Jennifer McCartney - The Joy of Doing Just Enough: The Secret Art of Being Lazy and Getting Away with It

n: satisficiency def: the art of doing just enough to satisfy everyone

Were not conditioned to do just enough. Were supposed to always be prepared, and be early, and always deliver more than we promised. Youre supposed to hustle. Get ahead. Outperform your peers. Get the promotion, the good grades, the scholarship. Being average isnt what were brought up to value. A 2014 study from Harvard shows that out of 10,000 middle and high school students almost half said that achieving at a high level was more important than happiness or caring for others. What the fuck, society? Trust me kids, no one will ever give a fuck about your 95 percent in grade eleven biology if you also pushed someone down the stairs to get to class on time.

So what would it take for you to do just enoughto just be getting by? Maybe youre already there! Maybe youre already doing just barely enough to get by, but have been conditioned to think that its not enough. Youre alive. But its not enough! You should be succeeding more! You should be overachieving! Exhausting thought, right? The key to life is doing just enough. Do whats expected of you, most of the time. This allows you to accept that your current output is enough, but it also allows you to appear productive and to function in a society that just doesnt get why the constant struggle to be better is actually damaging us.

The three key takeaways from this book:

1. Lazy people live longer.

2. Lazy people work better and more efficiently.

3. Numbered lists are bullshit.

In spite of the pressure from society to plan ahead and overachieve, Ive discovered that the just-enough method is the best way to get things done. Fuck your to-do lists, schedules, flow-charts, group chats, conference calls, and general readiness. It doesnt work for everyone, and the expectation to be great, or to be better, or to strive for improvement, or qualify for a promotion, or to arrive prepared, is stressful. And unrealistic, for most of usthose of us just trying to get by. Anyone whos ever left the house late for an appointment with a cell phone battery at 8 percent and cat hair on their pants will understand.

The key to success isnt working too hard; its working just hard enoughnever overpromising, never overachieving. So keep reading. I can show you how to quit your striving and settle for doing just enough. I can show you the FIB method to successfully chilling the fuck out.

Forget about success and strive for satisficiency. Dont worry about spelling it. Read this and realize the secret to doing just enough. Read this and fall asleep. Read this and write a think piece about how doing just enough is the new unicorn latte. First, you need to learn the essential three steps to doing just enough, because everyone knows that improvement requires a set of instructions that can easily be reproduced on a throw pillow.

Why youre not a badass and thats okay. You also dont need to unfuck yourself or learn the art of not giving a fuck.

Mantras used to be just for yoga retreats and meditation and trust falls (dont fucking drop me is a mantra) but theyre popular in the corporate and self-help world, too. Mantra is Sanskrit for sacred thought or sacred utterance. Businesses love these sacred thoughts: be generous and brave at your gray cubicle. Suffer no bullshit in your nap pod in Silicon Valley. Be relentless while writing code for an insurance company. If you work at Google, just dont be evil. Whichever one appeals to you its time to cut that shit out. Talking to yourself (also called self-affirmations) is not the key to success.

You know what one of the top search terms is when you look for instructions on how to be a badass? How to look like a badass when youre short. Yeah. So, just forget it. Youre really not going to change your personality. Or your height. Yet being a badass is one of the numerous new self-help attitudes weve been asked to embrace of late.

Put on your shit-kickers and stare down the patriarchy. While also being grateful for the vitality and energy that allows you to kick so much life in the ass. While were at it, fuck feelings, too. And please do this self-improvement in between your two jobs and after you run to the bathroom to get some soap and water on this avocado stain. And maybe also after youve finished walking your dad through the new features on his cell phone. And after you help your daughter make dragon-scale slime for show and tell tomorrow. Who has the time?