The Decisive Moment
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Welcome to My Musings, where I share insights that have impacted me, thoughts on personal growth, and actionable strategies to help you navigate career and life transitions.
This Week: Is it possible to do less than we aim to achieve, and still be satisfied?
“Behind the Gare St Lazare, Paris”, Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1923
Do Less, Better
I’ve got a bit of an issue.
Not exactly a problem - but definitely an ambition.
And, maybe, just maybe, a wildly unrealistic one.
In this one short life, I want to explore, achieve, and master everything that interests me.
From countless conversations, I've learned I’m not alone in this. Many of us have the same ambition, a longing to squeeze every bit of meaning and mastery into the stretch between birth and death.
But it’s not just a lifetime goal.
It shows up in our daily lives, too: How am I going to get it all done today?
For years, I believed that if I could just be more productive, I’d finally reach the things that mattered most. It seemed so straightforward—until it didn’t work. Productivity just added more to my to-do list, paradoxically pushing me further from what I truly cared about.
The Imperfectionist Mindset
This thinking brings to mind the work of Oliver Burkeman.
I first encountered his work years ago through his book, The Antidote, a self-help book that, in a counterintuitive twist, argues we’ve been pursuing happiness all wrong. It’s a book worth reading.
Burkeman’s newsletter, The Imperfectionist, continues this thought-provoking journey, offering rare inspiration for creativity in a world that worships constant productivity.
In his latest book, Meditations for Mortals, Burkeman dives right into the question many of us wrestle with: How can we get everything done? And in such a limited timeframe?
His answer? We can’t. And that’s exactly the point. His philosophy, “Imperfectionism,” is about embracing the impossibility of doing it all.
Letting go of perfectionism frees us from unrealistic expectations—like the notion that we can tick off every item on our list, perfectly. It opens us up to life as it unfolds: interruptions, canceled plans, all the unexpected twists. Each “imperfection” becomes a gateway to something unexpected, and sometimes, even more meaningful.
In our careers, this mindset can be transformative. Think of last-minute assignments or missed promotions, or even the career paths that don’t go as planned. It might not look “perfect” in the moment, but these unplanned turns often lead us to the things that add real meaning, the “decisive moments” that, as Henri Cartier-Bresson might say, are the ones we cherish later.
Practical to Embrace Imperfectionism
I can’t quite match Burkeman’s writing, but here’s my take on a few of his ideas to help bring Imperfectionism into daily life:
Surrender Control: Identify a recurring stressor. Now, imagine releasing your grip on it—what’s the worst that could actually happen? Letting go might just make life a bit lighter.
Use a “Done” List: Instead of a daily to-do list, try tracking what you’ve accomplished. Reframe each day as a list of things you’ve completed, big and small, rather than dwelling on what’s left undone.
Productivity = Presence: Life’s richness doesn’t come from an endless to-do list; it’s found in truly engaging with the present. This is why people turn to yoga, running, reading (or even, unfortunately, cults)—they’re all trying to escape the productivity trap and find something centered and meaningful.
Ready to Go Deeper?
I work with people and teams to confidently meet change at work and in life; to foster cultures of mentorship; and, to hone and develop soft skills to create better leaders. Through that work, folks uncover their deeper purpose, navigate challenging transitions, and answer the call to vocation.
If you’d like to explore what’s coming up for you, get in touch.
See you next week.
