A Goal: Less Overcommitment.

I'm learning that more is just less.

I hinted at it in my first post, Shiny and New, about being “overcommitted to-say-the-least”.

I wake up every morning with a general outline of tasks that will take me all day. I know what I’m doing the next few days too. Everything else that comes up? Where do you account for that?

There’s a forest out there. Every tree can’t fully support every other, though.

I love all that I do. I’m not complaining.

I adore my family. I love my home—our pets, our chickens, and how calm we’ve made it all. I wish I got to see more of them. I know in the scale of time, this is what’s most important.

I enjoy my work and the significant impacts I’m able to make through it. I love helping solve business problems and serve my region through challenges that feel truly endless.

I love Christiansburg Run Club. It’s a community we’ve built over the years and now a huge part of my life. My best friends are run clubbers. Like every other club I’ve been part of too, it’s become so much more than just an activity.

And the rest too: the outdoors, the advocacy work, heck—I love picking up trash when it means it makes our town a little bit nicer. I wish we’d do more of that.

I don’t love the overcommitment, though.

It’s that every moment is taken. Every “yes” was a “no” to three other things, often to spending time with loved ones or simply doing something good for myself.

I don’t like explaining—in fact, I haven’t said this out loud many times—that focusing on community is vital to me. I’m a member of a group that’s a huge part of my life, one that looks like pure fun on the outside but means more than that. I want our community to bring people together and have a positive impact. I can’t skip out on that commitment.

And I really don’t like constantly having to be off to the next thing. A lot of quality comes through in the details and details take time. That’s the crux of it and what I want to talk about today.

More just creates more. I want to focus on less.

I can’t “boundaries” my way out of this entirely. Even delegating it out is tough; I try but too many people are dead-set on it being “me”. The people who know that delegating is essential are the ones who find the most success.

This week reminded me of the incredible people I surround myself with. I’m so grateful that I work with the helpers. They needed help this week, as did so many.

I want to spend more time with the people who I can help the most.

Simple answers and simple problems fixed compound over time. They take away from deeper work. Whole days lost. Whole weeks, it feels like.

Here’s to more depth:

• More focus given to those who are doing the work. You have to dive deep and work consistently to see results on anything you do. I’m here to help with that if you are.

• Fewer small tasks. That one hour commitment on a Saturday takes time away from me and my family. It detracts from the whole day. Compound all those one hour meetings, “can you hop on a quick call” messages, and knocks on the door expecting that I’m immediately available.

• More time on the big problems. I can’t create a better place to live by skipping out on the people who want to do that with me. I can’t advocate for safer roads to bike on and never find the time to ride on them myself.

I can’t devote small fractions to everything and, in effect, give very little to any one thing. I know we’re all busy. I’m less committed than many, if I let myself let go of some things.

I want to go deeper. I want to help those who want to do that too.

If you’re reading this, you’re precisely who I care about and want to help. I want to devote time and energy towards the big goals, though, and dive deeper on fewer things. I’m working towards that goal.