Saying 'No'

Steve Jobs passed away in October 2011. I was in college at that time and soon after his death, his biography by Walter Isaacson was released.

There were not a lot of things or lessons I gathered from that book when I first read it in my college days, apart from the sections and parts of the book I connected emotionally with.

Lately, I have been doing endless meditative writings about death and quoting Steve Jobs frequently for his views on death: “What would you do differently if it were your last day?”

That question has acted as a very powerful focusing lens on what I did for the past couple of years, maybe. But this morning, I realized there is also a second very powerful technique that Steve Jobs used and taught frequently to enhance focus. That technique was “Saying No”.

"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully."  – Steve Jobs

As I was starting my day today around 4AM amidst headache and muddled thoughts, my first thoughts were: “To focus better, what would I say 'No' to today?”

And without too much thinking the answer popped up in my head was “Blogging”. Funny, ain't it? 😀

One of the main reasons why I chose “Blogging” to say 'No' to was because it takes me about 2 hours to work on a blog post end-to-end (from watching a video to social media promotion). And now, saying 'No' to blogging meant I could easily save 2 to 4 hours. 

Apart from helping me focus, this technique has three benefits:

1) Helps you focus

2) Helps you get some extra time

3) Helps you step out of routine and ritual a bit. (Very much the case for me: by choosing not to blog, I focused my attention towards office formalities and towards rest. And honestly, the day feels pretty different.)

Thank you for reading!

PS: This technique “Saying 'No'” feels a bit like taking a “niyam” (not eating salt, not eating sugar, not getting angry, not lying, not disrespecting, etc - any one per day) at the Jain temple in my childhood days. And that resolve alone made you pay attention to what you say, do, eat or (maybe) think – making the day feel very different.