Essentialism

Notes on Essentialism by Greg McKeown.

Essentialism is focusing on what really matters to you, executing on that, and eliminating everything else.

Essence

What is the core mindset of an Essentialist? This part examines the core tenants of Essentialism.

Choose - Instead of "I have to", think "I choose to." Don't forget your ability to choose. It's your choice, don't give it away to other people.
Discern - Instead of thinking everything is essential, realize almost everything is nonessential. Opportunities are not all equal, learn to discern the vital few from the trivial many.
Trade-Off - Instead of thinking you can do it all or trying to figure out how to do all, consider the trade-offs and ask what can you go big on? Embrace trade-offs to make deliberate, strategic, and thoughtful choices.

How can we discern the trivial many from the vital few? This part examines how to determine what to eliminate and what to execute on.

Escape - Create space to escape and explore life. Give yourself space to concentrate, focus, explore, learn, and design your own life.
Look - Scan for essence instead of being overwhelmed by all the information. Try to find the signal in the noise. Make goals/questions explicit. Consider keeping a journal.
Play - Play is not trivial, it's essential. It sparks exploration and creativity.
Sleep - Sleep deprivation ruins health and productivity. Sleep puts you at your peak performance. It's an investment that breeds creativity. It's a priority that enables mental contribution.
Select - Hell yeah! Or no. Choose activities that are the best use of your time. Use narrow/explicit criteria.

How can we cut out the trivial many? This part examines tactics to remove tasks from our lives.

Clarify - Have a concrete/inspirational strategy. As opposed to general/bland. Be conscientious with it, it should guide you on how to eliminate decisions.
Dare - Say "no" firmly, resolutely, and gracefully. Separate the decision from the relationship. A clear no is better than a vague/noncommital yes. This enables you to say "yes" to things that really matter.
Uncommit - Beware the sunk-cost bias. If you weren't already invested in a task, how much would you invest it in now? What better activity could you be doing now? Get comfortable with cutting losses. Stop making casual commitments and pause before you commit.
Edit - Eliminate the distracting words, images, details. Making things better means subtracting too. Editing life means making calculated moves, cutting out things that can cloud the message/story.
Limit - Limits and boundaries are liberating. Set rules in advance to eliminate decision fatigue. Create a decision framework.

How can we make doing the vital few things almost effortless? This part examines tactics to complete the essential tasks of our lives.

Buffer - Build a buffer for unexpected events. Add 50% to your estimates. Practice extreme/early preparation.
Subtract - Remove obstacles to progress more. Be clear about intent, identify the obstacle, remove the obstacle, then let the momentum build.
Progress - Start small, celebrate small acts of progress, and let the effort compound. Can you focus on an MVP? How about minimal viable preparation? Don't do everything at once.
Flow - Design a routine that enshrines the essential to make execution effortless. Make essentialism the default. Think about your triggers and rewards.
Focus - Be focused on the present and enjoy the moment. Don't multitask.
Be - Live essentially. Apply these ideas to your life.