182. Do Less More Slowly

We’ve been conditioned to equate speed and constant output with success, but that mindset leaves us burned out and unfulfilled. By doing less more slowly, we reclaim our clarity, focus on what matters most, and build trust in ourselves instead of relying on fear and over-control. This shift allows us to create a version of success that includes us—our energy, joy, and presence—rather than sacrificing everything in the name of productivity.

Slowing down and doing less allows you to focus on what truly matters, leading to better decisions, clearer thinking, and more meaningful results.

Are you exhausted from trying to keep up with hustle culture and constantly pushing yourself to do more? Are you realizing that frantic activity isn’t leading to real progress or fulfillment in your career? Are you craving clarity, calm, and a way to succeed without burning yourself out?

You’ll learn that slowing down and focusing on doing less with more intention is not laziness, but a powerful strategy for sustainable success, building self-trust, and redefining what achievement truly means for you.

WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER

• Why calm is the foundation of productivity and creativity, not the enemy of it

• 3 practical tips to start building self-trust by making and keeping small commitments to yourself

• Why redefining success to include your energy, joy, and fulfillment allows you to create a career and life that actually feel good to live

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DOWNLOAD GUIDE TO DOING LESS MORE SLOWLY

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TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to the Stop Sabotaging Your Success podcast, episode one hundred and eighty-two. I'm your host, Cindy Esliger. This is the podcast focusing on what we can do today to take control of our careers and overcome the inevitable barriers to success that we encounter along the way. 

We live in a world that praises the always-on mentality – as if our value is directly tied to how much we can cram into a day and how quickly we can do it. From the moment we enter the workforce, we're handed the unspoken rulebook of work hard, then work harder, and told to push through, do more, and never slow down. But, here's the catch: when hustle culture keeps turning up the volume, burnout rates are soaring, and too many smart, capable professionals are constantly running on empty. At some point, we have to ask – what are we really rushing towards, and at what cost?

In this episode, we explore the counterintuitive, but deeply transformative idea of doing less, more slowly. It's not laziness, and it's certainly not a lack of ambition. It's a mindset shift, a strategic rebellion, really – that invites us to stop confusing frantic activity with actual progress. This approach asks us to do what matters most with more intention, let go of things we can't control, and build a foundation of calm that supports sustainable success. Because the truth is, your best ideas, boldest decisions, and most fulfilling career moments come from clarity. And gaining clarity sometimes requires us to slow down. 

If the phrase 'doing less more slowly' immediately makes you uncomfortable, take a deep breath – this one's for you. Because if you've been chasing career success while operating in a perpetual state of overdrive, you're probably due for a change in mindset. 

Many of us have internalized the whole work harder thing a little too well. We've been glorifying the grind for far too long. We told ourselves that doing more and more was the path to greatness, mistaking constant motion for meaningful progress. And for a while, it might have even worked, or at least looked like it was working from the outside. 

While hustle culture continues to demand more from us, burnout is taking more of us down by the day. What used to be considered an occasional sign of pushing too hard has become all too common. Our calendars are overflowing. Our minds are overloaded. And now that we're exhausted all the time, we're starting to wonder, is this really it? 

That's where the idea of 'doing less more slowly' comes into play. Not as a call to drop your ambitions or retreat in defeat, but as a radically different way to think about how we pursue success and, more importantly, how we define it. 

So, what does 'doing less more slowly' actually mean? 

Let me be clear, 'doing less more slowly' doesn't mean doing nothing. This isn't about giving up, checking out, or refusing to do your job. It means choosing to focus on what actually matters and approaching it with intention rather than urgency. It's about opting-out of the performance-based productivity that keeps us looking busy, while not accomplishing much of anything. 

Because when we constantly pressure ourselves to do more and do it faster, we often skip over the why. We become more reactive than thoughtfully responsive. We rush decisions, force outcomes, and cling to control in the name of productivity. But ironically, the more we try to force things, the more out of sync our lives and careers feel. Instead of creating the success we crave, we end up exhausted and disconnected from what it is we actually want. 

Here's where things get interesting because calm isn't the enemy of productivity, it's the foundation of it.

When you're calm, you can hear yourself think, and you're thinking more clearly. You make decisions that are aligned instead of panicked. You conserve energy instead of wasting it on micromanaging, second-guessing, or trying to make things happen by sheer force of will. Don't mistake that kind of calm as being passive – it's powerful. 

Creativity, strategic thinking, and meaningful progress all stem from a centered mind, not a frazzled one. You can't exactly brainstorm your next breakthrough while you're frantically toggling between responding to messages, updating spreadsheets, and staving off that feeling of existential dread. 

So, instead of increasing the speed at which you work or the sheer volume of work you produce, what if we pursued more clarity? What if our goal wasn't just to get more done, but to get the right things done, with the right kind of focus that doesn't leave us completely fried at the end of the day?

That's what 'doing less more slowly' offers: a path to sustainable success that doesn't require depleting yourself just to prove you're capable, again and again. 

Maybe it's time we redefined our relationship with control because it may be what's getting in your way. Perhaps you need to consider that it's not your boss, not the company, not even all the work you have to do. Maybe it's you – and your need to control every outcome, every timeline, and every piece of how it all unfolds.

Now, I'm not asking you to give up control entirely. It's about being smarter with how you use it, about shifting from control as domination, to control as discernment. 

'Doing less, more slowly' means learning to focus on what's within your control – your energy, your attitude, your actions – and letting go of the illusion that you can force your way to every desired outcome, because you can't. And trying to control everything and everyone is exhausting, frustrating, and pointless.

Instead of trying to manipulate every variable to produce your preferred result, what would happen if you simply allowed some things to unfold? What if you got curious about the outcome rather than being obsessed with controlling it? 

Think about it like running an experiment. You don't rig the results to match your hypothesis – you observe what actually happens and let the data guide your next step. When we force things to go exactly how we planned, we might get what we want, but we lose the opportunity to discover what could have been better, or easier, or more aligned. 

The control tactics we tend to employ are energy vampires. They deplete you. They keep you hypervigilant, overextended, and constantly on edge. And for what? A result that feels hollow? A win that you had to white-knuckle your way to achieving? 

The irony is, the more we try to force something, the less true it feels when we get it. Freedom, ease, joy, and, yes, satisfaction are all on the other side of letting go, of doing less more slowly, and of choosing to show up with presence instead of pressure. It's about trusting yourself to know what's meant for you won't require you to self-destruct to get there. 

And if that sounds too idealistic, ask yourself this: Has doing more and doing it faster actually gotten you to where you want to be? Or just made you too tired to remember what you were chasing and why you were chasing it in the first place? 

In challenging workplaces, we all develop mental strategies to get by. Thought patterns that were useful once – maybe even necessary – to navigate stress, pressure, or environments where the rules were stacked against us. Maybe you became hypervigilant because the stakes were so high. Maybe you learned to overachieve, to feel seen. Maybe you took on everything yourself because no one else stepped up. 

Those patterns? They worked – until they didn't. 

The problem is, we often keep them going long after we've outgrown them. And because they're so familiar, we rarely question them. 

'Doing less more slowly' means noticing when we're stuck on autopilot, when our thoughts are spinning like a hamster on a wheel, generating more stress than clarity. These loops aren't just exhausting; they're often signals that something needs to change. Not because you're broken, but because you're evolving. 

So, ask yourself: Are these thought patterns still serving me? Or are they keeping me small, scared, and stuck? 

You may not realize it, but self-trust is the antidote to this control addiction. It's what allows you to stop micromanaging every part of your career and start co-creating it. It's the inner knowing that you'll handle it, whatever 'it' ends up being.

But, here's the thing about self-trust: it's built the same way we build trust with anyone – by showing up, keeping your word, and proving to yourself that you're reliable. 

So, start small. Make an agreement with yourself that's doable, like "I'm going to take a ten minute walk after work today", or "I'm going to drink one glass of water before I open my laptop", or "I'm going to say no to one thing this week that drains me".

Then do it. 

Each time you follow through on one of these commitments, no matter how small, you teach your nervous system that you can count on yourself. Your clarity sharpens. Your confidence builds. Your ability to say no, enforce boundaries, and stop outsourcing your power becomes stronger. 

Self-trust helps you adapt when things don't go as planned. It helps you pivot without falling apart. It makes you less susceptible to perfectionism, people-pleasing, or expectation escalation. You stop looking outside of yourself for permission and start making decisions from your own internal compass. 

And that is sustainable. 

One of the biggest mindset shifts is recognizing that doing less is not about doing the bare minimum. It's about not doing everything. It's about pruning back what's no longer useful so you can focus on what actually moves the needle – in your work and in your life. 

Because when you keep trying to do everything, you end up doing nothing particularly well. You're fragmented, rushed, and reactive. But, when you slow down and choose carefully, you're more effective because you're focused and present. 

You're no longer operating from fear that everything will fall apart without you. You're trusting that if something needed to get done, it will – and if it doesn't, maybe it didn't matter that much in the first place. 

Let me assure you that you're still allowed to be ambitious. You're still allowed to care deeply about your career, your performance, and your impact. But instead of trying to prove your worth through overwork, try showing your strength by pacing yourself wisely. 

Sustainable success isn't a straight line – it tends to ebb and flow. It allows you to honor your limits as much as your drive. One that requires you to trust yourself enough to say, "This is enough for now. I don't have to push through my exhaustion. It'll still be here tomorrow." 

I know that this idea of 'doing less more slowly' goes against everything we've been taught in a world obsessed with speed, output, and performative productivity. It challenges every corporate platitude and every productivity hack. And yet, it just might be the smartest, most self-respecting thing you can do for your career and your life. 

Because calm isn't a luxury; it's foundational. It's the fertile ground where your best ideas grow, your clearest thinking happens, and your most meaningful goals begin to take shape. But, let's not pretend calm looks the same for everyone. Maybe for you, calm shows up when you finally let yourself take a nap without guilt or when you cut back on caffeine and suddenly realize your heart doesn't have to race for you to be productive. 

The point is that not every tactic will work for you, so you have to experiment. This is a discovery process, not a checklist. You're building your own sustainable rhythm, not borrowing someone else's.

The goal is to leverage your calmness as a strategic advantage. A state of mind that allows you to make better decisions, set better boundaries, and actually enjoy the life you're building – without wrecking yourself in the process. 

If you've been chasing traditional success – money, titles, recognition – you're not wrong for wanting those things. You've probably worked hard for them, and it's okay to take pride in that. But, let's pause for a second and ask: Does the way you're working get you any closer to the kind of life you actually want to live?

Because here's the truth: sustainable success means doing work you enjoy, at a pace that doesn't destroy you. 

It means defining success in a way that includes you – your health, your joy, your relationships – not just your resume. It's about fulfillment, not just achievement. Presence, not just performance. 

And when you start making decisions from that place, watch how everything changes. 

But, be warned, that this is the part where guilt tries to sneak back in. That little voice whispering, "Are you really allowed to slow down? Shouldn't you be doing more? What will people think?". That guilt is a symptom of a system that leads to burnout, not sustainable success. 

So many of the choices we make in overdrive – saying yes when we mean no, doing more than our share, never unplugging – aren't driven by passion or commitment. They're driven by fear. Fear of being seen as lazy. Fear of being replaced. Fear of being overlooked. Fear of being less than.

And fear can disguise itself as ambition and responsibility. It'll tell you that skipping rest makes you stronger, that staying late proves your value, and if you're not constantly performing, you're falling behind. But fear-based decisions rarely lead to career fulfillment. They lead to resentment, fatigue, frustration, and that hollow feeling of success that doesn't actually feel like anything. 

Trust yourself enough to say no when you need to. Trust that your career won't implode if you step back for a beat and catch your breath. Because that's where the real power comes from – not controlling everything, but trusting yourself enough to know that you don't always have to be the one in charge. 

This isn't easy. It flies in the face of everything the modern world glorifies. Be prepared that people may not understand why you're choosing slow, steady, and sustainable over loud, fast, and frantic. You may even feel like you're going backwards while everyone else is 'crushing it'. But are they really 'crushing it', or are they being crushed by it? 

You, on the other hand, are doing something bold. You're choosing to play the long game. You're choosing to stay well, stay curious, and stay you – even in a system that encourages you to lose yourself in the grind. 

And that's the kind of ambition worth honoring. 

If you're feeling stuck in trying to do everything, all at once, consider this your permission slip to slow down. To redefine what calm looks like for you by experimenting. To step away from the pressure to prove yourself through productivity alone.

And the next time you're tempted to do more, push harder, say yes again, or override your own needs, ask yourself: 

• What am I truly striving for? 

• Is this choice moving me closer to that – or further away? 

• Am I acting from self-trust or from fear? What would it look like if this were easier? 

• Do I like the way I'm living – or just the way it looks? 

Consider for a moment whether 'doing less more slowly' could actually make you more valuable, not less.

It might seem counterintuitive because we've been conditioned to believe that value equals visible effort, constant output, or being the first to respond and the last to leave. But in reality, the person who slows down enough to think clearly, solve the right problems, and operate from calm confidence rather than chaotic urgency often makes the biggest impact. When you do less with more intention, your decisions carry more weight, your presence becomes more trustworthy, and your contributions are harder to replace – not easier.

This isn't just about preventing burnout down the line; it's about professional differentiation. And most people don't realize that until they stop trying to prove their worth to the point of exhaustion. 

Slowing down and doing less allows you to focus on what truly matters, leading to better decisions, clearer thinking, and more meaningful results. As I said, it's not about doing nothing – it's about doing the right things with intention.

The constant need to manage every outcome stems from fear, not strength. When you build trust in yourself – by honoring your boundaries, keeping your promises to yourself, and letting go of outdated thought patterns – you create sustainable success without completely depleting yourself. 

Success isn't about how much you can endure or how fast you can go. It's about building a career and a life that actually feels good to live. 'Doing less more slowly' helps you resist the constant pressure to do more and achieve more, and allows you to focus on what truly matters to you, and that which will have the greatest impact.

'Doing less more slowly' isn't about lowering the bar – it's about raising your standards for what truly deserves your time, energy, and attention. When you lead with calm, clarity, and self-trust, you create space for the kind of success that feels good and lasts. You don't have to run yourself into the ground to get where you're going, you just have to choose a better path to get there. 

And that's it for this episode of Stop Sabotaging Your Success. Remember to download your Guide to Doing Less More Slowly at cindyesliger.com/podcast, episode one hundred and eighty-two.

Thank you to our producer, Alex Hochhausen and everyone at Astronomic Audio. Get in touch, I'm on Instagram @cindyesliger. My email address is info@cindyesliger.com. 

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, you have to come check out The Confidence Collective. It's my monthly coaching program where we dig a little deeper into what's holding you back in your career and we find the workarounds. We help you overcome the barriers and create the career you want. Join me over at cindyesliger.com/join. I'd love to have you join me in The Confidence Collective.  

Until next week, I'm Cindy Esliger. Thanks for listening.