Today is the last day of audiobook appreciation month! I encourage you to give audiobooks a try, especially for a long drive, a daily commute, or even a soundtrack while you clean the house. Audiobooks allow us to consume new books during time that usually can’t be spent reading, so take advantage!
Essentialism by Greg McKeown (2014)
Laura’s Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
I’m not sure how I stumbled onto this book, but the problems it claims to solve, such as overcommitment and feeling busy but not always productive, resonated with me. It was the perfect audiobook, because it felt like a friend giving me advice.
The Analysis:
“The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.” This book was more impactful than I expected. I assumed it would be a typical guide to streamlining your routine and making fewer commitments. While those topics were certainly covered, the author does a good job of portraying essentialism as a constant way of thinking rather than just a checklist or a one-time process. The author details the paradox of success, where after completing a task well, we are asked to do more and more tasks. However, at a certain point, we have reached our maximum capacity and are so busy and overcommitted that we are no longer completing tasks at a satisfactory level. The key to high quality work and outcomes is to limit the number of projects on our plates. The book empowers the reader to say no to certain things by prioritizing what is truly important.
I do have a couple of issues with the book. My first minor complaint is that the book could be organized better, and edited for conciseness. My main problem with Essentialism is that some elements of the book would be difficult to implement depending on your position and financial security. For example, the author details how he would take the first several hours of the day to work on his book, without interruption. While I’m sure that was a productive use of his time, not everyone can take the morning off of their job or not have a job for months at a time. This requires a certain level of employment flexibility and/or financial security that I would argue is not very common. Another tip in the book is to say no to projects that one does not deem essential, including projects requested from coworkers or bosses. Unless someone is at least middle management or higher in a company, I cannot imagine telling a boss or supervisor that you don’t find that project essential, and therefore will not be completing it. Other suggestions include weeding out social obligations and other infringements upon one’s time. While I understand the sentiment, the book paints a sort of potential utopia where the decision to say no to other people comes without serious social, professional, or personal consequences.
Despite my complaints, I did find much of the advice in the book valuable. For anyone looking to simplify their commitments, reading this book is a step in the right direction. I will leave you with this quote from 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 toward the things that really matter.”
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