Skip to main content

Book Summary – Essentialism The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Essentialism - Book summary

Do you find yourself feeling overworked, exhausted, perpetually busy yet unproductive? Then this book is for you. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown explains how to focus your energy only on what’s essential, so you can do the right things that truly matter.  Today, we have more choices and connectivity, but we also face more distractions and social pressure, making it harder for us to say “no” to the nonessentials. As a result, many people find themselves in a relentless pursuit of tasks that drain their energy, leaving them stretched too thinly across too many areas. In this Essentialism summary, you’ll learn what essentialism is all about, as well as the 3-part model to escape your busy life and become an essentialist.

What is Essentialism?

Essentialism is the discipline of continuously defining where we can create the most value, then finding ways to execute most effortlessly.Essentialism summary_what's essentialismEssentialism is fundamentally about designing and taking control of your personal life through a systematic approach. The same amount of energy, when directed purposefully, can bring you much closer to your goal. Know the right things you must do, reject everything else and direct your time and energy to create the biggest impact where it matters, allowing you to make viable progress towards your goals and ensuring everyday progress in the most meaningful areas, without getting distracted by minor details. In so doing, you drastically improve both your levels of performance and results.

THE ESSENTIALIST MINDSET

Essentialism involves 3 mindset shifts:

Choose

We can’t always control the options presented to us, but we have the power of choice. When it comes to the choices we make, we can choose how we spend our time and energy. Remove the words “I have to” which puts you in a reactive, helpless position. Use the words “I choose to”—remember that you can always choose how to respond to your circumstances. This is a crucial part of the core mindset of Essentialism: taking ownership of your approach to decision making and actions. Ask yourself the essential question: “What is truly worth my time and energy?” and remember that everyday approach to decisions are conscious choices that shapes your path forward.

Discern

We’re surrounded by noise that confuses and distracts us. Stop thinking that everything is important. Learn to filter out the few vital things that are truly valuable from the mass of trivialities, by asking the liberating question: “What truly matters?” This concept of Essentialism, focuses on what is essential and eliminating distractions.

Trade-offs

Trade-offs are a fact of life. You can do anything but not everything. Stop thinking “How can I do it all?”. Instead, choose the problem you’d focus on, and ask “What trade-offs will I make?” and “How can I go really big on this?” These are basic questions that guide you to choose the perfect option with purpose and avoid trying to do everything. See trade-offs not as losses but as opportunities to find the highest-impact options.

Becoming an Essentialist: the 3-Part Model

The disciplined pursuit of less involves 3 key parts, with each component reinforcing the others in a cycle. Let’s take a quick look at what they entail.

 

Essentialism summary_3-part model overview

1. Explore and Evaluate: Identify the Vital Few

Essentialists create the time and space to explore options so they get clear on their goals and can identify the activities/efforts that’ll create the biggest contribution. But, they don’t react to most of these options unlike the nonessentialists. In our full Essentialism summary, you’ll learn why it’s vital to “escape” occasionally, play and rest, and how you can explore options more effectively by looking deeply and tightening your selection criteria.

2. Eliminate: Cut Out the Trivialities

After you’ve distinguished the vital few from the trivial majority, you must cut off the latter from your life. Check out the full 11-page summary to learn how you can define your “essential intent”,  develop the courage and skill to say “no” gracefully, uncommit from unproductive obligations, cut away the nonessentials, and set boundaries to take control of your life. Apply the minimum criteria to determine what really matters, and eliminate distractions that don’t align with your goals including casual commitments that pull you away from your priorities.

3. Execute: Remove Constraints and Make Execution Effortless

Non-Essentialists spend their time/effort trying to force their way through execution, while Essentialists invest time/effort to figure out how to do things in the least effortful way. In our complete Essentialism summary, we look at what it means to build in buffers or contingencies, systematically address constraints that hold you back, win big through small steps, use routines/habits to get in flow, and focus on what’s the most crucial right now.

Fundamentally, Essentialism isn’t something that you do, but something that you become. It’s about thinking, acting and living in a way that allows you to have the greatest possible contribution and fulfilment, so you live a meaningful life without regret. As Essentialism becomes an integral part of who you are, you’ll become more astute about what you put on your to-do list, and find it more effortless to achieve results as you remove constraints and install systems to reduce friction. And, with greater clarity, purpose, and presence, you’ll find much more joy in life and living, as you realize that contribution lies in focusing on what truly matters – leading to a life true to your deepest values. Effective people handle tasks in contrast to common ways people handle tasks, where they get caught up in busyness rather than focusing on what’s essential.

Getting the Most from Essentialism

Ready to ditch an overstuffed life, start taking control of your time, and assume a life of meaning? Check out our Essentialism summary bundle, which includes an infographic, 11-page text summary, and a 24-minute audio summary.Essentialism summary - book summary bundle

This is an easy-to-read book with many references, anecdotes and examples to reinforce the ideas in this summary. You can purchase the book here, get or  visit gregmckeown.com for more details.

[If you’ve already distilled down to your most critical priorities, and still don’t have enough time, then check out the Effortless summary, where you learn how to make your most essential tasks also the easiest to do!]

About the Author of Essentialism

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less was written by Greg McKeown–a speaker, consultant and author. He is the founder and CEO of McKeown Inc., a leadership and strategy design agency. He contributed to major publications such as The New York Times, Fast Company, Fortune, HuffPost, Politico, and Inc. Magazine, and has been interviewed on numerous TV and radio shows. McKeown earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business after studying communications and journalism at Brigham Young University. In 2012, he was inducted into the World Economic Forum of Young Global Leaders. Through his work, McKeown offers practical strategies for focusing on what truly matters and eliminating distractions in both personal and professional life.

Essentialism Quotes

“If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”

“In every set of facts, something essential is hidden.”

“Clarity about what is essential fuels us with the strength to say no to the nonessentials.”

“Boundaries are a little like the walls of a sandcastle. The second we let one fall over, the rest of them come crashing down.”

“Instead of focusing on the efforts and resources we need to add, the Essentialist focuses on the constraints or obstacles we need to remove.”

“We can all live a life not just of simplicity but of high contribution and meaning.”

Click here to download the Essentialism summary & infographic

One Comment

Leave a Reply

0 cart

My Cart

Checkout

Cart is empty