A creative’s guide to doing less, better.

“Do less better” is a term that has been around for years and has gained recent popularity. This is because the toxic effects of hustle culture are becoming more widely acknowledged. Hustling 24/7 in order to achieve our goals is slowly going out the door.

As creatives, we’ve turned hustling hard into a habit. Especially those of us who live in large cities where there are more opportunities. It’s in our DNA to go as hard as possible, as much as possible, for the sake of survival.

Not to mention, most of us have a laundry list of passion projects we want to do outside of paying our bills. This can result in mental fatigue when we start thinking of all the steps required to do them.

There’s definitely weight to going hard. Most of us have worked extremely hard in our career to get opportunities, and paid the mental price for it. But the truth is, even in a time like this, we don’t need to risk getting burnt out in order to get where we want to be.

Here are a few ways going too hard shows up:

Working for hours on a project without taking breaks
Bouncing between a long list of “To Do’s” without giving one thing your full attention
Saying yes to any opportunity
Taking on multiple projects at a time

On the surface it might seem like we’re being productive when we do these things, but in reality we are simply exhausting ourselves. So how do we do less while maximizing our results without burning out? Here’s a step-by-step guide with benefits.

1. Determine what your values are

Benefit? Values give us purpose. They’re a shining light to how we live our life and choose our opportunities. If you need help determining your values, ask yourself these questions:

What qualities in my interpersonal relationships are essential?
- Examples: honesty, generosity, mindfulness, respect, etc.
What qualities of my life are the most important?
- Examples: wealth, love, autonomy, security, etc.
What are the fundamental necessities of my creative expression?
- Examples: eccentric, controversial, educational, thought-provoking, etc.

These are very broad qualities, and it may be beneficial to narrow it down to specifics. For example, autonomy is an essential quality of my professional life. I choose to work with teams where there is no micro-management and where I am trusted to make creative decisions. This is a must-have.

If you’re in a professional position where your values aren’t aligned, it is worth having a transparent conversation about your needs. If nothing changes, it is probably worth finding a position that is more suited to your values. This will free up the mental fatigue and stress associated with constantly not having your boundaries respected.

2. Take inventory of what you spend your time on

Benefit? If we spend our time doing what’s rooted in our values, we can shed everything else that is not serving us. That means more time enjoying the process. Spend a week and see what eats up your time. Do this without judgement. While observing, here are some questions that can help determine if your time is well spent.

Do the projects you’re working on match up with your creative goals? Sometimes it’s easy to say “yes” to someone who wants to collaborate, or working on something to maintain connections. But think of all the time you could be spending on a project that you’re actually excited about, or that is relevant to your personal goals.

Even if you have a full-time job, it’s important to express doing more of the work you want to do. At my job, I’ve expressed wanting to learn more about 3D design. This would be fun for me and valuable to the company. Being direct gave me the opportunity to spend more time on skills I want to learn and less on skills irrelevant to me.

Are the people you’re spending time with representative of what you value in a relationship? If they’re not, it doesn’t mean they have to go. But it can present an opportunity to spend less time on these relationships. This can provide more time to connect with individuals who are aligned with your values.

If you kept doing what you’re doing now, would it contribute to what you want most out of life? This can be hard to quantify, but going back to values is always a great foundation. If wealth is the most important thing, then perhaps spend time on building additional sources of revenue. If love is the most important thing, then spend more time with the people that you value and less time on things like social media and busy work.

3. Say no to anything that doesn’t align with your values

Benefit? This will give you more time to work on the things that matter to you. You might feel bad at first, and this might seem extreme. But think of it this way: every time you’re saying “yes,” you’re giving away your time, your energy, and your creative expertise.

Now think of what you want to achieve. Does the time, energy, and creativity you’re giving away align with your goals and values? If it doesn’t, then consider saying no.

Another benefit? You’ll spend more time coming up with great ideas. This seems counter-intuitive but studies have shown that we can be more creative if we literally do nothing.

This summer I incorporated a minimum of 30 minutes in the morning to reflect before looking at my phone or doing any work. I’ve had some of my best breakthroughs during this time. And because it’s in my schedule, I can look forward to my mornings every day.

You don’t need to do everything. You only need to do the things that are going to get you closer to where you really want to be. There’s a significant amount of freedom that comes with that.

4. Focus on one thing at a time.

Benefit? You can accomplish more in less time because of how you work. We’ve all heard “work smarter” but what does that really mean?

First off, multi-tasking is not necessarily beneficial. It’s natural to think that if we want to spend less time working, then we need to do more things at once. But our brains are not designed for multi-tasking, and task-switching can reduce our cognitive function significantly. Instead we can optimize our time by limiting distractions and focusing.

One way to do this is to schedule work sprints into your schedule and hack your space to limit distractions. Put your phone in another room, set a timer, and keep a glass of water nearby. If you need a distraction, take a sip of water. Now you’re hydrated and you’ve satisfied a mental break.

If you haven’t completed your objective during the sprint, it’s OK. Go for a walk, do some stretches, and come back to sprint on something else. If you fall victim to distractions, that’s also OK. This takes time to become a habit. As long as you keep trying and stay consistent, you will eventually find a flow of focusing on one thing at a time.

It’s critical to adjust where needed. If one method isn’t working, try something else. Keep refining until a routine sticks. Once you see how much more you’re getting done (by monitoring your progress!), your new routine will become addictive.

5. Collaborate with others

Benefit? It’s fun to work with others and invaluable to build upon unique ideas. Not to mention, it’s impossible to do anything ambitious in life alone without sacrificing our health.

Depending on what you’re working on, it makes sense to start alone until there’s a clear roadmap and flow. But even in the beginning, or for small projects, it’s helpful to have others provide constructive feedback and support. For larger projects, tasks will eventually require more time, resources, and attention.

Collaboration takes many forms and it’s ultimately what both parties are comfortable with. It could be with your professional network, your friends, or even family members. Any type of collaboration contributes to doing less better, because it’s leveraging others to help in the process. Here are some ways this looks:

Getting feedback on a proposal, portfolio, or project before finalizing
Having people share your project once it’s live to help with marketing
Supporting other individuals in your field by cross-promoting each other’s work

No matter what type of project or goal we’re working on, there are endless benefits to doing less better along the way. Mental space will free up, creativity will blossom, and the connections made from collaboration can last a lifetime. The next time you’re tackling an important project or goal, see what happens when you do less, better.