 2. But if I simply choose ONE, remove all the other distractions and ideas for 3 months and give myself space to focus?
I could build something real.

Subtraction looks lazy to outsiders.
But it's the bravest move you'll make.

My older readers know I've had (and still have) lots of different hobbies. I love trying things and experimenting - it's what makes life interesting. The thing is, it's hard to really get stuck into anything new when there's so much to try.

So I'm lucky that I enjoy geeking out over something and going deep. Real deeeep (did you also read that in a sexy Barry White voice).

For example, when I find something that interests me, like bonsai trees, I go all in. I buy books, watch videos, and follow experts. I allow myself to be fully consumed for a period of time. It could be 3 months, or it could be a couple of years.
The beauty of that is I get deeper than surface level, which means I really understand and enjoy it.
I may never become a professional, but that's also ok. The depth comes from subtraction – saying no to ten other hobbies to say yes to just one.

In business, we're trained to scale. But scaling bad systems, bloated features, or the wrong customer segments? That's just expensive failure happening faster. I learned this the hard way once when we finally fired a client who'd been consuming 80% of our energy while providing barely 20% of our income.
Were we mad? "We need the revenue!"

A few weeks later, we landed a much bigger contract. A contract we'd never have had the bandwidth to pursue if we'd kept accommodating the energy-drainer.
Those "wrong" customers are often the smallest but shout the loudest and demand the most. Letting them go suddenly makes you 10x more effective (and 10x less stressed).

The harsh truth is that most of what fills our schedules and backlogs isn't productive; it's just a buffer.
A delay.
A distraction from facing the work that actually matters.

As Blaise Pascal famously noted: "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter." Clarity comes through reduction, not addition.

"If you don't prioritise your life, someone else will." Greg McKeown calls it Essentialism. I call it sanity.

The subtraction game isn't just about time. It's about energy. Freedom. Focus.

Want clarity in your team? Make one big decision that kills a hundred small ones.
Want more momentum? Find the slowest hiker in your process, and fix that.
Not everything deserves a strategy. Some things deserve a delete button.

A challenge for you this week:

Do a quick subtraction audit. Just one thing.
What's something you can:

• Say no to? (Even if it's something "good" that's simply not right for you right now)

• Delete from your backlog? (Especially that project you keep pushing back because deep down you know it's not essential)

• Remove from your calendar? (Which recurring meeting makes your soul die a little each week?)

• Walk away from, even if it bruises your ego? (The hardest but most liberating one)

Because everything you subtract creates space for the good stuff to finally breathe.
We spend most of our lives adding.
But maybe the secret isn't more — it's less.

See you next week.

And, that’s all folks!

Thank you for reading the latest edition of my newsletter.
As always, comments and feedback are welcome.

And, please don’t be shy - share this with a friend or family member.
Each week, I’ll share something that helps us find balance.

Peace, love and growth.
Jazza