Book Summary: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.
Author: Greg Mackeown
Book Size: 236 pages
Book available: Amazon, For Free PDF You can contact me.
Moral and Introduction:
Essentialism, according to the book, is “less but better.” You can only make your greatest contribution to the things that truly matter if you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone. If we remember one thing from this book, it should be this: whenever we face a decision, a difficulty, or a crossroads in our lives, simply ask ourselves, “What is essential?” Remove everything else from the equation.
The book is about applying the ‘less is more’ philosophy to how we live today and in the future. That is what innovation is all about. It’s not about getting more things done with essentialism; it’s about getting the right things done. Essentialism isn’t just another concept; it’s a completely new way of thinking about everything. The Essentialist way of life is living by design rather than by default.
#1 Make room in your life for escape.
Without great solitude no serious work is possible. — Pablo Picasso
In order to distinguish the vital few from the inconsequential many, we need room to escape. We don’t get that space by default in this time-starved era — we have to design it. He bought himself room by being picky, and in that space he found creative freedom. For whatever reason, the word focus has a negative connotation. People conceive of focus as a thing, much like they think of choice. Yes, we have the ability to concentrate. But we also do things like focus… We must flee to focus in order to be able to focus. He realised that if he wanted to make the most of a task, he needed to clear some space for unrestrained contemplation.
Bill Gates, who famously takes a week off from his day-to-day responsibilities at Microsoft to think and read. (Note: Take a look at what other people are doing in terms of digital minimalism and decluttering.)
#2 Spend time exploring
When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge. — Albert Einstein
If you believe that being overworked and overburdened is a sign of productivity, then you probably believe that making time to explore, think, and reflect should be limited. These activities, on the other hand, are the antidote to the unproductive bustle that plagues so many of us. Essentialists devote as much time as possible to learning, investigating, listening, discussing, questioning, and thinking. However, their research isn’t a goal in and of itself. The goal of the investigation is to separate the important few from the insignificant many.
This is why an Essentialist spends time investigating all of his alternatives. The additional expenditure is justifiable since some things are so much more vital that the effort put in to find them is tenfold repaid. In other words, an essentialist discerns more in order to accomplish less. Brain plasticity, flexibility, and creativity are all enhanced by play. Play is the most effective way to stimulate the brain. (National Institute for Play founder Stuart Brown) Essentialism can be viewed from two perspectives. The first is to consider it as a once-in-a-while activity. The second option is to consider it as something you already are. Everything is done in a different way — a simpler way — in the latter. It becomes a way of life.
#3 Take into account that you have a choice.
When historians look back on our time in a few hundred years, it’s unlikely that the most significant event will be technology, the Internet, or e-commerce. It is a transformation in the human condition that has never been seen before. For the first time in history, a large and quickly increasing number of individuals have options. They will have to manage themselves for the first time. And civilization is completely unprepared.
We’ve lost our ability to distinguish between what’s vital and what’s not. This is referred to as ‘decision fatigue’ by psychologists: the more choices we are compelled to make, the lower the quality of our decisions become. Our choices may be objects, but a decision is an action. It is a choice to concentrate on the important things. It is all up to you. That is tremendously empowering in and of itself. Being an Essentialist necessitates a greater understanding of our freedom to choose.”
#4 Define your aim.
Job-work is the crime that bankrupts persons and states; declining from your main design to serve a turn here and there. In Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, he argues that if there’s one thing you’re passionate about — and can be the best at — you should do it.
Inspirational + Concrete = Essential Intent
It’s difficult to come up with a core purpose. Seeing which activities and efforts will add up to your single highest point of contribution needs guts, insight, and foresight. To cut out the competing goals that distract us from our underlying intention, we must ask challenging questions, make real trade-offs, and exercise severe discipline. It’s worth the work, though, because people, teams, and organizations can only fully mobilize and achieve something genuinely exceptional if they have a clear sense of purpose.
Mohandas K. Gandhi — All of a sudden, he discovered a higher purpose: the emancipation of the oppressed all across the world. He got rid of everything else in his life because of his new single-mindedness. ‘Reducing oneself to zero,’ he dubbed the process.
#5 Focus on the vital few
You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything. — John Maxwell
The most important thing is to keep the main point in mind. Priority was first used in the English language in the 1400s. It was unique. It referred to the very earliest or preceding event. For the following 500 years, it remained single. We didn’t pluralize the term and start talking about priority until the 1900s.
When the maverick entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel required that PayPal workers choose one single purpose in their role — and focus on it solely — he took ‘less but better’ to an unusual degree. According to PayPal executive Keith Rabois, Peter insisted that everyone be assigned to only one priority. He’d refuse to talk about anything else with you besides the project you’d been allocated as your first initiative. Even in 2001, each employee had to indicate their single most important contribution to the organization on their annual assessment forms. I am a firm believer in keeping things simple. How many little matters even the wisest thinks he must attend to in a day is both astounding and sad;…so simplify the problem of life, differentiate the necessary from the real.
#6 Change your perspective from motion sickness to momentum.
To follow, without halt, one aim: There is the secret to success. — Anna Pavlova
I’ve gone from motion sickness to momentum… Rather of making a millimetre of progress in a million areas, he began to build great momentum toward completing the most important tasks.
As a result of investing in fewer things, we enjoy the rewarding experience of achieving significant progress in the areas that are most important to us. For many years, Dieter Rams was the principal designer at Braun. He is motivated by the belief that nearly everything is noise. He feels that only a few things are absolutely necessary. His task is to sift through all of the noise until he finds the essence. Essentialism is a method for determining what is absolutely necessary and then removing everything else.
#7 Be the CEO — Chief Editing Officer
There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs. — Thomas Sowell
It’s a bad strategy for businesses to ignore the realities of trade-offs. It also turns out to be a bad tactic for humans. Essentialists view trade-offs as a natural component of life, rather than a negative aspect. They question, “What do I want to go big on?” instead of “What do I have to give up?” This simple shift in thinking can have a big influence in the long run.
Jack Dorsey, for example… He considers the CEO’s role to be that of the company’s chief editor. ‘As an editor, I’m continuously evaluating various inputs to see which one, or intersection of several, makes the most sense for what we’re doing.’ Making cutting, simplifying, and correcting a natural part of our daily routine — making editing a natural cadence in our lives — is the first step toward being an Essentialist. Every day, add new information to your knowledge base. Every day, subtract items from your life to gain wisdom.
#8 Say “NO”
Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough. We need to learn the slow ‘yes’ and the quick ‘no’.
This does not imply that you must be pessimistic about others. I don’t want to suggest that people can’t be trusted. I’m merely stating that everyone is selling something in exchange for your time — an idea, a point of view, or an opinion. Simply being aware of what is being sold allows us to make more informed decisions about whether or not we wish to purchase it. When entrepreneurs say “yes” to the right initiative at the right moment and in the right way, they succeed. To do so, they must be adept at saying “no” to all of their other ideas. It appeared as if he was concentrating on small pursuits. When you neglect to say “no” to anything that isn’t absolutely necessary, you are essentially saying “yes” by default.
#9 Sleeeeeeep
Sleep was the second most essential component in distinguishing the top violinists from the good violinists. The top violinists slept an average of 8.6 hours each 24-hour period, which is about an hour more than the typical American. They also napped an average of 2.8 hours in the afternoon over the course of a week, which is about two hours longer than the average. (Keep this in mind as you plan your 24 hours per day.)
Some good news for the early risers and late snoozers among us: research reveals that even a nap can boost creativity. In other words, even a little period of deep sleep aids us in making the kinds of new connections that allow us to better explore our surroundings. In a nutshell, sleep allows us to contribute at our maximum level, allowing us to accomplish more in less time.
#10 Repeat the process (time after time) with a routine.
Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow. — Doug Firebaugh
Even a small win can make a big difference in how people feel and perform on a daily basis. Making progress in meaningful work is the single most essential item that can increase emotions, motivation, and perceptions during the workday.
The Essentialist creates a practice that makes achieving your essential goals the default stance. Yes, an Essentialist must still work hard in some situations, but with the appropriate routine in place, each effort provides exponentially better returns. There is a large corpus of scientific study that explains how routine allows difficult tasks to become simple. By providing us with the equivalent of an energy discount, the correct routines can actually increase inventiveness and creativity. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s creativity research shows how highly creative people employ rigorous routines to free up their minds.
Most creative people figure out what their optimal sleeping, eating, and working routines are early on and stick to them, even when it’s tempting to break them. They dress in clothes that are comfortable for them, they only connect with individuals they like, and they only do things that they believe are important. Of course, such eccentricities do not endear them to those who have to deal with them… Personalizing behavioral patterns, on the other hand, serves to free the mind from expectations that place demands on attention, allowing for strong concentration on important topics.
