Use Occam’s Razor To Slash Your Workload

graphic of guys and monk with occams razor
Boys, boys, boys, you should wear a blanket, like me.

Why do us humans complicate things so easily?

Without effort we project irrational and sometimes nasty gods into earth, wind, and fire while inventing wild myths and tall stories to explain every aspect of reality which surrounds us.

Can we not just take note of things as they are? Look, a thing-a-ma-bob!

There is no doubt that deciphering the stuff that is going on around us presents a challenge but automatically complicating things seems to be in our intrinsic nature and it is this compulsion to convolute that Occam’s razor was designed to cut down to size.

When You Hear Hoofbeats, Think Horses, Not Zebras

This notion of simplification can be traced back twenty-four hundred years to the time of Aristotle but most recent literature blames the theory on a Franciscan friar going by the moniker William of Ockham. Today, we appropriately acknowledge the good friar’s efforts through a short and sweet acronym known far and wide as: KISSKeep It Simple Stupid.

In fact, the need to keep things simple is so great that it is even drilled into the minds of medical school interns through admonishments against seeing Zebras when looking at horses. Just like anyone else, physicians run the risk of transferring their complicated worldview into the situations they face every day.

Use Occam’s Razor To Cut To The Chase

With that in mind, here are a couple of ways to employ Occam’s Razor in your life:

  1. Silence! reflect daily how you can produce the same or more with less. Few folks ever contemplate higher returns with less investment but healthy evolution demands just that.
  2. The Fat Slashers identify wasted resources and wasteful activities though regular contests. Reward folks who run counter to the “more is better” concept of business as usual.
  3. Big Idea Free Zoneerect a mental moat around your home to cut your brain some simple slack. Purposefully blocking out the complications of striving will provide a safe place for your “just living” psyche to rest and grow.

Sam Simpleton Says

graphic of guy in hammock and headstone with postpone the headstone
Occam Says KISS and Live

In this faster, better world it is easy to forget that the best things in life are plain and plentiful.

Basking in the deep love of someone we hold dear or embracing the sheer joy of an early morning stroll through nature  – these are the unpretentious and often ignored pleasures of our existence.

They require no complicated explanation or description, only the recognition that the best things in life are  indeed simple and free.

And Occam’s razor will help you find them.

Thank you, friend.

Barry out.

PS. There is way more to this story than I’ve told you. Start learning more about it by following this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

Barry Williams http://barry-williams.com/blog

Much of what I write will be quite understandable to insane folks.

The rest will be, uh, less understandable...

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6Comments

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  1. 1
    Bhadra Patel

    Luv your article. I am one of those fat wasters and slowly discipling myself. I am now working on IM about 3 hrs/day and thinks are moving.
    I like your site with adsense etc stuff and maybe oneday i can do it the similr way

    • 2
      Barry Williams

      Hey Bhadra,

      Thanks very much for your comment.

      From adsense I made $.01 in April and $1.41 in May. That’s one hail of an increase!

      If I can do it, you shore can…

      Later, pal.

      Barry

  2. 3
    Ray

    Hi Barry,
    Again another great post. I believe that Marlon Sanders bought out a product based on Ockam’s Razor about a year ago.
    I never realised William of Ockam has so much influence today.

    Best Wishes,
    Ray.

  3. 4
    Barry Williams

    Hey Ray,

    Thanks very much, mister.

    William of Ockam likeyly didn’t realize he’d be having much of an effect this long after his expiration date but we likely need his philosophy more now than ever.

    Talk to you soon, Ray.

    Barry

  4. 5
    John McNally

    Glad to find another Occam’s razor fan, Barry. I wrote a blog post recently using Occam’s razor to disprove conspiracy theories; – They’re all far too complicated to be true.

    I have also recently pulled up the draw bridge around my mental moat. I have left my phone permanently on ‘answerphone’. So I don’t get any sales calls, or interuptions of any kind ….absolute bliss. 😉

    Keep these posts coming Barry, I really enjoy them.

    John

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