The Subtraction Myth: Why Less Isn’t Always More
You can’t subtract your way to a positive — only to zero.
You’ve read Essentialism. Deep Work. Maybe even Four Thousand Weeks if you were feeling existential.
You tried their tactics. Said no to meetings, batched your emails, and protected your calendar like it’s a castle under siege.
You subtracted the bullshit, set boundaries, focused on “what matters most.”
And yet – you’re still miserable.
Maybe you’ve optimized your way to a slightly less chaotic calendar, but doing your work still feels like a slog.
The key insight:
You can’t subtract your way to a positive. You can only subtract your way to zero.
Subtraction doesn’t create meaning, it only creates space. Meaning only appears when you choose what fills that space.
The Minimalism Industrial Complex Sold You Half a Solution
The productivity world worships subtraction. Do less. Focus. Eliminate the non-essential. It’s seductive advice, especially for overwhelmed high-achievers drowning in obligations.
And it’s not wrong. You probably ARE doing too much. Your calendar probably IS a dumpster fire of other people’s priorities.
But subtraction is only part of the solution.
It only works if you’re subtracting to make space for something that lights you up.
You can block out more focus time. Say no to more meetings. Clear more space on your calendar. But if you’re still filling that space with work that doesn’t matter to you (just slightly less of it), you haven’t solved anything. You’ve just made the wrong work more efficient.
The issue isn’t how much you’re doing. It’s what you’re doing and why.
The Real Equation
Most people think the path to fulfillment looks like this:
- Too much work → Subtract work → Happiness
That’s fundamentally wrong. The actual equation is:
- Too much work → Subtract wrong work + Add right work → Fulfillment
See the difference? Subtraction is a tactic, not a strategy. It’s necessary but insufficient.
As you subtract, you need to add in the work you’re meant to do, the stuff you’re uniquely positioned for, and the stuff that brings joy to your heart. The shit that matters.
Your Job vs Your Work (And Why It Matters)
This is where most people get stuck. They’re subtracting from their job hoping to find their work underneath. But they never added their work in the first place.
Your job is what someone pays you to do. You’re executing someone else’s vision, building someone else’s dream, playing by someone else’s rules. It ends when the paycheck stops.
Your work is the change you’re trying to bring to the world. It’s your vision, your mission, the thing you’d do whether or not someone paid you. It doesn’t end because it’s who you are.
The problem: You’ve been trying to subtract job tasks hoping your work will magically appear. But you can’t uncover something that was never there.
You’re creating a vacuum, not fulfillment.
How to Know If You’re Subtracting Wrong
Ask yourself:
After clearing your schedule, do you feel:
- More anxious (not more energized)?
- Like your “free time” is a burden?
- Guilty for not being more productive with your newfound space?
- Still empty, just with fewer things to blame?
Are you:
- Using productivity systems as procrastination?
- Constantly tweaking your setup instead of doing the actual work?
- Saying no to everything but not saying yes to anything meaningful?
If yes, you’re subtracting without knowing what you’re for.
The Path Forward Isn’t What You Think
The goal isn’t less work. The goal is work that is aligned.
Sometimes that means doing MORE of the right things and less of the wrong things. Sometimes your calendar needs to get FULLER because you’re finally doing work that matters.
I know that’s not what the minimalism crowd wants to hear. But I’m not interested in selling you Instagram-friendly slow living aesthetics that don’t work for ambitious people.
You’re not broken for wanting to do big things. You’re just doing the wrong big things.
Once you identify your actual Work (capital W)—the change you’re here to make, the problem you’re built to solve—then and only then can you intelligently design around it.
Maybe that means your current job becomes a funding mechanism for your work. Maybe it means finding a job that builds skills your work requires. Maybe it means your job and your work can align more than you thought.
But first you have to know what you’re building toward. Otherwise you’re just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
What This Looks Like in Practice
I can’t tell you what your Work is. That’s your soul work to do. But start here:
Before you subtract one more thing from your calendar, ask:
- What am I trying to make space for?
- What would I add if I had the space?
- What change am I trying to bring to the world?
- What would I do even if no one paid me?
Then look at your life and ask:
- Is my job funding my work or draining me too much to do it?
- Does my job build skills, relationships, or credibility that serve my work?
- Am I expecting my job to BE my work and resenting it for not being that?
The answers to these questions matter more than any productivity hack you’ll ever try.
The Bottom Line
Subtraction is powerful. But you need to know what you’re subtracting for.
The minimalists got it half right: Yes, you’re probably doing too much. But the solution isn’t to do less of the wrong things and hope fulfillment appears.
You need to figure out what your Work is, then systematically design your life around it. That might mean subtracting. It might mean adding. It definitely means getting clear on what you’re actually building.
An empty calendar isn’t freedom if you don’t know what to fill it with. And a full calendar isn’t the problem if you’re filling it with work that matters.
Stop subtracting your way to zero. Start adding your way to something worth building.
Your freedom can’t be found in an empty schedule – it emerges when you start filling your days with the right kind of Work.
Quotation I’ve Been Pondering
“A work of art is never finished, only abandoned.”
— Leonardo da Vinci
Journal Prompt
“What’s the Work I’m hiding from behind the safety of my job?”
Until next week!!
Work and live well.
Tim
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