Fail on purpose

What is something you’ve chosen to “fail at”?

A couple weeks ago I wrote about Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, and he’s still got me thinking.

One of the themes he circles back to time and again is the reality that—in our fast-paced, inter-connected world—there simply is not enough time to do all the things we might want to. Let alone do them well. His solution? Not to get better or more efficient or to outsource, but to simply acknowledge that there are arenas of life in which we simply will not be able to excel. And that we’ll be happier if decide intentionally which those will be.

When I reflect on this guidance, I look out my window at the wildflowers in our back yard and smile. Because other than these few months of brilliant summer beauty, our landscaping is quite frankly a disaster. We have failed magnificently at keeping a green, weed-free lawn, and Oliver Burkeman has given me permission to feel okay about that.

So I’m curious about you: what are the things in your life that you’ve decided simply won’t get your energy and attention? What are you pleased to let go, to fail at?