My mother has a rather practical approach to life.
Bedsheets need to be clean and folded well enough to put away.
They do not need to look like they’ve been prepared for a luxury hotel inspection.
Nobody is coming to assess the linen cupboard.
And if they are, I have some questions about their priorities.
😂
Dinner doesn’t need to look like it’s been plated by a professional chef. The important part is sharing a meal with people you love.
And according to Mum, if you’re spending more than five minutes putting on makeup, you’re probably spending too much time on something that doesn’t matter very much.
Her philosophy is simple:
Finish what needs finishing. Don’t polish what doesn’t need polishing. And save your time for what matters.
But Don’t Mistake This for a Lack of Attention to Detail#
Mum used to be an accountant.
She is perfectly capable of being extraordinarily detail-oriented.
Recently, she and a friend planned a hiking tour of England.
Every bus connection.
The kilometres they’d walk each day.
Where they’d stop for coffee.
All carefully considered.
Apparently, the coffee logistics were important enough to warrant proper planning.
And I respect that.
😂
The difference is that those details actually mattered to the outcome.
A missed bus could disrupt the day. Poorly planned walking distances could make the trip unpleasant.
An imperfectly folded bedsheet?
Not quite the same consequences.
Applying Proportional Effort at Work#
I’ve carried this thinking into project coordination.
Some tasks are straightforward. The information is available, the next step is clear, and the consequences are well understood.
I get those done quickly.
Not carelessly.
Quickly.
Because other tasks need proper investigation, technical advice, stakeholder coordination or careful consideration of risk.
Those get the time and attention they require.
Spending thirty minutes polishing something that only needs five doesn’t make the work better.
It just means I’ve got twenty-five minutes less for something that genuinely needs my attention.
Of course, a task being small doesn’t automatically make it low-risk.
Sometimes a seemingly minor detail is exactly the thing that needs checking.
The effort should match the requirements, risks and consequences of the task. Not simply how impressive you can make the finished product look.
Knowing When to Stop#
I think there’s an important distinction between doing something well and doing more than necessary.
Sometimes quality means investigating every detail.
Sometimes it means delivering a clear, accurate answer without unnecessary complication.
And sometimes it means folding the bedsheets into something vaguely rectangular and getting on with your day.
Mum’s lesson was never about lowering standards.
It was about understanding which standards actually matter.
Proportional effort isn’t about caring less. It’s about knowing what deserves more of your care.
Or, in project management terminology:
Allocate resources proportionate to risk, complexity and stakeholder requirements, ensuring effort remains aligned with the intended deliverable.
Mum calls it not wasting your bloody time.
😂