Chasing Complexity (GWTW116)

I love complexity. Play me a 30-minute prog song and I’m content as the musical themes weave throughout different keys and time signatures. I love obscure movies and thought-provoking books that are open to interpretation. But not all complexity is good for me, especially when it comes to getting my work to work.

In Tim Ferriss’s latest book, Tribe of Mentors, Lewis Cantley, a cell biologist and biochemist gave this career advice for college students: “My advice is to choose a profession that is really easy for you to do and that allows you to be creative. If it is easy for you to do and somewhat difficult for your peers to do, you will not have to work too hard to be successful and you will have enough spare time to enjoy life.”

Four ways I chase complexity and what I could learn from simplicity:

  1. I question my process and allow doubt to take me in unnecessary directions. What to do instead: trust the process that I have been developing for over 15 years.
  2. I do everything myself. What to do instead: learn how to delegate and invite others into the process.
  3. I spend too much time perfecting work in my head. What to do instead: sit down and get to work.
  4. Worry. What to do instead: anything.

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