Get more done by doing less
The way to get more done is not by doing more things but by doing fewer things.
Sounds counter-intuitive?
Naval Ravikant said in a recent tweet (paraphrased): You can have whatever you want (aka achieve whatever you want), but it can only be one thing and you just want that thing badly.
What does he mean?
You must optimize for one thing.
Everyone is optimizing for something through their behaviours.
When you don't understand someone's behavior, you must ask yourself: What are they optimizing for?
For example, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg wear the same clothes every day. Sure its a tech thing.
But it's also optimizing them to be able to do some really high-level tasks, freeing up their mental cognitive abilities to be able to focus.
These are usually the task(s) that move the needle forward in the company. They may also appear emotionless when they fire 1000s of staff.
Entering into a flow state
When you are optimizing and doing less tasks you've automatically prioritized your things to do list because you are doing less things. Whereas the opposite is also true.
Its also easier to enter into a flow state when your mind is less cluttered about doing a million other different things.
Recap
Get more done by doing less things: