How to apply simplicity
A focus on Simplicity.
I’ve been spending a lot of time recently thinking about simplicity and want to share some insights with you. This may help you make your work easier to do well, predictably and with less stress.
What is Simplicity
Simplicity is freedom from unnecessary complexity, so work is easier to understand and do.
This is the textbook definition, and personally, I really like it. Along with this gem:
— Albert Einstein
What Simplicity Is
Making it easier to do the most important things. Not reinventing the wheel every time. Removing clutter and noise so the work feels easier.
What It Is Not
Dumbing things down. Cutting corners. Being simple for the sake of it.
Simplicity is the idea that the simplest explanation is often the best one.
Why Simplicity Matters
The idea that the simplest explanation is often the best one is not new. Since ancient Greece, thinkers have argued that explanations built from fewer assumptions are stronger and more reliable. Modern research supports this.
Time and again, simpler models prove to be better starting points and are often more effective at predicting what will happen than complex ones.
Put simply, when we focus on the few things that matter most, people perform better, and results improve.
Research tells us:
- Simplicity helps people feel better. Our brains can only hold a few things at once. Cutting red tape and admin reduces stress. Jobs feel manageable rather than overwhelming.
- Simplicity improves outcomes. Simple checklists in healthcare halved deaths by focusing attention on critical steps. Organisations lose time and money to complexity; simpler systems recover lost working hours. Fewer rules and assumptions lead to faster decisions and more predictable results.
How to Apply Simplicity
Three things you can do, learning from the examples above:
- Use checklists to avoid reinventing the wheel.
- Capture simple rules learned from experience to reduce cognitive load.
- Standardise. Identify what jobs you do repeatedly. Then share and re-use your checklists for these jobs. Turn your checklists into playbooks you can use again and again to get your jobs done.
Simplicity is about focusing on what matters the most, and doing this repeatedly.
Your Action
Take 30 seconds to think about one thing at work you are struggling with or finding harder than it should be.
Ask yourself:
- Has this come up before?
- If it has, what do you already know works?
- Would a short, experience-based checklist make this easier next time?
Most of the time, we just need to write down what works and use it again.
Greg
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