January 3

Creative work is complex work. You must wade into uncertainty, seek patterns, connect dots, and excavate value that others might not even see. So there is no avoiding the complexity of the work itself. However, there is another kind of complexity that can take root, and it can rob you of the mental bandwidth you need to focus effectively. I call this unnecessary complexity.

When your systems, processes, meetings, organizational structure, or any other means by which you do the work become needlessly complex, they generate hurdles you must jump just to engage with the work. Every hurdle is an impediment to creative insight because it’s a waste of time and energy.

As you consider your workflow, processes, daily schedule, the tools you use, and other methods for accomplishing your work, is there any place where you see unnecessary complexity?

Today, commit to simplifying your work in one way. It could be in how you structure your schedule. Maybe it’s in how you treat your communications with your collaborators. Maybe it’s in how you define the problems you are solving.

Save your mental bandwidth for resolving the complexity of the work itself, not the complexity of your process.

Question:

Is there any place where you are making things more complex than they need to be?