Do Less: Learning from Casey Neistat
It has been quite some time since this idea struck my mind or should I say I heard Casey Neistat uttering this ‘Do Less’ mantra and ever since, I have been telling myself that it is okay to do less! You all must be wondering that how doing less can be valuable but believe me, sometimes doing less is the best way forward. I know, for most of you, it may sound like nothing but a dull-witted or a mere philosophical slogan but believe me, it isn’t. When I heard it for the first time, I felt the same. However, as the time progressed and I got the opportunity to think about it and apply it in my life, the only conclusion I reached was, ‘Do Less’ can be as valuable as ‘Do More’ and there is no denying that.
For the context, Casey Neistat, aged 38, is one of the most famous YouTuber out there and this guy can said to be the pioneer of this particular genre of videos, called vlogging. Casey started doing vlogs in 2014, although he had already been doing YouTube since 2010, and for about 534 consecutive days, he uploaded a vlog on daily basis. The guy even tattooed ‘Do More’ on his arm and kept on advocating the idea of doing even more than what could be done. However, in August 2016, Casey’s steak of doing vlogs for 534 consecutive days finally ended as he felt like doing too much and not having the time to spend on himself and with his family.
Later, Casey returned to YouTube and resumed his daily vlogs but with a different approach. Casey has always advocated the idea of prioritizing family over his work and ever since that break in 2016, Casey has slowed down a bit, ultimately saving more time to spend with his family. In 2019, Casey uploaded only 40 videos/vlogs and as of today, Casey has only uploaded 4 videos in 2020 so far. So, apparently Casey is still following that ‘Do Less’ formula and is working out quite well for him.
Although with all the fame and recognition, which Casey has earned over the years, he always found himself involved in a number of ventures, yet Casey has been implementing this ‘Do Less’ in the truest sense of the term, as apparent from the number of videos he posted in 2019 and 2020.
Back in May, 2019, when Casey appeared on Hassan Minhaj’s show, Patriot Act, he was quite eloquent about the idea of doing less. He talked about how we all caught up, doing too much, and the things we do took over us. Eventually, we kind of forgot who we really were in the first place!
My perception of doing less is not so different from Casey’s because just like him, throughout my life, I have also been an advocate of ‘Do More’ until I realized that it might be good to slow down a bit. I still feel like there is nothing wrong with all this utterance of hustle more or work harder but at the same time, we all should have the understanding of what should be the limit and why it is okay to have a break or take some time off. I am not saying that we all just discard whatever we are doing and start resting. Rather I am trying to communicate the idea that sometimes, it is okay to say no to our over-ambitious goal and slow down a bit. Also, It is okay to not give your 100% every time because if we keep on doing more without giving ourselves a break, it is likely that we may hit the wrong road and end up overdoing!
Furthermore, given the lockdown the whole world is experiencing right now, amid this Coronavirus chaos, all of us have ample time to reconsider our approach towards life and to ponder over this ‘Do Less’ mantra.
To conclude, the social dynamics of our society are somewhat based on the popular narrative of giving your best even when you don’t feel like doing anything at all. However, this narrative has its own limitations and it is questionable. Doing more can be harmful, especially at times, when an individual doesn’t have the right mindset or when he goes through a rough patch in life. ‘Do More’ has serious psychological and physical repercussions as well. Thus, we should question this approach more often and irrespective of our biases, we should normalize this ‘Do Less’ mantra instead. Because if we allow this mindset to prevail, it is likely that things will start changing for good.
