Reducing Complexity: Make Your Life Easier and More Productive

Life’s complicated. We have many responsibilities with competing demands. And we try to get a lot of things done with finite energy. On top of this, occasional setbacks make things even more challenging. So, with the hustle and bustle of daily life, how is it possible to stay productive without suffering burnout? In this post it’s all about reducing complexity.

There are many good productivity tips out there. But the overemphasis on being productive can lead to even more negative stress. Being productive doesn’t necessarily mean getting the most done in the least time, but rather getting the most important things done consistently.

Reducing complexity will help you to focus on what’s most important to you. In this article I’ll show you how to simplify/remove things that aren’t necessary and don’t benefit you that much.

Example of Reducing Complexity in Organizations

In the context of product development companies often create a minimum viable product (MVP). They make something that is as basic as possible, but still useful. In other words, they create a product that allows them to learn the most about potential customers with the least effort. Companies then develop the product further based on valuable insights gained through the MVP.

Here’s another example. After a period of expansion companies may realize that their structures can no longer support their growth. For example, certain governance processes result in slow, inefficient decision making or some business segments are no longer profitable. To adjust, companies often try to reduce complexity. This may include:

• eliminating unnecessary processes that limit change, speed or growth
• slashing business units that are not in line with the core business or are no longer profitable

To apply these principles to your own life, you can ask yourself two questions:

Here are eight tips to help you answer these questions.

1. Make a Schedule and Stay Consistent

The easiest way to do get the most important things done consistently is to make a schedule and stick with it.

It may sound boring, but almost nothing is as effective for reducing complexity. With a schedule you don’t waste time and energy by constantly considering what you need to do or when to do it. Day in and day out you make progress by being consistent. Of course it’s beneficial to reevaluate and optimize your schedule every so often, but the point is to develop consistency by keeping a schedule.

2. Reducing Complexity by Taking Advantage of Synergy Effects

One way to reduce complexity is to forge mutually beneficial collaborations.

I experienced this with an intern at my company. I assigned her important tasks that I just didn’t have time to do. This produced a win win situation! On the one hand the intern received good pay and gained professional work experience. On the other hand I was able to present more candidates to my clients, because I could focus on my core tasks. As a result I generated more revenue for my company.

You can also take advantage of synergy effects by using materials you or your colleagues have worked on in the past for your current tasks. Let’s say you work in sales and developed content to pitch your product. To gain more reach you can use the same material for the company B2B or B2C newsletter. There is no need to create your own newsletter or ask the marketing team to develop new content.

If you need to give a presentation, try to use material that’s already there. For example, I had to give an overview of the pharmacy labor market in Germany. I figured out that my manager already collected statistics on this subject the year before. Because I used her findings as a basis, I didn’t need to do extensive research, rather I used what was already avaialable and updated it.

Take advantage of available resources – you do not always have to be “original”. The possibilities for synergy are numerous, so always look for opportunities to “kill two birds with one stone”.

3. Learn to Say No

This is one of my favorite ways of reducing complexity. By learning to say no, you take control of your schedule. You are more productive, because you avoid unnecessary stress and can better focus on the tasks that are in line with your goals. Furthermore, you have more time and capacity to say yes to the things that you really want to do – things that you find worthwhile.

4. Reducing Complexity by Bundling Tasks

You can reduce complexity by bundling the same or similar tasks and getting these done in one go. Instead of answering emails as they trickle in, set a time to answer them all at once. I like to plan meetings and interviews in one large block with some prep time in between.

When you enter your tasks in a calendar, assign each category of task a different color. This will help you to visualize the distribution of your to-dos so that you can rearrange and bundle as necessary.

You can also bundle tasks based on duration. If you have several things that take 5 to 10 minutes you can do those at one time. In this way you can check a bunch of things off your to-do list in a short period of time.

When you bundle tasks, you in effect free up more time. Think about the time needed to interrupt a task, start something else and then go back to what you were doing. By bundling tasks, you don’t waste the cognitive resources needed for switching.

5. Rearrange

Let’s say you’ve planned something but it’s consistently difficult fulfill your commitment. This shows that the appointment is not scheduled for the right time. Eliminate it or find a better time slot.

Another way to reduce complexity is to rearrange inefficient workflows. For example, if everything you do needs to be approved by your manager, you’re probably getting frustrated by bottle necks. Managers may give delayed responses as they’re often overwhelmed with other tasks – often of higher priority.

One way to reduce complexity in this situation is to talk to your manager and suggest an adjustment to the governance process. For example, you could be responsible for making the final decision and consult your manager as needed. This will make everyone’s life easier, and you’ll have the opportunity to take on more responsibility.

6. Adjust Your Expectations to Simplify Things

If the expectations you have are causing you lots of stress and anxiety, it’s helpful to adjust your mindset.

For example, ask yourself if you can be content with less. I know someone who was promoted to team lead. He was excited about the opportunity at first but realized after some time it’s not what he really wanted. He ended up doing a lot more work for just a little more pay. And for him sacrificing his quality of life was not worth it.

Being content with less is not so easy, but it’s a great way to reduce complexity in your life.

I’ve adjusted my expectations about things at work several times and it’s made my life less complicated. For example, I wanted something to be organized in a particular way and was frustrated when my colleagues did it differently. After I decided to just let it go, things became easier. I realized that getting frustrated about this was not worth it.

After I had a child, it became hard for me to go to the gym regularly. I decided to cancel my gym membership and sign up for an online workout platform. You could say I “lowered my expectations”, but the flexibility of an online option works a lot better with my new situation.

Another example from my daily life is meal preparation. I used to spend a lot of time preparing nice meals, but this eventually became too stressful. For the most part, I’ve adjusted to meals that I can prep within 30 minutes or less.

Think about other ways to adjust your expectations so that you can ultimately make things less complicated for yourself.

7. Pay Attention to the Pareto Principle

According to the pareto principle, about 80% of your results are generated from 20% of your tasks. If possible, spend more time doing the things that bring you the most success. For example, pharmacists normally need to both consult and take care of sales transactions. However, their key competence is giving professional advice about medicine. There is a pharmacy franchise in Germany that changed the workflow, so that their staff does not have to deal with payments. This allowed the pharmacists to see more clients and resulted in increased revenues.

If you’re time is tight, which is probably the case for most of us, focus on the 20% of tasks that will bring 80% of your results. This is really what it means to prioritize and be productive.

8. Eliminate Things

You’re probably responsible for some tasks that you should not actually be doing. These may be things that you were assigned in past, but they’re no longer relevant to your position. Or maybe you were too quick to say yes to something and now realize it’s taking a lot more time than you thought. Such situations often go unnoticed by others, but you feel the negative impact on your productivity. Find a way to delegate such tasks or have them reassigned.

When my workload is excessive, it takes me a lot longer to successfully fill a vacancy. In such cases I’ve talked with my manager about reducing the load or getting additional support.

What are some other things in your life that you can just drop? Many of us try to do as much as possible and end up having commitments that are more of a burden than a joy. You are in control of your own schedule and well-being. If there is something in your life that’s a constant source of negative stress and you can drop it, perhaps it’s best to let it go.

Summary

In this post I talked about how you can make your life less stressful and become more productive at the same time. There are many productivity tips out there, but my top advice is to reduce complexity. What is the “minimum viable product” version of your life? What things can you eliminate or simplify?

Here are eight ways to reduce complexity so that you focus on the most important things, are more productive and less stressed:

1. Make a schedule and stay consistent
2. Take advantage of synergy effects
3. Learn to say no
4. Bundle Tasks
5. Rearrange
6. Adjust your expectations to simplify things
7. Pay attention to the Pareto Principle
8. Eliminate things

If you need some professional support in simplifying your life, feel free to reach out to me here.