My partner sighed as I asserted I was adding yet another thing to my already overflowing plate, then calmly responded that sentiment was exactly why I always felt stressed and unfulfilled. While walking down the buffet of life, it’s easy to say “yes” to revamping the company detail library, committing to a fitness routine, or planning the neighborhood Halloween party. After all, there’s value in doing each of these things. However, taking on too much means that, even if we’re constantly doing something, we’re never actually accomplishing anything.
In our world of polished social media images and celebrated Who’s Who lists, the illusion of success prevails. It’s tempting to “lean in,” “say yes,” and “do it all” in an attempt to “follow your passion,” but these buzzword mantras oversimplify the path there. When success doesn’t come quickly, it’s easy to assume those at the top are different from us somehow, superhuman, even. I’ve been on the receiving end of that assumption more than once, and always find it surprising, because I never feel like I have it all together. In fact, Shonda Rhimes’ quote, “Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life” best summarizes my experience.
Success is fueled by sacrifice, choosing one thing over others: morning workouts or relaxing, alarm-free mornings, managing project teams or time for personal skill development, exciting travel with colleagues or cozy weekends with family, writing this editorial or curling up with a good book, etc.
Recognizing this, I’ve reframed my original adage a bit. It’s not a matter of “not having time,” but knowing where the new activity falls on my priority list and being intentional about what’s going to take a backseat for a bit. Saying “yes” to something means saying “no” to something else. To help limit that impact, any new task needs to come with a clear objective. Without a “definition of done,” projects can quickly turn into endless Sisyphean tasks, expanding to fill whatever time is allocated, much like those standing one-hour calls we all have on our calendars.
The field of software development has a concept known as the “minimum viable product” (MVP). Rather than trying to create the best possible product, developers aim to avoid unnecessary work on components that might not align with user needs by delivering the bare minimum at intermediate check-in points along the way. This doesn’t mean delivering an inferior product, but rather limiting their work with a clearly defined scope to gather insights to refine and enhance the product in subsequent iterations. This approach is particularly valuable in dynamic environments where requirements evolve over time, like that of structural engineering.
I’ve leveraged this concept in a few ways throughout my professional life. To create a training program for our firm, I started with a series of “basic training modules.” These are 2- to 3-page Google Docs that provide background on a variety of tasks like retaining wall design and link resources from our company drive or the internet. Going forward, I hope to grow this into a full internal wiki to serve as a searchable clearinghouse for our firm’s collective knowledge and experience. For now, though, the limited content is already paying dividends for our new hires.
To create time for these overhead projects/investments, I’ve had to revisit how I approach project work. Project profitability is contingent on efficient use of time for our majority fixed-fee workstyle. Since we design in parallel with our architectural counterparts, we must be careful not to get too far ahead of them, as this can result in costly rework when design changes. By identifying key needs for each given phase, we limit our liability. In practice this might look like: offering a typical bay of framing with approximate quantities to assist in early pricing rather than generating a full set of general notes, plans, and details or not bothering to create a full 3D structural analysis model and using hand calculations for a simple flexible diaphragm lateral analysis. The key here is ensuring we have the right minimum requirements for our MVP, which requires effective communication. Oftentimes people ask for one thing, when they really need another.
By focusing my efforts, I’ve been able to condense my work hours into only four days a week. I use my extra day for routine tasks like laundry or yoga, but also as contingency time for unexpected or one-time events, like a dentist appointment or home repair. Consolidating my priorities has provided the flexibility to handle these commitments, and more satisfaction out of the work I choose to commit to. I’m no longer struggling to check shop drawings while listening to a committee conference call, because I’ve trained my staff enough to delegate the shop drawings and have chosen only one committee to actively participate in. Despite a reduced workload, I feel more fulfilled, anticipating the next challenge, and maintaining the inclination to say yes, knowing there’s always an opportunity to come back for seconds (or thirds) in the buffet of life. ■