The Power of Two: Why Doing Less Gets More Done

We’ve all been there — staring at a long list of things to do and somehow doing none of

them.

It’s not laziness. It’s decision fatigue.

Most people, and most teams, don’t fail because they make bad decisions.

They fail because they try to make too many.

When everything feels important, nothing truly is.

Every option, every “priority one”, every good idea piles up until clarity disappears.

That’s where The Power of Two comes in.

Choose two. Always two.

If you’ve got three things to do, pick two.

If you’ve got ten, pick two.

Even if you’ve got a hundred, yes, still pick two.

The act of choosing forces clarity.

It makes you face trade-offs, focus on flow, and confront what really matters right now.

You can always revisit the rest later — but for now, the only work that counts is what you

actually finish.

Why “less” works

I once heard Simon Sinek tell a story about a shoe salesman.

The salesman didn’t bombard his customers with endless options.

He simply removed the noise and made it easy for them to decide.

Because too much choice doesn’t lead to action — it leads to paralysis.

It’s the same in business.

Leaders think giving people more options empowers them.

In reality, it often traps them in endless debate, waiting for certainty that never comes.

The more you try to control everything, the less progress you make.

But if you choose deliberately — if you pick two — you create focus.

And focus builds momentum.

Decision fatigue and the myth of certainty

This links back to something I wrote recently about decision fatigue and the myth of

certainty.

We chase the perfect plan as if it exists — it doesn’t.

We agonise over priorities as if one perfect order will make all the difference — it won’t.

The truth is, the moment you make a clear choice and move, your energy shifts.You create motion.

And motion is where learning happens.

So the Power of Two isn’t just about prioritisation.

It’s a mindset.

Choose deliberately.

Do less.

Deliver more.

Less is focus.

Focus is delivery.

So if you stopped trying to do everything today and only did two things…

What would they be?