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When to Pick Low-Hanging Fruit

When to Pick Low-Hanging Fruit

You’ve heard the phrase “low-hanging fruit” before, to refer to easily-accomplished tasks that are emotionally satisfying but inconsequential to the bigger picture or your long term goals. Many business advisors and time-management gurus advise against becoming too focused on these low-effort to-do items because of the potential harm caused by putting off more important tasks and losing sight of the big picture. But low-hanging fruit doesn’t have to be a bad thing!

It can take a lot of discipline to bear down and tackle the big jobs you want to put off, so the temptation to knock out all the easy stuff for a sense of accomplishment is always strong. Ideally, these easy tasks are accomplished during the normal course of your day and don’t become your focus. But it’s hard to ignore that the satisfaction of crossing an item off the to-do list is a good mood boost. There’s an opportunity here to leverage that boost in mood to help keep things rolling. 

If discipline gets things started, it’s motivation that keeps them going. Shifting gears to cross a small task off the list is a great way to keep your momentum going when you’ve managed to achieve a productive flow state. Consider scheduling these small tasks in between chunks of working on your larger items to refresh your focus while still being productive. Done right, you can create a positive feedback loop that helps you really maximize your productivity. If the smaller tasks are unrelated to the larger one, this works even better to give yourself a chance to recover from your mental fatigue. For example, take a break from your monthly bookkeeping to wash the dishes or run a quick errand to get a complete change of pace. You may find that when you return to the larger task at hand that you’re able to make up for the lost time and then some since you’re coming back to it with your focus renewed. So don’t be afraid to pick off a low-hanging fruit when you feel your attention starting to weaken.

 

Dennison Silvio

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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