Live By The M.E.D. Rule
Do you ever wonder how highly successful people get so much done? How do they seem to be so productive? It seems they have the Midas touch. It’s like they have time to do everything, and everything they do is done well.
What if I told you it’s not that they are magically blessed, but rather they all live from a common rule. What if being successfully productive was more methodical than magical? And what if I told you their secret?
Well…I have good news…I am going to show you their secret sauce…and it’s called The M.E.D. Rule.
M.E.D. stands for Minimum Effective Dose.
Definition: The smallest dose that will produce the desired effect or outcome.
The best visual example of M.E.D. is in boiling water. Water boils at 212 degrees and any temperature above that is simply wasted energy. Water doesn’t boil more at 234 degrees, or 520 degrees, it achieved its M.E.D. at 212. Turning the heat up to 672 degrees is completely unnecessary if your desired result is boiling water.
Highly successful people live by the M.E.D. rule. They only put the amount of energy it takes to achieve their results then move on to the next thing. While others are putting in 278 degrees, they stopped when they hit 212 degrees. Too many people spend precious time and energy overcooking and overplanning what they do. Instead of knowing the secret of the M.E.D., they are lost in the wasteland of overworking.
If you want to be productive, you do as little as possible that still achieves the desired outcome. This isn’t an excuse for laziness, it’s a formula for success. Remember, water doesn’t boil at 211 degrees. You can’t slack and fall under the desired outcome. You have to make sure you hit 212 exactly. If you fail to hit 212 you have done too little, but if you go above 212 you’re just wasting time you could be spending on your next project.
Highly productive people live with an eye on the Law of Diminishing Returns effect. Here is a chart to show you the difference between productive people and unproductive people:
The secret to success is knowing when you’ve hit your desired outcome and then move on. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” The M.E.D. Rule proves the less you do, the more productive you’ll be. The more you do, the less productive you’ll be. You have to learn the art of keeping your balance between 211 degrees and 213 degrees.
Here are some questions to think about:
- What are you doing too much of?
- What areas might you be over spending time and energy in?
- Where do you tend to overthink, overplan, and overdo in?
