We buy things we don’t need, we hold on to things we don’t use, and we eat things when we’re not remotely hungry. We are “maximalists” through and through.
But what if I told you all that maximizing might actually be minimizing some other areas of your life? And what if the key to maximizing those areas is to actually force yourself to live the saying “less is more?”
First Of All, Does “Less Is More” Even Make Sense?
I hate some sayings at face value, but there’s usually some truth in the paradox. My dad loves to say “you gotta spend money to make money” whenever he’s trying to coax me into making a purchase that he can vicariously live through. Obviously, that’s an intentional misapplication of the saying, but you can see the real truth of it when you look at something like investing. If you invest $1 and get a 100% return, congrats on making a single dollar. If you had spent $10k on that initial investment, you would have made $10K profit – now we’re talking! You have to spend money to make money. Fine.
Less is more is another annoying phrase to me, in part because I always want more. Don’t tell me about less when more is right around the corner. But here’s the deal: most of the time, “more” sucks.
- Have you tried to watch a movie, and rolled through all of the countless options for so long that it’s now too late to start watching?
- Have you ever had your kids complaining that there’s nothing to do while all their toys are scattered over every surface of your house?
- Have you ever eaten one too many s’mores?
That third example is maybe more in the realm of the saying “too much of a good thing,” but that’s really just the other side of the same coin. In the first two examples, though, we see that sometimes the option of “more” kicks us into analysis paralysis. We have so many things to choose from, that we get distracted and overwhelmed trying to sort through it all rather than maximizing our own enjoyment. What good is that?
When Restriction Leads To Renaissance
Not only can too many options lead to suboptimal enjoyment, I think it does a horrible disservice to our creativity and inventiveness as well. Have you ever been stuck executing a mundane task for an extended period of time (ex. Repainting your house, taking a shower, etc.), and found yourself chock full of ideas? Guess what – it’s because your “more” options have basically disappeared. Without all the distractions and the choices you present yourself with, you’re suddenly able to just think.
As a hobbyist songwriter, I find my best lyrics and melodies come during these periods – not the times that I sit down in front of all of my instruments and software plugins trying to find the right sound to inspire me. See, there’s another creativity pitfall that comes with the unending options: an inability to be inventive.
If I’m gardening under the hot sun for 3 hours, away from all my gear, the instrumentation and soundscapes I can imagine are boundless. I can then tweak my real instruments and plugins to replicate the sound I’ve come up with, which is way easier than listening to my existing sound banks and wondering how I could alter them to make them more interesting.
Less Production = More Productive
Back to the songwriting, sometimes a stripped down end result is actually more effective than all the layers and processing in the world. I think that’s why there’s something so special about a rock band’s acoustic set – there are fewer distractions, and the songs have to be simmered down to their most potent essence like a fruit compote. Suddenly the songs move you in a whole new way.
Brand Messaging & Ad Copy? Less is Definitely More.
I find the same thing happens when I write ad copy. I’m used to Google and its 30 character limits on headlines and 90 character limits on descriptions. When those are the blocks you get to work with, you have to boil down broad concepts into a pinpoint sales pitch in order to be effective. But when I head somewhere less restrictive, like Meta, I’m much more prone to ramble. Short, pithy messaging just hits hard:
Get to the heart of the matter, then get the hell out.
