Stack or strip?

There’s always lots to do. Chances are, before you start anything new, you’re already max’ed out.

Adding anything worthwhile will likely take more time than you have, chew through meetings, be knotty, feel impossible, add stress, and overwhelm the system. It’s rare-to-never that we can stop one thing before starting another. Life ain’t so sweet.

And yet, we add.

And the day job goes on. People to manage, targets to hit, products to ship.

The only way then is to stack up or strip out.

Stacking up is what most people do – the inbox gets fuller, to-do list longer, late nights, lounging weekends lost. Everything gets nudged, nothing shines.

Stripping out means dropping or delegating everything possible, focusing where the leverage is greatest, applying asymmetric effort.

When you’re already working harder, the only thing left is smarter. Prioritise the battles you have to win first, everything else, strip.

Skippy Strategy: Whether you’re stacking or stripping, don’t do it in secret. Respect the other party, tell them what you’re doing, let them make their own choices about their schedule.

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Category:
Focus