Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
It’s freeing to let go. Bruce Lee captured it perfectly: “It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.” It’s an idea that’s turned businesses on their head and made life easier — one that’s changed the definition of productivity and success in a world full of information and distractions.
In a time of endless options, every task and every decision can take our attention. But success isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing less and focusing only on what genuinely matters.
Now, let’s discuss the daily decrease. This is about getting rid of every unessential task and distraction that takes us away from our core focus. When we let go of the excess, we have time, mental clarity and energy to build and grow. It’s here where a thoughtful approach to delegation, process and minimalism really pays off.
Related: Managing Every Single Task on Your Own Is a Trap for Business Owners — Here’s How I Moved From Doing It All to Doing What Matters
The cost of the unessential
The problem is not that entrepreneurs don’t have drive or ambition; it’s that they spend their time doing unimportant, endless tasks. Non-urgent emails can be answered, you can get bogged down in micromanagement or do some minor administrative duties that steal precious hours that could be spent on strategic growth or creative work.
In essence, every unessential task robs you twice: It costs you, first, of the time it directly consumes, and second, of the compounded value you could have created with that time. It’s a low-return, high-cost task and a distraction that needs to be eliminated.
Minimalism in business — focusing on the core
Minimalism isn’t just about owning less stuff; it’s about removing unnecessary actions, distractions and decisions. Picture yourself running your business with the mentality of only holding what actually brings value. All of a sudden, you’re not weighed down by a thousand things to do. You’re focused, present and making impactful decisions instead.
Minimalism in business means:
-
Delegating tasks that don’t require your expertise
-
Automating processes that are repetitive
-
Streamlining decisions to avoid the clutter of “options” that lead to inaction
Related: How I Transformed My Business by Letting Go of Low-Value Tasks and Focusing on High-Impact Activities
Hacking away at the unessential
But how do you know which tasks to keep and which to let go? The idea is to find the activities that are directly in line with your core vision and purpose. Below is a roadmap to get you started.
1. Identify your core tasks
Your core tasks are the things only you can do that directly contribute to the growth and vision of your business. This could be big-picture planning, relationship nurturing or innovating products and services.
Action: Write down every task you do in a week and highlight the ones that actually affect your business growth. These are your core tasks. Everything else? Elimination or delegation of candidates.
2. Embrace the art of delegation
Giving up control isn’t delegation; it’s an expansion of your reach. When you have a team that knows your vision, you can trust them to do routine or secondary tasks so you can focus on higher-value work. Done right, delegation allows you to focus on what’s important.
Action: Begin with one or two tasks you do on a regular basis that don’t demand your special contribution. Teach your team how to manage these with autonomy so you can focus on big-picture work.
3. Run systems without you
A scalable business is a process-driven business. Tasks run smoothly with a minimal amount of intervention, thanks to systems. Automate where you can and minimize human involvement where you don’t need it, such as for repetitive tasks like reporting, email responses and scheduling.
Action: Automate things like invoicing, scheduling and even customer service queries. For this, tools like CRMs, scheduling software and chatbots are great.
4. Limit your daily decisions
Decision fatigue is real. The more decisions you make in a day, the less energy you have for important ones. Get rid of the decisions you don’t need to make to simplify your day. Whether it’s picking out your daily outfit or scheduling meetings, simplify your choices so you can spend more time on important decisions.
Action: Set up routines for low-impact areas of your life, like having a standard dress code, automating meal choices and a fixed daily schedule to be able to focus on work.
5. Batch similar tasks together
The mental toll of switching between different tasks is that you become less effective and more drained. Constantly switching between tasks is a drag, but batching similar tasks — like handling emails all at once or setting aside specific times for meetings — helps to mitigate this.
Action: Group tasks together and dedicate specific times during the day to handle those tasks. Set “no-meeting” days or “email hours” to protect your focus and increase productivity.
6. Audit and prune your to-do list regularly
To-do lists tend to pile up. Each week, take a hard look at your task list and prune out items that don’t serve your core goals anymore. If you have a task that has been sitting there for weeks and doesn’t help you in achieving your larger objectives, then let it go.
Action: Get into the habit of reviewing your task list every Friday. For every item you have, ask yourself if it still fits your goals. Delete it or delegate it if not.
7. Protect your creative space
Creativity and strategy need space to grow. When every moment is filled with tasks, that’s impossible. Make time for reflection, big-picture thinking and rest. These moments of stillness and focus are where the most groundbreaking ideas come from.
Action: Carve out creative time each week where you can’t be interrupted by meetings or routine tasks. This time is to be used to strategize, innovate or just recharge.
Related: 3 Major Time Wasters for Leaders — and How to Overcome Them
Reaping the rewards of time
What you end up with is a day full of purpose and clarity as you hack away at the unessential. This isn’t about checking off a long list of tasks; it’s about making sure the tasks you do are the tasks that move you closer to your vision. You reclaim time by delegating, automating and cutting out the non-essentials.
Focusing on fewer, high-impact activities isn’t just freeing up your time; it’s creating momentum. What if you could use that extra time to deepen relationships, explore new ideas or make strategic moves for your business? This focused attention on the things that matter is what makes a business good and then great.
Your time is your wealth. Money is always replaceable, but time is not. Don’t let it be eaten up by the unessential. Instead, invest your time in things that are in line with your purpose, delegate the rest, and watch your impact and your satisfaction multiply.
Let go of the unnecessary. Hack away at the clutter.