I’ve started reading more recently. Partly, because I am now reading more to my daughter and partly, because I realised I had a lots of books which I intended to read. It made sense to actually start reading them.
One book which was recommended to me recently was ‘Essentialism – the disciplined pursuit of less’ by Greg McKeown. YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK NOW. Please read that last sentence again and keep reading that sentence until you have actually read the book.
Having at one time been off work suffering from stress and burnout, feeling like I was running 100 miles an hour but getting nowhere, this book really hit a nerve. Rather than making you believe you can ‘do everything’ Greg McKeown explains you only need to focus on the essential and avoid the distractions. The book has helped me rediscover some important things in my life. Read it. It might just change your life
Still need persuading?
Ok, I will give you 6 quotes from the book.
On essentialism:
Essentialism is a disciplined, systematic approach for determining where our highest point of contribution lies, then making execution of those things almost effortless.
In a nut-shell. Focus on what you really need to do, then make doing it as simple as possible.
On life;
If you don’t prioritise your life, someone else will.
We no have huge amounts of personal freedom, yet we are happy to give this up and take on things we don’t prioritise, simply because others do. How do you get around this? Read the chapter on the art of saying no.
On the unimportance of almost everything;
Working hard is important. But more effort does not necessarily yield more results. “Less is more” does.
It seems counter-intuitive, but doing more is so often the wrong thing. Doing the right things is vital and taking things back to basics ‘less is more’ helps.
On trade offs:
Which problems do I want?
You cannot avoid problems in life, but when making trade offs you should understand the consequences.
On sleep;
Sleep is for high achievers
On making choices;
If it isn’t a clear yes, it’s a clear no.
