Last year, I wrote a piece for financial professionals called “Essentialism: How to focus on what matters most.” The article discusses Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism and provides a three-step model for how to help eliminate nonessential activities.

Essentialism was such a popular book that, after it was published, McKeown received an avalanche of praise, speaking requests and consulting opportunities from all over the world. He received so many requests that he had trouble staying consistent with the core truths he espoused in his book, such as, “Only a few things really matter” and “I can do anything but not everything.” McKeown was working harder than he ever had, but he wasn’t moving closer to his goals. And the more exhausted he became, the more effort it took to make any progress.

In a world where it seems like everyone and everything demands attention, he started asking how he could make it easier to manage his time and do what mattered most. Ultimately, this led McKeown to publish his next book, Effortless.

Here are five lessons from Effortless you can take away to start making things easier for you and your clients today.

1. Simplify your processes and remove unnecessary steps

To help achieve optimal outcomes with minimal effort, a good place to start is prioritizing your essential tasks. If that feels overwhelming, one way you can make your tasks more manageable is by breaking them down into smaller, more doable steps. As you break down your tasks, try to identify inefficiencies in your processes and work to eliminate them. You can do this by leveraging technology, automating routine tasks and delegating other nonessential work where possible.

2. Make one-time choices that eliminate future decisions

These days we never seem to have enough time. Something I have noticed is the more I come back to the same project or question, the more tired I feel. When you intentionally choose to touch things once, you free up time.

You can help avoid decision fatigue by establishing clear rules, principles or systems to guide your actions and behaviors. These systems are designed to help you (and your clients) deliver consistent, efficient outcomes, freeing up mental bandwidth for your more critical tasks.

A great example of a one-time choice that eliminates repetitive decisions is auto enrollment in a retirement plan with a qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) such as a target date fund.

As John Doyle wrote in a recent Capital Ideas article, “Auto features: Friend or foe?”: “When it comes to plan design, financial professionals have a responsibility to encourage plan sponsors to use the tools available to help participants work toward their retirement goals. That sometimes means making decisions they wouldn’t necessarily make for themselves, like higher default enrollment rates, higher caps on auto-escalation rates and auto-sweeping employees back into the plan.” 

3.Create enjoyable rituals

Adding small, pleasurable activities into your daily routines can help transform mundane tasks into moments of joy. These rituals can be as simple as having a morning coffee in a favorite spot, taking short breaks to stretch and breathe or setting aside time to reflect on positive experiences. McKeown emphasizes that these rituals should be meaningful and personal routines that enhance your overall sense of contentment. When you have a clear head, you are more likely to make better decisions.

4. Set a sustainable pace

Don’t forget to listen to your body and incorporate regular rest periods. It is important to recognize personal limits and stop overcommitting in order to avoid exhaustion. By pacing yourself and establishing a rhythm that balances work and rest, you will be in a better position to deliver consistent performance and achieve your goals without sacrificing your health and well-being. 

5. Make relationships easier to maintain and manage

Clear and concise communication and setting realistic expectations are key to enhancing your personal connections. In other words, do what you say you are going to do. If you are consistent with your commitments and your follow up, you are more likely to find higher satisfaction in your relationships, making the pursuit of your personal and professional goals feel, in a word, easier.

As my dad used to say, “Saying a thing and doing a thing aren’t the same thing.”

As financial professionals, you can use the lessons from Effortless to enhance your decision-making processes and improve client outcomes through simplicity, focus and efficiency. Adopting these principles can help you stay energized, remain highly productive and find greater satisfaction in your work and personal life.

Read important disclosures