Book: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Nothing outstanding, but a good book overall.

I like listening to books like this one from time to time as it helps me to again think about what is essential. This topic is something we tend to forget and having a reminder is nice.

Sometimes we have so much noise around that it’s hard to find what is really essential to us. Don’t let things/people guide your decisions, think deliberately about what you think it’s important for you and do it.

Here are my notes for this book:

Just because you’re invited, it doesn’t mean there’s a reason good enough to attend Do important things and eliminate everything else Almost everything is noise, you have to find what matters Essentialism is the search for “less but better” Priority was a singular word in English and means the prior thing to do We simply can’t do everything, there’s a limit to our time and attention We either make our choices deliberately or let other people do it for us If you’re not sure about the value of something you have, ask yourself: If I didn’t have this already, how much would I pay for it You may not have control over what happens, but you have control over your choices An essentialist thinks almost everything is not essential A non-essentialist says: “I can do it all”. An essentialist says: “what trade-off I have to make?” Essentialists explore more options so they can find the vital few they want to focus on It’s important to make space on your life to think and do what really matters to you The word company is a reference to a military unit If you think you are tough and can do anything experiment saying no to an opportunity and taking a nap Sleep is essential to your health and performance Ask yourself the question: If I didn’t have this opportunity, what I would have to do to have it? It will help you to decide if you should say no Mastering the discomfort of saying no is an important skill for an essentialist. Talk about this in a dinner table is easy, but seeing people living this is rare People are effective because they say no Separate the decision from the relationship. Saying no to something is not denying the relationship Editing life: cut down options Create your own boundaries so it’s easier to say no Find your deal-breakers. What are the activities you will NOT do if it’s not aligned with your goals Create a buffer of time for your tasks. If you finish the task as planned, you have a bonus time for yourself. If you have any problem, it will not be stressful Before starting a project, list all obstacles you may face and find the one that may be blocking others so you can focus on it first (the slowest hiker) Start with minimal viable improvement, even if it takes less than a minute, it’s a good start to get momentum Essentialists create a routine to make essentials the default action A good approach is to assign a theme for a day in your routine. Mondays for meetings, Tuesday for development, Wednesday for support, etc. “In work, do what you enjoy. In life, be completely present” – Lao Tsu Think about your life and find what is essential. Eliminate everything else. Clarity is success. As a manager, it’s essential to make things clear for your team to perform well Peter Thiel PayPal executive asked people to have just one single priority for their role and focus on that.