Most People Spend Too Much Time Sharpening Their Axe

Photo by Alexandra Lowenthal on Unsplash

I’m sure you’ve heard this quote before:

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.”
- Abraham Lincoln

The idea here is, if you have a difficult task, the best thing to do is prepare. This might feel like a waste of time, but it really saves you time and effort. It’s similar to the idea of working smarter, not harder.

If your “axe” is sharp, chopping down the tree will be much easier.

What does it mean to sharpen your axe?

• Reading books
• Getting mentorship
• Listening to podcasts
• Taking online courses

These are all the things designed to help you achieve your goals faster and with less effort. It’s true that chopping down a tree with a freshly sharpened axe requires less effort.

This sounds good in theory, but turns out to be awful in reality.

You need less preparation and more action

If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend 6 swinging the axe.

Sharpening a real axe doesn’t take anywhere close to 6 hours. It might take you 30…