Key Points

  • Very few things are vital to achieving your goals and maintaining your wellbeing. By doing less you can achieve better, more fulfilling results.
  • Focus on these 4 points of essentialism: 1. Do fewer things, but do them well; 2. Excel in your chosen direction rather than making tiny steps in multiple directions; 3. Continue to question if what you’re doing is a productive use of your time and energy; 4. Put changes in place to ensure you accomplish your vital tasks.
  • If you feel you “should” or “have to” do something you are weakening your ability to choose. When you only say ‘Yes’ to the things that serve you and no to everything that doesn’t, you hold the power.
  • Choose trade-offs and concentrate on what you’re good at. Practice the key of doing a few things exceptionally well rather than trying to do everything. 
  • Schedule time and space in your daily routine to reflect and simply think about life. Ponder where your energy and time have been miss-spent. It will allow you to get creative and refocus on the bigger picture. 
  • Be ruthless when it comes to cutting unnecessary things out of your life. Use the 90% rule (everything that is less than 90% certainty that you’d use again) to clear the clutter in all areas of your life.
  • Let go of non-essential responsibilities, tasks, and habits that stop you from reaching your goals. Set an essential intent so that you’re clear about your goals. Make sure your essential intent is both inspirational and clear by asking yourself ‘how will I know when I’ve reached my goal?
  • Elevate your listening and observation skills. (Essentialists are powerful observers and listeners. They read between the lines and listen deliberately for what is not being explicitly stated. In contrast, Nonessentialists listen while preparing to say something).
  • Play is an antidote to stress. It is a vital tool for inspiration and can be used to free your mind so you can work out what’s important to you.
  • Sleep is a priority; sleep breeds creativity and enables the highest levels of effectiveness and contribution. (“An hour of sleep is equal to several hours of productivity;)
  • Embrace “Hell Yes or No” - if you feel total and utter conviction to do something, then you say yes. Otherwise it’s a graceful No.
  • Set clear boundaries so you don’t continue to invest in something that is not working. Set the rules in advance to eliminate the need for a direct no.
  • As you execute the principles of essentialism, be prepared for unexpected obstacles and for essential tasks to take longer to complete than you thought. Give yourself a 50% buffer of time. (People have the tendency to underestimate how long a task will take, even when they have done the task before.)
  • Build upon your previous progress with small, incremental steps. Small wins give you the confidence to continue and allow you to make sure you’re on the right track.
  • Be clear about what your purpose is. Otherwise you would not know what to clear and how to prioritize.
  • Courage is a key in the process of elimination. Essentialists have the courage and confidence to admit their mistakes and uncommit. Learn to cut your losses, whether it is relationships or money.
  • Build routines that prioritize the essential and design systems to make execution effortless. Reduce the friction from executing what is essential.


The above is inspired from the bestselling book "Essentialism' by Greg Mckeown

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