Title Essentialism
Author Greg McKeown
Year Published 2020
Kind of Book Productivity/Prioritization
How strongly I recommend it 8/10
My Impressions This is a book about zoning in on the few things that make a big difference in your life and saying "no" to everything else. McKeown offers techniques for essentializing your life and pushing aside all of the clutter.
Date Read Dec 2020
Practical Takeaways
Keep the main thing the main thing-Stephen Covey “The main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing.”
Instead of asking, ‘what do I have to give up?’ …ask, ‘What do I want to go big on?”
Reject the idea that you can fit it all in
Choose 'less but better'
Think of almost everything as nonessential
Make a plan and stick to it
Limit the decisions you have to make
Create a routine
Have different routines different days of the week (to avoid routine fatigue)
Stop wasting decisions deciding what to do each step of the way. Set up your goals and action steps you need to do and stick to them
Have 1 priority not 10 priorities
Sacrifice what you want for something you want more
Stop straddling
set aside time to take a breath, look around, and think.
Go on retreat once a quarter to check in and reprioritize what is essential
Allow time to be bored
Allow yourself time to play
Prioritize your sleep
“If the answer isn’t a definite yes then it should be a no.”
Don't work 5 different jobs in 5 different industries
Don't rush your decision to hire someone. Be understaffed rather than hire the wrong person
know what your dealbreakers are to save yourself time.
Ask yourself, “If I weren’t already invested in this project, how much would I invest in it now?"
Focus on your weakest areas
Don't worry about making it perfect. Just get it done.
Don’t rob people of their problems
Ask: What is the obstacle that is keeping you back from achieving what really matters to you?
Ask: what are the obstacles standing between me and getting this done?
Take a goal or deadline you have coming up and ask yourself, What is the minimal amount I could do right now to prepare?
“Focus on the hardest thing first"-Ray Zinn
"Add 50 percent to your time estimate"
Say "no" gracefully
How to say “No” Gracefully
separate the decline from the relationship (make clear you are rejecting the offer not the person) make it impersonal
you don’t have to actually use the word “no"
“let me check my calendar an get back to you."
say “yes, what should I de-prioritize in order to make this the priority"
Say “I can’t do it, but X might be interested.” (Often the person asking just wants it done and doesn’t particularly care who gets it done)
Exercise for Figuring out what work is Essential
Ask yourself what taps my talent?
Ask yourself what am I deeply passionate about?
Ask yourself what meets a significant need in the world?
Big Ideas
Our energy can go much further when we direct I all at one thing (rather than several things)
Five different jobs in five different industries does not add up to a forward moving career.
Saying “no” is often trading popularity for respect
Done is better than perfect
It is possible to Opinion Overload from receiving too many opinions
We can only have one priority, not several
You are only as good as the weakest part (player, person, aspect of yourself)
Surprising Facts
Nearly 40 percent of our choices are deeply unconscious (Duke University)
The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant that very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the net five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities.
The Latin root of the word decision-cis or cid- literally means ‘to cut’ or ‘to kill’
In one study the second most important factor differentiating the best violinists from the good violinists (after practice time) was actually sleep. The best violinists slept an average of 8.6 hours [a night]