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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Sprache: Englisch
What if success isn't about adding more, but about removing what holds you back?
Do you spend every day wading through too much information, too many choices and too many commitments? Is there always too much to do, but never enough time and energy to do it all? In Red Brick Thinking, bestselling author Donna McGeorge delivers a game-changing philosophy about how to work and live in a way that leaves you more fulfilled and more satisfied. She asks: What if the answer to achieving more is actually to do less?
Red Brick Thinking is a manifesto for smarter, simpler and more powerful decision-making. Inside, you'll learn why our instinct to add complexity is counterproductive to getting things done. Discover what happens when you start to strategically subtract the bricks that weigh you down — from meetings and busy work to the overstimulation and hustle in the design of our daily lives. From Ash Barty to Bottega Veneta, Taylor Swift to Canva, viral trends to global work movements . . . you'll encounter compelling stories, real-world examples and thought-provoking questions that show you how to lighten your load and move forward with greater joy.
- Transform your thinking from 'What else can I do?' to 'What can I stop doing?'
- Learn the power of no and set boundaries that simplify your life and work.
- Boost your focus and combat burnout, inefficiency and overwhelm.
- Find clarity and create space for what truly matters each day.
- Let go of the tasks, habits, obligations and relationships that aren't serving you anymore.
Red Brick Thinking shows how greatness is revealed by removing the excess, like a sculptor carving a masterpiece from a block of marble. If you're ready to stop being overwhelmed and start focusing on what matters, this book shares the mindset and motivation for creating the change you need. What red brick can you let go of today?
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
BEFORE WE BEGIN
PERMISSION GRANTED
NOT ALL RED BRICKS ARE CREATED EQUAL
CHOOSE YOUR PATH
PART 1: THE RED BRICK REVELATION
Chapter 1: Why a brick? And why is it red?
THE CASE FOR LETTING GO
WHY WE NEED RED BRICK THINKING RIGHT NOW
THE SCIENCE OF SPACE: WHY DOING LESS UNLOCKS MORE
PROGRESS ISN'T ALWAYS FORWARD
Chapter 2: The power of strategic subtraction
EVERYONE'S DONE A CLEAN‐OUT
WHAT MAKES SUBTRACTION
STRATEGIC?
THE ORIGINAL RED BRICK THINKER
IF STRATEGIC SUBTRACTION IS SO POWERFUL, WHY DON'T MORE PEOPLE DO IT?
IT'S NOT YOU — IT'S THE SYSTEM
THE SUNK‐COST TRAP
STRATEGIC SUBTRACTION AT SCALE: THE FOUR‐DAY WORK WEEK
LESS ISN'T LOSS
Chapter 3: Anchored by attachment
WE ARE WHAT WE HOLD
THE STORIES WE CARRY
THE QUIET EROSION
THE GRIP TEST
LOOSENING THE GRIP
YOU'RE ALLOWED TO RELEASE
LETTING GO, BRICK BY BRICK
PART 2: CULTURAL RED BRICKS
Chapter 4: More
THE ‘MORE’ REFLEX
WHY DO WE DEFAULT TO ACCUMULATION?
AMASSING HAS CONSEQUENCES
WHEN ENOUGH STOPS FEELING LIKE ENOUGH
OUT WITH THE OLD
THE COURAGE TO CUT
Chapter 5: Hustle
PRODUCTIVITY'S FAVOURITE LIE
HUSTLE HAS BECOME THE DEFAULT MODE
ALWAYS DOING ISN'T ALWAYS WINNING
BURN BRIGHT, BURN FAST
WHEN HUSTLE BECOMES HABIT
SLOWING DOWN WITHOUT LOSING YOUR EDGE
Chapter 6: Someday
ARE WE THERE YET?
THE HEDONIC TREADMILL
THE DISTANCE THAT NEVER CLOSES
LIVING IN THE WAITING ROOM
GOOD ENOUGH
TRADE THE HORIZON FOR WHAT'S HERE
YOU'VE ARRIVED
STOP POSTPONING YOUR LIFE
Chapter 7: Accumulation
A CULTURE ADDICTED TO ACCUMULATION
FROM FULL CUPBOARDS TO FULL CALENDARS
THE MINIMALIST MOVEMENT
CLUTTER ISN'T NEUTRAL
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH STUFF
Chapter 8: Perfectionism
JUST ONE MORE TWEAK
PERFECT ISN'T A STANDARD; IT'S A STORY
PERFECT, BUT AT WHAT PRICE?
‘HIGH STANDARDS’ MEANS LOW TRUST
THE RELIABLE ONE
PERFECTIONISM AS A DELAY TACTIC
PART 3: STRUCTURAL RED BRICKS
Chapter 9: Friction
THE DRAG YOU LEARN TO LIVE WITH
WHEN EFFORT FEELS LIKE PROOF
DEATH BY A THOUSAND CLICKS
WHEN SIMPLE THINGS FEEL HARD
CLEARING THE PATH, NOT REBUILDING THE ROAD
SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST
Chapter 10: Complexity
THE CULT OF COMPLEXITY
THE UNSUSTAINABLE COSTS
LOOKS ORGANISED, FEELS CONFUSING
STAY LEAN TO KEEP MOVING
MAKE IT MAKE SENSE
CLEAR BEATS CLEVER
Chapter 11: Noise
THE VOLUME THAT DROWNS THE SIGNAL
CLEAR SPACE TO CUT THROUGH THE NOISE
NOISE AS AN AVOIDANCE STRATEGY
WHEN EVERYONE IS INVOLVED, NOTHING GETS DONE
WHEN GOOD SYSTEMS SLOW GREAT WORK
WHEN BEST PRACTICE ISN'T WHAT'S BEST
CUT THE CLUTTER; KEEP THE CORE
Chapter 12: Stimulation
LIFE ON THE FEED: THE AGE OF ALWAYS ON
THE FEED DISORIENTS
ADDICTED TO ANTICIPATION
WHEN EVERYTHING GRABS YOU, NOTHING GROUNDS YOU
WHEN STILLNESS FEELS UNBEARABLE
LIVING WITH BOREDOM
Chapter 13: Urgency
THE ILLUSION OF NOW
THE COMFORT OF CONSTANT MOTION
ALWAYS ON — ALWAYS OFF TRACK
THE PACE THAT OWNS YOU
ASSUMPTIONS OF UNREASONABLENESS
PART 4: EMOTIONAL RED BRICKS
Chapter 14: Weight
WHAT WE CARRY THAT NO ONE SEES
THE BURDEN THAT BECOMES NORMAL
CRUSHED BY CAPABILITY
WE CONFUSE MOMENTUM WITH OVERLOAD
WHEN AMBITION BECOMES EXHAUSTION
UNRESOLVED TASKS AND UNCLOSED LOOPS
Chapter 15: Reactivity
THE EVERYDAY HIJACK
THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE
YOUR AMYGDALA MADE YOU DO IT
SPEED WITHOUT REFLECTION
THE POWER OF THE PAUSE
RED FLAGS AND FAST REPLIES
REACTIVITY IS LOUD
WHERE PEACE BEGINS
Chapter 16: Overcommitment
THE FULL‐CALENDAR TRAP
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TOO MUCH
WHEN EVERYTHING GETS A PIECE OF YOU
YOU'RE OVER THE LIMIT
THE JOY OF SPACE IS UNDERRATED
THE JOY OF FEWER THINGS, DONE FULLY
DESIGNING YOUR OWN RED BRICK LIFE
Chapter 17: Obligation
THE WEIGHT OF INHERITED EXPECTATIONS
INVISIBLE CONTRACTS
TETHERED BY EXPECTATIONS
THE SOCIAL SCRIPT PROBLEM
CAPABILITY ≠ CALLING
IT'S OKAY TO WALK AWAY
Chapter 18: Relationships
TETHERED BY HABIT, NOT HEART
WHEN HISTORY BECOMES A TRAP
KEEPING THE PEACE
YOU'RE THERE, BUT YOU'RE NOT REALLY YOU
RELEASING WITHOUT RESENTMENT
PART 5: THE RED BRICK REVOLUTION
Chapter 19: Just red brick it
RED BRICK THINKING AS A DAILY PRACTICE
THE RED BRICK LOOP
EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK
BUT WHAT IF … ?
SAY IT OUT LOUD
BUILD THE HABIT
Chapter 20: The red brick stops with you
RED BRICK THINKING DOESN'T REQUIRE AUTHORISATION
NO ONE ELSE IS COMING
THE BRICK MIGHT BE CULTURAL, STRUCTURAL OR EMOTIONAL
WHEN YOU RED BRICK, OTHERS NOTICE
WHAT IF EVERYONE DID THIS?
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
REFERENCES
BEFORE WE BEGIN
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Before We Begin
Begin Reading
Join the Movement
References
End User License Agreement
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Red Brick Thinking makes a compelling case for rejecting accumulated habits and tasks to free up your time and energy for what matters most. Subtraction is powerful — not just as a business tactic, but as a personal act of agency, allowing us to consciously design our lives to better align with what we value most. I loved it.
—Kate Christie, global bestselling author of The Life List: Master Every Moment and Live an Audacious Life
Red Brick Thinking is like decluttering for your mind and your business. It's the reminder we all need: you don't need to do more to grow; you need to do less, better. This book helped me see that clarity doesn't come from adding more to your plate — it comes from knowing what to let go of. Game changer.
—Olivia Carr, founder and CEO, Shhh Silk
Red Brick Thinking is the missing manual for modern work — practical, evidence‐based and deeply human. It's a must for anyone serious about sustainable talent and culture. It's more than a book — it's a movement. It empowers leaders to lead with intention, not inertia, and to design cultures that thrive on less, not more.
—Melissa Gee Kee, Chief Talent, Development, and People Analytics Officer at Unilever
This book cuts through the noise and dares you to do the brave thing — let go. A minimalist manifesto with maximum impact for anyone ready to lighten up and lead with more purpose, power and presence.
—Dr. Margie Warrell, bestselling author of The Courage GapandYou've Got This!
There's something profoundly reassuring about a book that tells you that doing less isn't giving up. Instead, Donna McGeorge reframes removing things from our lives as a powerful way to reclaim our energy and purpose. Bravo to that, I say!
Donna's metaphor of red bricks is such a clear and helpful way to think about the things that weigh us down. The stories, the questions and the gentle nudges all combine to offer practical wisdom wrapped in her deep insight, cultivated through her years working with organisations and her observations about the state of work.
This book will speak to anyone who's been caught in the rhythm of doing too much, for too long. It invites us to ask better questions and to choose what really matters.
—Maree McPherson OAM, author of Worthy and Cutting through the Grass Ceiling
This book is insightful, thoughtful, and made me challenge myself and my current work process. Strategic subtraction — my new best friend. Red Brick Thinking educated me on how humans are hardwired to do the opposite, and showed me that going against this natural instinct can actually lead to more productivity. Genius.
—Steve Menzies, former Australian Representative Rugby League Player and finance broker
First published 2026 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2026
All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial intelligence technologies or similar technologies. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review) no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Donna McGeorge to be identified as the author of Red Brick Thinking has been asserted in accordance with law.
ISBN: 978‐1‐394‐36084‐0
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Cover design by WileyBrick figures: © Sebastian/Adobe Stock; © brgfx/Adobe Stock
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Donna McGeorge is on a mission to challenge the way we work — not by doing more, but by doing less of what doesn't matter. With decades of experience across corporate boardrooms, global brands and fast‐moving industries, she helps leaders and teams strip back complexity and focus on what truly drives results.
Her career is as diverse as her record collection (yes, classic vinyl). From managing theatre and concert tours across the UK to leading organisational development for Ford in Shanghai, Donna has seen firsthand how businesses and individuals overload themselves with unnecessary effort. Now, she travels the world, both virtually and in person, helping people reclaim their time and sharpen their impact through her keynotes, workshops and bestselling books.
She's been featured on major media platforms, from Channel 9's Today and Channel 7's Sunrise to leading local and global business publications like The Age, Boss Magazine, SmartCompany, Forbes Magazine, Fast Company and Harvard Business Review.
Her It's About Time productivity series of books, including The 25 Minute Meeting, The First 2 Hours and The 1 Day Refund, has reshaped how people approach work. Following the success of her bestselling book The ChatGPT Revolution, now in its second edition, Red Brick Thinking cements her reputation as a leader delivering smart, practical strategies for high performers.
She runs her business from her home in South East Queensland, where she does her best thinking over a cup of tea, looking out at her garden with her husband, Steve, and her dog, Prudence.
Donna believes that complexity is a choice. Work doesn't have to be hard: we just have to be brave enough to stop, strip back and simplify.
www.donnamcgeorge.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I've been writing and publishing books since 2014, starting with a handful of self‐published titles. In 2018, I released my first ‘proper’ book with Wiley, The 25 Minute Meeting, and quickly discovered just how steep the learning curve could be. With the support of an incredible team, I found my rhythm, and in 2019, I published The First 2 Hours. By 2022, I introduced The 1 Day Refund, offering a fresh way to rethink time and energy. Together, these three books formed the It's About Time series, a trilogy dedicated to helping people make work work and take back time for what matters most.
In 2023, I dived headfirst into the world of artificial intelligence with The ChatGPT Revolution, which very quickly reached bestseller status, with a second edition following in 2024.
Now here we are, and you're holding my 14th book, Red Brick Thinking, which is my 6th title proudly published with John Wiley & Sons.
Each book has marked a moment in my own journey of growth, curiosity and connection, and none of it would have been possible without the brilliant people who continue to walk alongside me.
Lucy Raymond, Leigh McLennon and the team at Wiley — thank you for offering me the opportunity to shift my style and approach and for taking a chance on a ‘manifesto’ rather than a ‘tip book’ (as one of my readers once described my other books). You have extended my work to a whole new audience, and I'm forever grateful.
Kelly Irving — you are a legend. This project came together through a deliberate, thoughtful process that allowed each idea the time and space to unfold fully. Beyond your sharp editorial skills, I've come to rely on your keen mind, your vast knowledge and your refreshingly direct approach to shaping great business books. I'm grateful to have you in my corner.
Anne Marie Hyde — your honesty, humour and razor‐sharp command of the Queen's English continue to be a guiding light in my writing life. With every manuscript I hand over, I know I'm in trusted hands, and your insights are never anything but thoughtful, precise and true.
Col Fink — you got me ‘red bricking’ my work before I knew it was a thing.
Janine Garner — you saw something in this concept before I had fully formed and ran with it. Your enthusiasm and generosity in sharing it with your network gave it wings. I can't thank you enough for that.
Emma McGeorge — you are the heart behind so much of what I write. My mission to create better workplaces and, beyond that, a better world, is, at its core, for you. I love you, my beautiful girl.
And my darling Steve — this book came at an interesting time for us, written when you were in hospital and, no exaggeration, gravely ill. You couldn't make cups of tea appear like magic, but your love, support and encouragement were always present. I had to remove a lot of red bricks from our lives to make room for your health and recovery. Love you, babe.
BEFORE WE BEGIN
Every day, without thinking, we sling an invisible backpack over our shoulders. At first, it's barely noticeable, holding just the basics most of us carry: a few meetings, a handful of tasks, the kids and the usual expectations that come with modern work and life.
Over time, without much thought, we start adding more: another project here, a few extra responsibilities there, the growing pressure to be faster, better, more responsive … more everything.
We don't stop to question the weight; we simply adjust the straps, lean in a little harder and keep moving. After a while, the heaviness feels normal and we forget we're even carrying it. We get used to dragging along outdated habits, bloated systems and obligations we accepted long ago, without ever asking if they still make sense. It becomes part of how we move through the world — heavier than we realise, slower than we should be and a little more worn down with each passing day.
When we finally consider it, letting go can seem like a luxury: something we might allow ourselves only after we've met every demand and fulfilled every obligation. What we don't realise is that letting go is essential.
The act of stopping, taking off the pack, unzipping it and choosing, deliberately and unapologetically, to leave behind the things that no longer serve us is how we create the space to move again. When we let go, we feel light enough to find new energy, sharp enough to regain our focus and strong enough to lead ourselves forward with greater clarity and intent.
When we choose to let go, it can feel extreme, like we're doing something against the grain. But the most powerful changes aren't always bold or dramatic. Sometimes, they're small — almost invisible to everyone else — and yet they shift everything.
One quiet example of this came in the 1960s, when Swan Vesta, one of the UK's most recognisable match brands, made a small change that had a surprisingly large impact.
For decades, its matchboxes had been designed with two striking strips — one on each side. It was simply how things were done. No one had ever questioned it, and why would they?
But one day, someone inside the company did. A frontline employee looked at the box, looked at the process and asked a question that challenged the default thinking.
What if one striking strip is enough?
And as a result, Swan Vesta removed one of the strips.
There was no announcement, no marketing campaign and no bold rebrand, just a quiet shift in production.
And nothing happened.
Customers kept buying matches, they struck them just as easily and there was no complaining, confusion or disruption … except to the bottom line.
With one small act of subtraction, the company saved a fortune. Fewer materials, faster assembly and lower costs all resulted from this simple subtraction, without changing the product's function in any meaningful way.
It didn't happen as a flashy innovation, and it didn't require a management off‐site meeting, a planning session or a breakthrough. It just required someone to stop and ask, ‘Do we actually need this?’
That question sits at the heart of this book.
Red Brick Thinking is about freeing yourself by subtraction and creating space by stripping away what no longer serves a purpose — or never did in the first place.
Red Brick Thinking is the ability to pause, zoom out and challenge what you've always done, even when no one else is asking you to.
PERMISSION GRANTED
Agency is the quiet, persistent force that reminds you that you are allowed to choose differently, even when the world around you keeps pulling you back toward old habits, old systems, old expectations. It's the inner permission slip most of us forget we already have.
For so much of our lives, we are trained to wait:
For approval
For proof that it's safe
For a crisis to make the decision for us.
Somewhere along the way, we internalised the idea that change — real, meaningful change — has to be granted to us by someone else.
Red Brick Thinking asks you to stop waiting, to notice the weight you're carrying and to recognise that not everything on your shoulders was put there with your full consent. It helps you understand that letting go is something you're entitled to do.
Agency is powerful — it's the simple, steady recognition that you are allowed to ask, ‘Does this still belong?’ and to answer for yourself without apology. This doesn't mean you'll have control over every circumstance or make perfect choices every time, but it does mean that you have the power to choose.
The ability to remove red bricks begins with reclaiming that right. No one else can give it to you, and no one else needs to. You don't need a crisis or permission; you only need to decide that carrying less is worth it.
This book is an invitation to do exactly that.
NOT ALL RED BRICKS ARE CREATED EQUAL
Some red bricks are easy to spot and easy to remove, giving you an immediate lift, while others are buried deep — woven into your identity, your habits and your systems. Pulling them free takes more time, more courage and more care. I call these small ‘r’ and big ‘R’ red bricks.
Small ‘r’ red bricks are easy edits and quick wins:
Cancelling a meeting that doesn't need to happen
Saying no to an obligation you're no longer excited about
Making small decisions that return space to your life, piece by piece.
These aren't life‐changing moves, but they add up. Small ‘r’ red bricks loosen the load, chip away at the chaos and remind us that we don't have to say yes to everything.
Big ‘R’ red bricks are heavier and stickier:
Roles, routines and responsibilities you've outgrown
Legacy systems that no one questions anymore
Relationships that no longer reflect who you are or where you're heading.
They're not always as easy to spot, and they're rarely easy to let go of, but removing a big ‘R’ red brick doesn't just create space in your calendar. It creates space in your identity.
In organisations, big ‘R’ red bricks are particularly stubborn. They are protected by habit, hierarchy and the unspoken rule of ‘this is how we've always done it’ — but legacy is not the same as value, and familiarity doesn't equal fit.
The real work is in knowing which red bricks to remove — and having the guts to go ahead and do it.
CHOOSE YOUR PATH
In this book, you might be tempted to skip ahead to the chapters that feel ‘relevant’. Go for it.
Start with those that resonate, and be curious about the ones that don't. Sometimes the red bricks you barely notice are the ones weighing you down the most.
You won't find rigid steps to follow or fancy models. You won't find any productivity hacks or efficiency tricks (see my other books for these). Instead, you will find ideas that question:
What can be removed?
What's getting in the way?
What no longer works?
This book is about moving towards clarity, focus and impact, while recognising that progress doesn't come from piling on but from stripping away.
The Red Brick Revelation (Part 1) lays the foundation by introducing the core metaphor of Red Brick Thinking and challenges the default mindset of ‘more is better’. It unpacks why we tend to add when we should subtract, and what becomes possible when we flip that instinct.
After this, we'll look at the most common red bricks, grouped as follows:
Cultural Red Bricks (
Part 2
):
These red bricks are born from a world that equates ‘more’ with progress: more speed, more success, more pressure. They keep us chasing when we're already full.
Structural Red Bricks (
Part 3
):
These red bricks live in the way we work and think, including hidden complexity, poor design and the resistance built into everyday environments. They create drag when we're trying to move forward.
Emotional Red Bricks (
Part 4
):
These are the social and emotional red bricks we stack through obligation, overcommitment and fear of letting others down. They're heavy and often inherited.
The Red Brick Revolution (Part 5) invites you to act: to build subtraction into the way you work, decide and lead by doing less deliberately.
This book is not linear, and you certainly don't need to read it from cover to cover, in one sitting. Each chapter stands alone, like a single red brick you're invited to examine and, if necessary, remove.
Red Brick Thinking isn't just a book or an idea.
It's a movement.
And it starts with you.
PART 1THE RED BRICK REVELATION
Every movement begins with a moment of clarity.
This one starts with a single red brick.
As you'll soon see, Red Brick Thinking is not just a story about a red LEGO® brick. It's a deeper invitation to rethink progress, complexity and the subtle power of stopping.
You're not just reading a book. You’re stepping into a different way of thinking — a smarter, sharper and simpler one that asks a powerful question:
‘What can I let go of today that my future self will thank me for?’
Not tomorrow or when things calm down. Today.
No need for a grand plan, a spreadsheet, a whiteboard or a strategy meeting off‐site.
One single decision.
One moment of clarity.
One unnecessary thing removed.
One red brick.
It's your move.
Chapter 1Why a brick? And why is it red?
In 2022, in my corporate workshops, I would begin by using a simple, coloured, slightly lopsided LEGO bridge to demonstrate a key idea in productivity.
When I asked participants how to make it level, nearly everyone reached for an extra block.
A few pulled the whole thing apart and rebuilt it from scratch.
Some made it their business to incorporate all the available bricks.
But very few people thought to remove the one, small red brick at the bottom of the right‐hand leg of the bridge. They didn't think to remove the one brick that was causing the imbalance in the first place.
When someone finally does take that brick away, there's always a collective ‘aha’.
In that moment, we discover Red Brick Thinking: the shift from addition to subtraction.
This answers the ‘Why a brick?’ question. As for ‘Why it is red?’, in this exercise, the simple act of removing the red brick is the key — the revelation.
The seed for Red Brick Thinking came in 2021, as part of the research for my book The 1 Day Refund. An article from Harvard Business Review landed on my screen with a title that stopped me in my tracks: ‘When subtraction adds value.’
It described something I had long sensed but hadn't yet named: our default as humans is to solve problems by adding something. For example, we might:
Add a tool
Add a feature
Add another process, person or policy.
The article drew from a powerful piece of research published in Nature earlier that year by Gabrielle Adams and her colleagues. In a series of clever experiments, they found that when people were asked to improve something, they overwhelmingly tried to do so by adding. Subtraction rarely crossed the participants’ minds.
The research suggested that even when removing something is not only possible but clearly the better option, our brains tend to skip that option entirely.
That one detail made me sit up straighter.
Because I'd seen it too, time and again, in boardrooms, team workshops and leadership coaching sessions.
When faced with problems, we throw ‘more’ at them. What happens when we ask: ‘What can I remove?’
THE CASE FOR LETTING GO
We've been conditioned to associate progress with accumulation.
Our calendars fill up, our strategies get bloated, our products grow unwieldy and our brains get overloaded, all in the name of improvement.
But real improvement, the kind that leads to creativity and performance, comes from letting go.
The research from Adams and her team gave scientific backing to something deeply intuitive: subtraction is a powerful, underused tool. In the rush to optimise, we forget the most elegant solutions often come not from doing more, but from doing less.
Think of the sculptor, Michelangelo, who said he saw the angel in the marble and carved until he set it free. He didn't add a thing; he removed what didn't belong. (More on this incredible Red Brick Thinker in Chapter 2.)
Imagine if we approached our work, our time, our lives like a sculptor: an approach not defined by austerity or blanket minimalism but by strategic, intentional subtraction.
What if leadership was about clearing the path for others?
What if productivity was defined by doing fewer things —and only those that matter?
What if clarity came not from learning something new, but from letting go of something old?
This book is an invitation to rethink how we work, lead and live: to notice the red bricks and to consider removal not as a last resort, but as a first move.
WHY WE NEED RED BRICK THINKING RIGHT NOW
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognised burnout as an occupational phenomenon.
For the first time, the WHO gave language to something that millions had been silently enduring for decades: the slow, grinding depletion of energy, meaning and resilience arising from chronic, unmanaged workplace stress.
Burnout shifted from being a definition to a diagnosis, and now it has a place in the international health lexicon — not as a mental illness, but as a workplace reality with real consequences.
The WHO defined it across three distinct dimensions:
Exhaustion — not just tired, but empty.
Cynicism or mental distance from work — the creeping disconnection from what used to matter.
Reduced efficacy — the feeling that no matter what you do, it's not enough.
The roots of burnout had been growing for decades.
First coined in the 1970s by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, burnout was originally observed in doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers — those who poured their energy into helping others, often with little left for themselves. Over time, however, it became clear that burnout didn't discriminate. It could hit anyone, anywhere, from frontline staff in care homes to CEOs in corporate offices.
Then, along came COVID‐19 — a global accelerant that turned quiet exhaustion into a public health crisis.
In March 2022, the WHO released a stark update: anxiety and depression had increased by 25 per cent globally during the first year of the pandemic. People weren't just burnt out; they were running on fumes.
Healthcare workers were reporting skyrocketing emotional fatigue.
Teachers were being pushed to breaking point.
Parents were navigating remote learning, job uncertainty and caregiving all at once.
Those already teetering on the edge, who had quietly accepted exhaustion as normal, finally fell over.
A survey by McKinsey found that, post‐pandemic, one in four employees globally were experiencing symptoms of burnout.
In Australia, new research from SuperFriend found that 72 per cent of workers experienced burnout symptoms in the past year, with younger generations reporting the highest levels.
The workplace, it seemed, had become not just a source of pressure but a system running on the assumption that depletion is inevitable. In response, many organisations rushed to offer resilience training, trying to fix the symptoms without questioning the system that caused them.
Burnout doesn't just come from working too hard; it comes from working too hard, for too long, on things that no longer feel meaningful, manageable or aligned. It comes from systems that reward availability over value, reactivity over rest, and martyrdom over sustainability.
It was this reality, not just the headlines, that made the WHO's declaration matter. It meant we could stop victim blaming (by suggesting burnout is a personal weakness) and start finding solutions. Once something has a name, it can no longer hide in plain sight.
Burnout is a signal, like a red flag waving from the edge of your capacity, telling you that something needs to change. It's what happens when busy becomes a mark of pride and exhaustion becomes expected. In other words, burnout is the echo of a culture that's forgotten how to rest.
