Dieter Rams, the legendary Braun designer, had a principle: "Weniger, aber besser." Less, but better.
It's a principle that revolutionized design. And it can revolutionize your habits.
The myth of more
Our culture celebrates doing more. More habits, more projects, more commitments. The busy person is seen as successful.
But more doesn't mean better. Often it means the opposite.
If everything is important, nothing is important. If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.
The cost of dispersion
Every habit you try to maintain consumes resources: time, energy, attention, willpower. These resources are limited.
One well-established habit is worth more than ten half-done habits.
The essentialist approach
1. Identify the vital. Of all the habits you could have, which would have the greatest impact?
2. Eliminate the trivial. Are there habits you maintain out of inertia, guilt, or because you "should"? Let them go.
3. Deepen instead of expand. Instead of adding a new habit, consider how to make the current one better.
Your essential audit
Today, make a list of all the habits you try to maintain. Then ask: if I could only keep three, which would they be?
Those three are your core. Everything else is optional.