less is luxe

Read time: 2 minutes

oh hey hi hello,

ever feel like your to-do list is endless, your brain's in a constant buzz, & yet, you're not really getting anywhere?

good news: you're not alone.

even better news: you don’t have to live like this.

you can instead embrace the powerful notion of doing less, but better.

time to merry kondo your life.

welcome to the life-changing magic of less.

where we keep what truly sparks joy & toss the rest. because by cutting the clutter — mental, emotional, digital & physical — we make room for what truly enriches our personal & professional lives.

as our dearest leo da vinci once said
"simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

we can’t do everything

last week we explored how in our fast paced world, we equate busyness with business & productivity.

but know we know too that busy is merely an illusion of productivity & usually a signal of inefficiency.

we work way too hard on way too many things & often the wrong things.

which is problem because our time is limited.

we can’t do everything.

& we really can’t do everything & do it well.

the more is more mindset

the concept of "less is more" is widely acknowledged, yet every day we fall into the trap of believing that more is, indeed, more.

this gimme more mindset leads us to:

• multi-task

• over complicate

• chase new thrills

• seek instant gratification

• experience fomo (fear of missing out)

• suffer fodo (fear of disappointing others)

• default to addition & forget about subtraction

the root of the problem? a failure to prioritize.

without clear priorities, we let others dictate how we spend our time, a scenario far too common & far too limiting.

because only you should be prioritizing your life.

merry minimalism

starting today i give you full permission to stop.

you don’t need to get more done.
you need to get the right things done.

to do this you need to clarify & simplify.

here’s how:

1. reflect, review, & refine. you’re evolving every day & your priorities are too. regularly check in that you’re on your right path.

2. invest your time & energy in those priorities that offer the highest return on life for the long term, practicing patience & discipline.

3. say no to everything else. good opportunities are plentiful, but great ones require you to have time & energy to act with haste..

4. accept the sunk costs & opportunity costs of your choices with a graceful & abundant mindset. every choice has a tradeoff.

5. embrace the science of subtraction & the art of letting go because what you choose not to do matters more than what you choose to do.

to help me hold myself accountable to doing less, every month i write out a stop doing or anti-goals list.

drop me a line if you want to hear more about what i’m not doing.

here’s to all the merry minimalist magic with this closing quote to from my favorite peloton instructor, jess sims.

today’s newsletter partner: 🧩 life’s a game

i’m thrilled to introduce y’all to one of my absolute favorite creators, mentors, & customers — amanda goetz.

amanda is the author of the free weekly newsletter, 🧩 life’s a game, where she shares her new approach to ambition without burnout.

her mantra is focus on things that matter.

over 110K are obsessed with her actionable tips, including myself. not only do i take notes after each email, but i also am in her accountability community where we go even deeper on her systems (please reply to me if you want to learn more, it’s the best community of authentic & ambitious creators).

i could keep fan-girling for days, but i’ll stop myself for now…

in the mean time, please do yourself a favor & show your support for merry makery by signing up for her newsletter below.

she’s got a very exciting announcement coming soon that i helped her with 🤩

do less,

p.s. i’d love to understand you better. will you pretty please answer this poll?