The value of AND

Fred Wilson’s recent post on the N+1 theory got me thinking this week about the choices that we make and how we’re defined by those choices.

For example, many of us are forced to choose between this and that when considering decisions that require the outlay of finite resources, such as when we buy food in the grocery story.  We’re also accustomed to thinking about our time in the same way — you often only have time to do this or that. I think that many times when we think we don’t have enough time to do a project (or write a story or think about a new idea), we’re actually thinking or saying “I don’t want to do that” or “I’m not sure I know how to do that” and we spend a lot of time estimating time rather than … just doing it.

Example:

• When considering to start a business, you try to decide between the two, rather than trying to start both and supporting the one that seems the most promising;
• Your spouse says to you, “should we paint the room today, or tidy the house”;
• You look in the mirror and think, “I can either exercise today or spend time with my kids.”

The truth is, our time is limited.  You can’t make more time.  But you can change the way you view that time so that you can think about doing more things during the time you have.  Don’t make as many choices between this OR that.  Try to do this AND that, and see what happens.