Whenever I find myself in situations with tight deadlines, I default to becoming an optimizer; “How might I squeeze in as many activities within a finite amount of time so I can maximize my available opportunities?”

It’s one of the reasons I love traveling. I seem to get so much more done in so much less time.

However, it comes at a price: More variables invite more opportunities for failure, which increases stress.

The opposite of the optimizer is the simplifier; “How many variables can we remove so that any unexpected development will have little to no impact on the next activity?”

The strategy creates spaciousness, flexibility, and comfort but also reduces efficiency.

Allowing my stress levels to dictate which mode to prioritize has been key to finding harmony. Which do you prefer?