Teens+

So much great information, I just know I'm going to have to read it again sometime down the road. A lot to process, a lot to ingest, and a lot to grow from. I saw some features in myself which pleased me, and some which I consciously need to work on. This is a must read for anybody who wants to improve themselves in anyway whatsoever. The principles you read here can be applied to everything in life. ( )

The first half of this book was actually really good, and I ended up taking a lot of notes on how to better prioritize my goals, work, and planning, as well as living a more productive life. However, the second half became much more of just a collection of business analogies that seemed a bit repetitive and not as helpful as the beginning. It ended up dragging the book down and just didn’t seem as solid as it could have been. But again, definitely some good advice in the beginning, especially if you’re looking to cut out unnecessary distractions and trivial matters in your life! ( )

I checked this out at the library because it was mentioned by literacy expert Pernille Ripp as a book that changed her outlook on life. I recently read [b:Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals|54785515|Four Thousand Weeks Time Management for Mortals|Oliver Burkeman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627425434l/54785515._SY75_.jpg|85465206] and liked it a lot so I thought reading more on the topic of doing less would help me commit to a less harried lifestyle.

I was surprised to find a book targeted mainly at busy business people. Most of the examples are about wealthy CEOs like Steve Jobs, Jack Dorsey, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, the usual suspects. But I don't find anecdotal success stories very compelling (particularly after reading [b:Outliers: The Story of Success|3228917|Outliers The Story of Success|Malcolm Gladwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344266315l/3228917._SX50_.jpg|3364437]).

One part made me laugh out loud -- he's talking about reading something classic and important every morning and then he gives some examples and the list is like Zen Buddhism, Confucious, the Torah, the Bible, the Tao Te Ching, the Quran, and the Book of Mormon. I was like, one of these things is not like other. Then I saw that he went to Bringham Young and I was like of course he's LDS. The vibe of the book is very wholesome privileged white male who believes in the gospel of prosperity.

If you're busy because you serve on too many boards of trustees, this might be the book for you. If you are busy because you have a normal job, don't have a stay-at-home spouse taking care of all things domestic, have to take care of your aging parents, and get guilted into volunteering to keep the school PTA afloat, I'm not sure if this is all that helpful. ( )

Author frequently references other management and nonfiction writers such as Drucker, Kahneman, Duhigg, whom I've read, and effectively pulls their best bits to illustrate his own point. Can't decide if this is more for management, or self-improvement. In the end it gushes too much like self-affirmations. Also, assumes that reader struggles with work/family balance, which is not necessarily the same thing as work/life balance. There were a few jewels that I would consider looking up the print book for. Audiobook read by the author. ( )

Kind of repetitive and simplistic, but an ok read. ( )

I rarely read business books, as they're generally boring in their simplicity and repetition. I did like the key idea of this text, effectively summarized at the blog Prof Hacker: If it isn’t a clear yes, then it’s a clear no, and the suggestions for implementing this and other strategies for implementing only what is essential. But his appropriation and use of the term essentialism, which already has a well-established meaning in philosophy, critical theory, and feminism, drove me BANANAS. It made it seriously difficult for me to get through the book. ( )

"Do Less. Only Better."
I've had Essentialism on my list of books to read for quite a while. Still, it wasn't until I received it as a welcome gift from my Mastermind facilitator that I finally put reading it at the top of my priority list. In addition, I've been listening to Greg McKeown's podcast for the past few months. While I was familiar with his approach to simplifying and prioritizing, I appreciated the book's in-depth examination of taking the concepts and integrating them practically into my own life.

One message that really stuck with me was being invited to answer this question: "If you could be excellent at just one thing, what would it be?" As someone who often flitters from one interest to another, one hobby to another, one business to another, being asked this question was both confronting and challenging. And yet, it also brought a measure of relief. Understanding that I didn't have to do everything - or be excellent at everything - forced me to name the essential areas of my life. Then I could acknowledge that most things I currently spend my time on frankly don't matter.

This kind of single-minded pursuit of the essential will be an ongoing process, but one that's so worth it in the long run. ( )

Compiling best practices for a life of focus sounds like solid material. But I found myself losing interest with each chapter. In the end, I returned the book to the library without finishing it.

Vigorous editing could have whittled this title into a succinct and helpful pocket guide. Instead, each point was padded with non-essential examples. The layout and design drew me in; I only wish the content and organization had worked as well so that I'd have wanted to read to the very end. ( )

This book immediately made the shortlist that I consider my leadership canon. Put simply, essential is: less, but better. I immediately started using it to execute faster, focusing on first things first, and with minimal chaff. ( )

Today’s world is an increasingly complex place. Many of us feel like we live disintegrated lives and are pulled in many directions. Yet people who have the highest societal impact tend to have the ability to focus, and throughout the centuries, writers like Henry David Thoreau have reminded us to simplify instead of complicate. In this book, McKeown seeks to convey these timeless philosophical lessons in a more contemporary format, geared around modern business lives and personal well-being.

Some might say that there is nothing new in this book, and in one sense, they will be right. Most “self-help” books focus on finding the good and amplifying it as much as possible. This book does the same. Yet its examples are very interesting and fit more with contemporary life than many of the more classic works. Indeed, McKeown cites many of the classics along with modern scientific examples.

McKeown is a business writer who seeks to better the lives of modern workers. He also seems to genuinely care for his family and uses this philosophy to carve out a healthy space for them. He’s from the UK and holds an MBA from Stanford. The book itself seems to coalesce with his course taught at Stanford. His message especially tries to help executives and executive teams work better together by focusing on less instead of more.

This book has made an obvious impact on the business community, but that should not limit it. McKeown’s take borders on behavioral psychology and philosophy. Researchers who try to carve out a specialist’s niche will find this book relevant. The focus is more about getting the most out of life and work instead of how to benefit the bottom line. Because of this, even religious readers might find some benefit from reading this book. Thus, a wide variety of audiences can be engaged. In many ways, this book embodies McKeown’s philosophy: By focusing on less (i.e., the essence), it reaches a broader audience than it could by doing more. By my reading, it does its job with excellence. ( )

Took a long time to get to the point. I found myself frustrated, waiting for the author to quit the stories and get on with the meat of the information. ( )

As someone who tries to do all of the things, I found myself taking notes during this one. I have a hard time saying no, and I’m grateful for the advice of how to focus and decide what’s really important instead of saying yes to everyone. I found this one helpful for both my personal and professional life.

“If I didn’t already own this how much would I spend to buy it?”

“Multitasking is not the enemy of essentialism, pretending we can multifocus is.” ( )

I agree with his basic premise (though he does restate some stuff that is pretty old news, scientifically).

However, I am coming to the conclusion that the people who write these books are on a different social/economic level than most of the population. 90% of the time I can't walk up to my boss and say no. He really doesn't care/want to respect me. Most people are pretty similar. I guess that is where Simon Sinek really resonates with me. He addresses people who can probably solve the problem.

Maybe in 10 years I'll be at that point. Today, though, I'm not. ( )

Manufacturing a few more hours in the day has been ruled out, so when things get busy it's time to say no, or to stop doing things and see if anyone notices. Labor-saving devices are largely ignored by this middle-management confection, which argues that most labor is too trivial to pursue-or at least its value is untested, as in overbuilt software. Managers know much of this, but may still benefit from the chance to contemplate the time and money freed up by skimming all the nice-to-haves from their next project.

Aveva 14 figli. C’era stata una pandemia. Aveva un fastidioso disturbo allo stomaco. Stava prendendo lezioni di filosofia. Lui era l’imperatore di Roma. Il suo dominio si estendeva per circa 2,2 milioni di miglia quadrate e comprendeva oltre 120 milioni di persone per le quali era sia responsabile che incaricato di governare. Come fece a gestire il tutto? Come fece senza perdere la testa? Sappiamo che una domanda ha giocato un ruolo enorme nel suo comportamento. Riguarda l’essenzialità. “La maggior parte di ciò che diciamo e facciamo non è essenziale”, scrisse Marco Aurelio nelle sue famose “Meditazioni”. “Se riesci a eliminare ciò che non è essenziale avrai più tempo e più tranquillità. Chiediti in ogni momento: ‘È necessario?”

Quanto o quanto poco lavori, dove vivi, come sono il tuo matrimonio o le tue relazioni, le tue idee politiche, come spendi i tuoi soldi, quali sono i tuoi obiettivi, il modo in cui è organizzata la tua vita, le cose che occupano spazio nel tuo cassetto della spazzatura, in una parola i pensieri che ti passano per la testa. Chiediti su tutto ciò che fai, dici e pensi: “È necessario? È essenziale?” “Deve essere così?” “Perché lo sto facendo?” “Cosa succederebbe se cambiassi?”. Ci chiediamo di continuo perché non facciamo del nostro meglio. Ci chiediamo perché non siamo felici. Ci chiediamo perché le cose sono difficili. È perché stiamo facendo troppo, o stiamo facendo le cose sbagliate, anche nel modo sbagliato?

Guardate l’intelligente e sintetico disegno della copertina del libro che ha scritto Greg McKeown su quell’arte o disciplina chiamata essenzialismo impiegata per acquisire non il di più, ma il meno: essentialismo. A sinistra della immagine il caos, la confusione, la spazzatura. A destra, nel cerchio, l’essenziale. Una parola che, guarda caso, rivela la sua … essenzialità.

Vogliamo arrivare in un luogo in cui la nostra vita possa essere definita da essa, un luogo dove possiamo fare solo ciò che deve essere fatto, nel modo migliore. Bisognerà sentirsi a proprio agio nel dire “No”. Significherà tagliare il grasso inutile dalla vita, forse anche ferire alcuni sentimenti. Ma va bene. Presto ci si renderà conto che quando diciamo di no a qualcosa, stiamo dicendo di sì a qualcos’altro.

Viceversa, quando pensiamo di dire di sì a una cosa, dobbiamo capire tutte le cose a cui stiamo dicendo di no. Quindi potremo far arrabbiare alcune persone dicendo di no, ma renderemo anche le altre persone molto più felici. Importante è conoscere come funziona la “sintesi essenzialista”. Quando non distinguiamo tra ciò che è e ciò che non è essenziale, come si decide a cosa dire si e a cosa dire di no? Di solito, per impostazione predefinita, filtriamo le opportunità in base a ciò che è più redditizio o più impressionante. Ricordiamoci di quello che disse Seneca:

“Ci viene detto che la vita è breve e l’arte è lunga … Non è che abbiamo poco tempo da vivere, ma che ne sprechiamo molto. La vita è abbastanza lunga e ce ne è stata data una quantità sufficientemente generosa per il risultato migliore soltanto se il tempo fosse tutto ben investito.Quando è sprecato nel lusso incurante e speso in nessuna buona attività, siamo poi costretti dall’ultima costrizione della morte a renderci conto che è passato prima che sapessimo che stava passando. Così è: non ci viene data una vita breve, ma la rendiamo breve. Non siamo mal forniti, ma ne sprechiamo. Proprio come quando una ricchezza ampia e principesca cade su un cattivo proprietario, viene sperperata in un attimo, ma ricchezza comunque modesta, se affidata a un buon custode, aumenta con l’uso, quindi la nostra vita si allunga ampiamente se gestita adeguatamente “.

Una cosa in cui la pandemia ci ha aiutato è che ci ha mostrato, nella maggior parte dei casi senza il nostro consenso, cosa significa fare di meno. Meno voli. Meno cene fuori. Meno incontri. Meno reddito. Meno commissioni. Si potrebbe sostenere che COVID-19 è stato il più grande esperimento di stile di vita forzato nella storia. Ha infranto così tante delle nostre supposizioni su ciò che è e non è essenziale.

Ma questa cosa non può essere fatta da remoto, a distanza? Certo che sì. Oh, non potrei vivere senza i miei bambini. Bene, ora devi tenerteli tu a casa ed accudirli ed educarli. Oh, non avrò mai tempo per fare quello voglio. OK, eccolo qui. Hai tutto il tempo che vuoi, sei in isolamento. Abbiamo dovuto pagare con meno.

Abbiamo dovuto reinventare il modo in cui venivano fatte le cose. Abbiamo dovuto riorganizzare tutto. Alcune parti di questo comportamento sono state difficili da sopportare. Alcune imposizioni ci hanno reso tristi e soli. Ma altre parti sono state decisamente liberatorie. Questo è il problema di “less”, “meno”, per questa ragione chiediamo a Marco Aurelio la versione della domanda: è necessario?
Perché per quanto siano stati duri gli ultimi mesi di un isolamento che continua, significa anche che abbiamo la possibilità di continuare a pensare a noi stessi, a guardare altri tramonti dalla veranda sul retro di casa, altre cene in tranquillità, altre scritture più mirate, su argomenti più importanti, nuovi contatti a distanza che dovranno essere confermati di persona, più apprezzamento per le persone e le cose che contano veramente.

“Fare l’essenziale”, ha detto Marco, “porta una doppia soddisfazione: fare di meno, meglio”. Quindi prendiamoci un minuto oggi e facciamoci la domanda di Marco. È necessario? È essenziale? Ho davvero bisogno di farlo? E se avessi detto di no? E se avessi rinunciato? Cosa succederebbe?

Troveremo la risposta. In molti casi, è no, non è essenziale. Non è importante, né necessario. E dicendo di no, non stiamo “sottraendoci” alle nostre responsabilità. Al contrario, siamo più in forma, meglio in grado di adempiere effettivamente ai nostri doveri importanti: verso la famiglia, il lavoro, noi stessi e anche verso gli altri. E questo è il vero doppio vantaggio. ( )

Interesting. I'm not attempting to downplay what's said in this book, but I think "Essentialism" is just Japanese "Minimalism" applied also to human activity and business practices instead of just possessions. That being said, I wish more company executives practiced what McKeown preaches, especially in terms of clarity of purpose for teams in both goals and performance evaluation. This should be required reading for all managers.
I agree with other reviewers that the book was overly long and repetitive considering its message is Essentialism. ( )

I like the ideas put forward in the book. Unfortunately, like so many self-help books, the advice of Essentialism feels classist. Almost all of the examples are geared towards people that are in high paying business careers. It’s a bit harder to imagine applying the suggestions to minimum wage work. Whether or not it can be applied regardless of position, working class, or education level doesn’t seem to have been a high priority for the author. The book certainly makes you want to look at your life and priorities differently. Maybe the advice can work for everyone if they truly commit to it. Still I would have like it a bit better if the book felt inclusive of more socioeconomic backgrounds. ( )

Surprised at the high average rating. It's wordy, waffly and repetitive. Lots of anecdotes and stories from what could only be described as first world uber-privileged problem department. Some good but old ideas regurgitated and repackaged. ( )

"If you don't prioritize your life, others will." I love this quote. The version I've been repeating for years is this, "If you don't write your life's script, someone else will do it for you."

“You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.” There are a lot of thought-provoking quotes by famed leadership author John Maxwell, but this one is aptly relevant to idea of essentialism. There's is simply so much out there of little value, and so much more of it compared with a decade ago, that it's imperative to not let your time get stolen away by the non-essential.

Essentialism makes a persuasive case against allowing yourself to be held hostages to the time demands of modern life that seem to have exponentially increased compared to a generation or more ago. It's hard not to agree with this. But as a counterpoint, I also agree with the philosophy of being a generous giver of one's time and service. I think there's a lesson in both of these approaches and also think this is close to what the author is arguing for. Cut out the non-essential but be service-minded towards the absolutely essential.

There's a spectrum going on here and it's far too easy to end up at the wrong end. The author speaks of the non-essentialist, a person who is thoughtless about how they allocate their time. That's being at the wrong end. But it's also possible to cut yourself off from everything you deem non-essential when in reality you've just cut yourself off from an array of rewarding new experiences. Tough choices. The difficulty isn't really the cutting, but the choosing. ( )

Sometimes you get the right book at the right time. This was one of those books for me. It isn't for everyone. The author purpose is in trying to get you to follow the mantra "less, but better." I don't think this is an easy one to follow and if you are not open, then this book will seem simplistic. It some ways you are right, but for the right audience this can be profound. It was for me. ( )

Finally listened to this after hearing about it forever. Ironically was also on my boss’s bookshelf, but now after reading I see she didn’t put any of it in to practice. Good information and a lot of things to ponder, yet I kept thinking about the author’s place of privilege in the world. ( )

There is one book that entrepreneurs have recommended more than any other book on Entrepreneurs on Fire. That book is Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less* by Greg McKeown. Essentialism focuses on removing the non-essential elements from your life so that you can pursue what is important. I was able to walk away with many ideas that I will be implementing as I reduce the number of things that I am working on. Read more ( )

Repetitive, repetitive & repetitive. The title pretty much sums it up. Just try to do less of the non-essential stuff to have more time for the essentials. ( )

The chapter on saying no gracefully is a must. If we don't prioritize our lives, someone else will. Lots of great perspectives for the workplace for managing my first report and building projects by incorporating buffers. Lots to digest and layer into my life to maximally contribute ( )