Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

DO THE MINIMAL VIABLE PREPARATION There are two opposing ways to approach an important goal or deadline. You can start early and small or start late and big. “Late and big” means doing it all at the last minute: pulling an all-nighter and “making it happen.” “Early and small” means starting at the earliest possible moment with the minimal possible

Motivation and effort are not enough because they are limited resources. To truly make progress on the things that matter, we need a whole new way to work and live. A way that eases life’s inevitable burdens. A way to achieve extraordinary results, without burning out.

We feel guilty. We don’t want to let someone down. We are worried about damaging the relationship. But these emotions muddle our clarity. They distract us from the reality of the fact that either we can say no and regret it for a few minutes, or we can say yes and regret it for days, weeks, months, or even years.

The concreteness of the objective made it real. The realness made it inspiring. It answered the question: “How will we know when we have succeeded?”

play has a positive effect on the executive function of the brain.

something called “the endowment effect,” our tendency to undervalue things that aren’t ours and to overvalue things because we already own them.

In this example is the basic value proposition of Essentialism: only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.

SEPARATE THE DECISION FROM THE RELATIONSHIP

four simple principles inherent in editing do apply to editing the non-essentials out of our lives.