When is enough, enough?

With so many priorities constantly vying for our attention, it can be hard to determine when we’ve done as much as “or more than” we can do.

To determine what is enough for you whether in your professional or personal life, it pays to get good at simplifying. Simplifying just means making small changes that cut back on the clutter and noise in your life, and give you more time and space for what matters.

As a Life Coach and Career Coach based in New York City, I see overwhelmed clients every day who are struggling to bring more peace and clarity to their waking hours. I certainly experience the feeling of taking on too much myself, which leads to the need to back off and rebalance.

I often advise my coaching clients that we can all benefit from learning how to “enough-ize.” This is based on the concept of “enoughism,” which is described in a book by the same name written by John Naish. Enoughism is focused on getting consumers to take note of their spending habits while also helping the environment.

In his book, Naish asks consumers to ask themselves a series of questions before they part with their hard earned cash (or run up their credit card bill) to buy one more thing. For example, do you really need another consumer product, or do you simply want it? Has your desire for this “consumer thing” been suggested by marketers? Is there another way to achieve your goal without buying another product?

When you ask yourself questions like these, it makes you think about whether you already have enough without making an additional purchase. The same concept that makes you think about whether you need one more toy holds true for other things in life as well, such as time, technology, and tasks. We can learn to apply Naish’s concept of enoughism to “enough-ize” other areas where we may be about to bite off more than we can chew.

Here are some ideas of how to enough-ize your life:

Time. You’re invited to another dinner, weekend outing, or networking event but your calendar is already overstuffed, and saying yes will both add to your stress level and leave you no time for recovering from what you’ve already committed to. Ask yourself: Do I really need to take on this commitment now? Can I consider doing it in the future when I have more time or can I just say no?
Tech. Too much screen time has become a problem for almost everyone. While you may not be able to change this as much during your work day, once you’re off duty, you need to find ways to unplug.

Before you spend your evening checking Facebook or updating your LinkedIn page, ask yourself: Would my time be better spent doing something offline tonight? Have I already been online enough today?

Tasks. You’ll never cross every item off of your to-do list it’s the nature of life. New tasks will always replace the ones completed. But you can try to take control of your overflowing to-dos by considering whether you really want or need to add a new task to your list. Ask yourself: Is this task something only I can do, or can I delegate or outsource it?

By taking a step back before you take on more in any area of your life, you can learn to recognize when enough is truly enough.

Mark Strong is a Life Coach, Career Coach, and Executive Coach based in NYC. You can find more information at www.markstrongcoaching.com.