What motto do you live by?
Lately I’ve been focusing a great deal on the less is more way of living. I don’t mean saying it and then living by the more is more motto either.
Saying one thing but doing another seems to be popular. When I say less is more, it resonates with the people I work with, and they agree. Sometimes, in practice, many fall into old ways, though.
They fall into the more is more way of living, which is the standard for most. They want to cover all their bases, make sure every need is met.
Sometimes the goal can’t be to try to meet every need, though. Sometimes it’s necessary to focus on the most important needs and really live the less is more way of life.
That’s the only way people are going to get the true benefit of what you’re doing.
If you try to deliver too much then you’re going to deliver nothing.
“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”
Blaise Paskal
It takes more effort and more time to make things shorter and more succinct. That’s contrary to how most people seem to think. The thinking is that if we spend more time and think about what needs to go into training, letters, learning, etc. then we need to put more in to be more comprehensive.
More comprehensive.
This is a statement I hear from people who aren’t trained in the science of learning.
Comprehensive is code word for more.
Load more information, more topics, and all around more of everything into the course, job aid, or whatever. This is a dangerous precedent to live by.
Sometime if we’re working with someone who thinks everything is important, we need to work with them to understand that the more we throw at someone, the less they get.
When learning a new topic, less is more to start. A good foundation has to be built with the basics. The super basics.
Once the basic foundation is laid, more can be slowly layered on. But, in every session of trying to learn a new topic, less is more at any given time.
That’s why microlearning is so important whether you use the buzzword or call it what it is.
Less is more. Always.
Unless more is kittens, then more is more.