Hi everyone! Today I want to share a concept that is\u00a0very applicable to personal growth: the law of diminishing returns<\/strong>. It teaches us how to maximize our output for our time and effort, and to get the most out of life.<\/p>\n I learned about it while studying economics in school, and here\u2019s what it says:<\/p>\n The law of diminishing returns state that as more units of a variable input (like time, effort) are added to a productive process, the additional output (or benefit) from each new unit will eventually decrease<\/strong>.[1<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n (Image<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Let\u2019s say you have a cornfield and you want to increase your corn yield with fertilizer.<\/p>\n See graph below:<\/p>\n (Image: Personal Excellence<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Diminishing returns can actually be observed in different areas of our life. Consider these examples:<\/p>\n As a writer, I typically have high output during the first 2-3 hours of my writing session. Beyond a certain point, I\u2019m editing and rewriting points but not making much gains. That\u2019s my point of diminishing returns.<\/p>\n For my site content, it\u2019s helpful for my readers when I write articles on a new topic. But to write 10, 20, 30 articles on the exact same topic without any new insight or ideas? It leads to diminishing returns, which is why I do not write repetitive content even though it is common to do so for self-help blogs.<\/p>\n Can you see situations with diminishing returns in your life?<\/p>\n The law of diminishing returns teaches us some important things:<\/p>\n This is true whether in work, relationships, health, or skill improvement. E.g., with relationships, there are diminishing returns from having too many<\/em> meetups a week \u2014 it takes away from productive work time and me time. With health, there are diminishing returns with each health protocol you follow \u2014 it is better to branch out and try other approaches that can jumpstart your progress.<\/p>\n At the heart of it, the law of diminishing returns is a reminder for us to work smarter and to aim for better results with less wasted effort.<\/strong><\/p>\n With each goal you are working on (whether it\u2019s work, health, exercise, relationships, etc.), you want to focus on the steps where you can get the most returns, and to stop and change your action when you reach diminishing returns.<\/p>\n Stop in the zone of diminishing returns, when payoff is not justified by added input (Image: Personal Excellence<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For example:<\/p>\n So how can you maximize<\/span> productive gains and minimize<\/em> diminishing returns while spending the same time and effort? Very importantly, how do you avoid negative gains? Here are my 7 tips.<\/p>\n Finally, regularly consider your goal in the context of other goals and priorities. Even if a goal is giving you productive gains now, it may be causing diminishing gains in other areas of your life, and as such your objective may not be to maximize these good gains.<\/p>\n For example, perhaps you are getting good financial gains and opportunities at work, but it is causing diminishing gains in your fulfillment and personal life (e.g., health, family). Here you may decide to switch focus to your personal life and cut back on your time spent at work, even though you are growing work-wise.<\/p>\n Case in point: Patrick Dempsey was a leading actor and the highest paid cast member on Grey\u2019s Anatomy<\/em> when he suddenly left the role in April 2015. The show was doing extremely well and in its 11th season then. So why did he leave? Even though Dempsey was experiencing great career growth and earning great money, he was burned out by the 10-month, 15-hour-a-day filming schedule. He said in an interview, \u201cI think after a certain period of time, no matter how much money you make, you want control out of your own schedule.\u201d[2<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n His marriage was also a driving point as his wife had filed for divorce months earlier in January 2015. \u201cOur marriage was not something I was prepared to let go of,\u201d he said. Knowing their marriage could end was a \u201cscary\u201d feeling. Through couples counseling, they reconciled and called off their divorce in 2016.[3<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n Know that there is a larger context which is your end objective<\/a> and your other priorities in life. Your priorities can always change based on what\u2019s going on in your life. You have to evaluate if you are still getting meaningful gains from what you are doing (e.g., money, happiness, fulfillment), or if it\u2019s more rewarding to switch focus to something else (such as health, relationships, or family).<\/p>\n The next time you engage in a task or activity, ask yourself:<\/p>\n Learn to spot diminishing returns in your life and direct your effort accordingly to areas where you can get the most returns. This way you can get more out of life with the same time, effort, and resources. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Related posts:<\/p>\n Quick Note:<\/strong> I\u2019m excited to share that the 2025 edition of Live a Better Life in 30 Days<\/a> (30DLBL) is now out! 30DLBL is my 30-day program to live a better life and it\u2019s a great tool to do a life audit, set goals, and move your life to a new trajectory.\u00a0<\/span>Here\u2019s a comment from reader Sam: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAfter working on 30DLBL for just a few days, I know what I have been lacking; the ability to envision my dreams and come up with a plan to achieve them. While my current goals may change with time, I feel more confident and in control knowing that at least, for now, I know where to focus my efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you so much Celes for creating this truly transformative, easy to follow guide! This is a game changer for anyone feeling stuck in a cycle of similar patterns and behaviours.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you\u2019re experiencing diminishing returns from working on your personal growth from self-help resources, 30DLBL is a great way to jumpstart your growth. Read about 30DLBL here<\/a>, or if you are a past buyer, learn how to get access\u00a0here<\/a>! Any questions? Let me know here<\/a>. \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hi everyone! Today I want to share a concept that is\u00a0very applicable to personal growth: the law of diminishing returns. It teaches us how to maximize our output for our time and effort, and to get the most out of life. I learned about it while studying economics in school, and here\u2019s what it says: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":286605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[117037,11945],"tags":[117038,11071,12685,11131,18635,10970],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-286604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-goal-achievement","category-productivity","tag-diminishing","tag-gains","tag-law","tag-maximize","tag-productivity","tag-returns"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
![\"Cornfield\"](\"https:\/\/personalexcellence.co\/files\/cornfield.jpg\")
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<\/p>\nDiminishing Returns in Our Life<\/h2>\n
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What We Can Learn From This \ud83d\udca1<\/h2>\n
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Managing the Law of Diminishing Returns: How To Maximize Productivity and Gains \ud83d\udcc8<\/h2>\n
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Final Word<\/h2>\n
To You<\/h2>\n
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