Essentialism Review

June 19, 2023

I recently finished the book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less - by Greg McKeown.

I enjoyed it and found it quite useful. The book definitely could have been shorter (it’s roughly 250-300 pages), but I think some of the lessons are useful and can be applied personally. It’s similar in nature to Atomic Habits.

Summary of some good points in the book (some overlapping concepts):

1. You can’t do it all. You need to prioritize items and learn to say no.
2. Evaluate what is essential in your list or tasks (when it calls for it). Eliminate everything that isn’t.
3. Small incremental wins are more important than big flashy ones. Small steady progress allows you to more accurately capture essential tasks
4. Create meaningful routines that reward steady progress.
5. You are the one solely responsible for managing your buckets of tasks. If you don’t do it, your boss, friends, family, etc, will make that choice for you and that can be where issues arise.