You don’t have to be a neuroscientist to understand that less is more. But it turns out that there is science behind it.
Taste is processed in the parietal lobe of our brains (right behind the middle of your head). A recent study by Stanford University found that:
“A group of obese preoperative bariatric surgery patients had less taste sensitivity than a control group of normal-weight individuals. Although shedding weight can help restore some lost taste sensation, it might not bring it back completely. ‘Taste is like any other system and may become dulled with overuse, explains John Morton, MD, lead author of the Stanford study. ‘What we really need is to appreciate our food more.”[1]
In previous articles, we have talked about how separating active from storage helps avoid decision fatigue and how easily the prefrontal cortex becomes exhausted.
In a study published in the Oxford Journal, researchers discovered:
“..important differences, but also surprising similarities, in parietal and frontal lobe patients….Parietal and frontal mechanisms work together, both in weighting by location and weighting by task context.[2]” (Peers et al., 2005)
So what does all this mean?
Excess is literally damaging.
Eating too much interferes with our ability to actually taste and enjoy the food, and this loss can be permanent. Similarly functioning parts of our brain mean that overdoing how many decisions we need to make, even if it’s what shirt to wear, wears away at our ability to execute action effectively. What if this damage were permanent, like the loss of taste?
How to Joumorize the damage of excess: less is more.
My refrain for years was, “Reorganizing isn’t about getting rid of stuff.” And that’s still true. But it’s also true that too much is just too much.
Joumor’s Productiivty U students and CEO Rise clients know that there is a strict maximum of 3 items per day on the Grand To-Do (a Joumor productivity tool). We can always add things as we complete new things, but let’s not hold ourselves responsible for more than 3 new tasks per day. Ever hear of Warren Buffet? He has ONE item on his daily to-do. It doesn’t mean he does only one thing, but his expectation is focused to just one item. And he’s a busy, hardworking billionaire.
As spring rolls in and people have more energy, many are excited to achieve more, but end up overdoing it and actually achieving less.
Joumor Principle: Set yourself up to win.
Want to achieve more?
Expect less of yourself.
Try to move the needle just a little.
Put fewer things on your to-do.
Complete one task well and then move on.
Wearing your favorite outfit, easily decide on the perfectly sized meal that would give you the most pleasure…and enjoy. That’s Joumor, baby.