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Strategic Underachievement

Matt Barnes

From now on "Strategic Underachievement" is a life skill.


Every school curriculum, every job, and every life is filled with high and low-return activities.


The dominant message in school and life is: "Do More, Better."


This leads to an endless rat race.


A more rational message is, "Do Less, but Better."


Your challenge is to help your child -- and yourself -- decide what to eliminate. This is "Strategic Underachievement."


Some candidates for elimination are obvious:

  • Email.

  • Much of Social Media.

  • Much of the school curriculum.

  • Anything that is done to improve scores on a multiple-choice test.

  • (Add your ideas in the comments)


These clutter life and do little to grow what matters most.


High-return activities include:

  • Deep exploration in areas of personal interest.

  • Reading broadly.

  • Travel.

  • Sleep and exercise.

  • Discussions with Elders.

  • Learning about what makes you unique.

  • (Add your ideas in the comments)


Assess how much of your kids' time is devoted to these...


...Then get aggressive in eliminating low-return activities to make room for the high-return ones.


It's not easy... but it matters.

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