15: Are You Too Busy? | How to Say No | Essentialism

In this installment of the Monday Experience, we dive into the concept of essentialism. While I was deliberating on stepping down from Arrow Squad, Kate Erickson recommended a book on essentialism. The more I read, the more I realize how much of this I need to put into practice.

Essentialism

What exactly is essentialism? Philosophically it refers to the concept that for any specific entity there are a set of attributes necessary to its identity and function. The pursuit of essentialism, therefore, is a pursuit of what is necessary to our own identity and function.

As much as Arrow Squad was a tremendous opportunity for me, and was pivotal in my transition from radio, I recently realized it was no longer one of those essential things in my life. I was feeling extremely overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious. I was working on way too many things all the time and producing very little. The community of Arrow Squad and what that podcast built over the last three years was a good thing, so how do I let it go?

A couple big tips from the book helped me evaluate and, ultimately, make the decision to let it go.

• Is it a HECK YES?
• Can I, specifically, be replaced?
• Is my health (sleep, exercise, rest, stress level, diet, etc) a priority?
• I am experiencing breakthroughs or breakdowns?

Stepping down from Arrow Squad freed up a lot of time and mental space. As an entrepreneur, I get suggestions of where to invest my time constantly, so filling that time and mental space back up won't be a problem. But when it comes right down to it, I realized that I desperately need to focus my energy right now on work that pays the bills, has an impact on others, or is something I love and enjoy doing. Ideally, it's a combination of all three. When it feels like you're swimming upstream, don't be fearful of performing an evaluation of where you are and what you're committing your time to - because just like I talked about last week, life is about more than going through the motions. It's about the experience.