Do Less. Enjoy More
(And Perhaps Get More Done.)
“Having lost sight of our goals we redouble our efforts.”
- Mark Twain
“To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.”
- Zen teacher Dogen, The Koan Of Everyday Life, 1252
“To do less and enjoy more involves a simple yet profound transformation: it’s a different way of being in the world.”
- from LESS: Accomplishing More By Doing Less (One of my books.)
Do Less; Enjoy More
Becoming Yourself, A 3-Month Practice Period
What I’m Watching: Mr. Scorsese
A Poem: Innocence
Walking toward the stage for a keynote talk, I was once introduced as the author of LESS: Accomplishing Less, By Doing More. People in the audience chuckled, and I began my talk by admitting that life, and my life often feels more like this introduction than the actual subtitle of one of my books, Accomplishing More By Doing Less. It also allowed me to begin the talk by mentioning one of my favorite Zen-inspired T-shirts that says: “Working Hard; Accomplishing Nothing.”
I’ve worked with many people who struggle with navigating the transition from working to not working and in general feeling way too busy. I think about doing less and enjoying more in three buckets: 1) transitions, 2) less doing, and 3) integration (as Dogen says above, letting things come to you, even while accomplishing.)
Transitions
The shift from working to not working has become a lot more challenging and complicated. It can be difficult to distinguish when we are working or not working. But, our children, families, and friends know. Our bodies know.
It’s good to have rituals and reminders. Experiment with setting a timer when your work day ends and take a few conscious breaths, take a short walk, or read from a book not related to work. This is healthy compartmentalization. If you drive to work, create a ritual before getting out of your car; a clear shift from working to not working.
Less Doing
Sometimes it’s important to just do less, like dropping our work, letting go of doing and be fully with ourselves, our children, families, or friends. This might mean putting away your computer and even your phone. (imagine!) I believe our bodies and minds need this more than we usually think.
Integration
This is the practice of less resistance, more focus, ease, and enjoyment while getting things done. I first had this experience while working in a Zen monastery kitchen. Here we were explicitly aspiring to bring our meditation practice into work. We were often completely engaged, working together, being fully with whatever we were doing. And we somehow were producing healthy, tasty, and often awesome meals.
This is where the Dogen quote applies - mysterious, aspirational, and practical:
“To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.”
The Art Of Less
To do less and enjoy more involves a simple yet profound transformation: it’s a different way of being in the world
1. We do less by taking the time to rest mentally and physically in between or outside of our usual activities, perhaps instituting a regular practice of meditation, retreats, breaks, and reflection.
2. We do less by pausing in the midst of activities: mindfulness practice (such as coming in touch with our breath in between reading or sending emails) and walking meditation are two examples.
3. We do less by identifying and reducing unnecessary activities. In this case, “unnecessary” means those things that are not in alignment with what we want to accomplish.
4. We do less by the very quality of our being. Practicing being completely present for what we are doing, without sacrificing or rushing what’s in front of us in order to get to “more important” stuff later.
5. We do less by integrating effort with a feeling of effortlessness. With practice, we all can find that sweet spot that combines engagement, creativity, and composure.
I would propose that we can do less and enjoy more when we approach each moment and task in an open, relaxed, and fully engaged manner — whether leading a meeting, answering emails, or taking our children to school. In this way, our sense of accomplishment depends more on the way we act (which we can control) than on the results (which may be out of our control). No matter the chaos of any particular day, this can become one of our most important and useful aspirations and measures of success.
(Mill Valley Sunrise, Monday Morning)
Becoming Yourself: A 3-Month Practice Period, Online
January 7th - March 25th, 2026
A 3-month Practice Period is a great way to begin or deepen your mindfulness and meditation practice and cultivate ways for integrating mindfulness practice with your work and all parts of your life.
Online meetings are Wednesday from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. PT. We will begin each session with 30 minutes of lightly guided meditation, followed by a short talk, as well as small group and large group discussions.
The theme for the Practice Period is Becoming Yourself. This is the underlying theme of meditation practice and Zen practice - studying yourself and going beyond yourself; seeing and feeling everything, the good, bad, ugly, beautiful - as gift and an opportunity to learn, grow, and engage.
Our primary reading for the practice period is Becoming Yourself, Zen Talks from Shunryu Suzuki This is an excellent primer on the non-dual teaching of Zen practice and how to apply it to your wellbeing, relationships, work, and social and environmental responsibility.
Being part of a community that meets weekly is a powerful way to find more clarity and connection as we begin a New Year. Each week we will meditate together for 30 minutes. Then, I’ll give a short talk, unpacking ideas and practices from Becoming Yourself.
Weekly sessions will be recorded and made available in case you miss any sessions or want to revisit them.
What I’m Watching
Mr. Scorsese - A documentary about Martin Scorsese is a deep exploration of the art of film making, his life, and the interconnections. Extraordinary person and life.
A Poem: Innocence, Julie L. Moore
At some point you make peace with it
your life as it is, with all it offers you
Like an early evening walk, half moon
hung in the tiger lily sky
Black cows heading to the barn
bemoaning the end of day
Hundreds of blackbirds screeching
live as the wire they perch upon
My long-time friend zipping by in her van
waving. It’s after all the whining
And stomping of feet, of course. After dreams
blur with real life. After the pin-pricked
pop of the inflated ego. What joy
mysterious. What humble innocence.
Warmest regards,
Marc