It is a question we should ask ourselves often.

Why?

Because complexity is the enemy of growth.

By asking this question, we allow ourselves to believe there can be an easy way to do things. One that will take less time or effort or inflict less pain on you than the usual approach.

You can ask this question to tackle any part of your life, or for professional pursuits.

Want to launch your startup? Then instead of launching it, validate your idea before launching. It will save you the hassle and wasted money.

Want to grow revenue in your service business without much hassle? Productize your services and offer them as a pre-packaged bundle, and let people buy off the shelf like any other product.

Want to make client management easy? Make a well thought ‘rules of engagement’ doc so that there is no mismatch in expectations later.

Want to build your personal brand? Then instead of going multi-channel, consolidate your presence on one platform, before moving to another. Go with the one that has the highest traction at any given point and that is aligned with your preferred style (text, video). This way you’ll be able to follow a focused approach and leverage your reach on one platform to quickly build your presence on another. 

Instead of launching multiple products, pick your bestseller with high margins and then double down on growing and promoting it. DollarShaveClub started with one product (razor) and ended up growing in a span of 5-6 years, enough to be bought by Unilever for more than $1 billion.

Instead of reading 100 blog posts about getting healthy, eat less, increase the intake of fresh vegetables and fruits, savor what you eat by chewing slowly, and don’t eat after 7 or 8 at night.

Want to get a job? How about you made getting a job your job. And instead of applying to 20 different companies, go deep on 2-3 companies and ace it by overpreparing better than anyone else.

Want to cure your social media addiction? Instead of trying social media blocking apps, remove the apps from your phone altogether.

Want to reinvent yourself? Then instead of changing everything at one go, change one thing at a time. You can be methodical about it by running personal growth experiments as I do.

See, you can use this approach anywhere. What will you use it for?