Amazon affiliate links are included in this post.

In Essentialism, Greg McKeown highlights the concept of essentialism, what it means to be an essentialist, and how we can all practice essentialism to increase productivity and fulfillment in our daily lives. 

At its core, essentialism embodies the concept of less but better.

It’s not how much you do in a workday that determines your level of productivity but rather how much of the right thing you do. Essentialism is doing more essential tasks that yield the highest output and less of the non-essential, which produce a lower output. 

Here are five lessons from Essentialism to help you do less but achieve more.

Lesson 1: Get clear about what matters

Understanding your purpose and values will help you map out your priorities.

Identifying and focusing on the essential few activities that align with your values and long-term objectives will help you make meaningful progress in your life and work.

Example:

Reading is essential for me because I can’t create content without reading.

Lesson 2: Know your trade-offs

Essentialism encourages acknowledging trade-offs.

When you pursue one opportunity or project, you inherently say no to countless others.

Embracing trade-offs allows you to make decisions more consciously, understanding the necessary sacrifices that come with them.

Example

One of my trade-offs is limiting screen time to read more. The more I read, the more content I can create

Lesson 3: Get comfortable with saying “no.”

Setting boundaries with others can be difficult, but if you say yes to every opportunity, you’ll rarely have time to focus on what’s essential.

Example

I avoid making plans on Sunday mornings because I like to use that time to map out my to-do list for the week ahead, clean, and get organized.

Lesson 4: Establish essential intent

Essential intent is a concrete, quantifiable, and meaningful statement. McKoweon says, “Your essential intent is one decision that helps you settle a thousand others.” By establishing your essential intent, you can make intelligent and purposeful decisions in the future when evaluating tasks and projects.

Example:

I will write one thought-provoking and informative article per week before my website launches on May 9th, 2024.

Lesson 5: Reflect and evaluate frequently 

As your values, goals, and life changes, so will your priorities

Regularly reflect on your commitments to ensure that they are still in alignment with your long-term objectives and values

Example

As I expand my platform to Substack, I must write articles at least 3x a week. That means more time to sit, brainstorm, write, edit, and publish additional content.

Conclusion

The key to success isn’t to do more—the key to success is to do more of the right thing and less of the wrong thing. I highly recommend reading Greg McKeown’s Essentialism if you feel like you’re constantly doing things without achieving much. McKeown will teach you how to decide what’s essential, how to focus on your essential tasks, and how to reap greater rewards in doing so.