A Joosr Guide to… Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Stop believing you must “do it all,” and recognize what is important. Set aside time to specifically contemplate what you are good at and what you want to achieve, so you can begin to work towards removing the nonessential

The most effective method of achieving this is to create a routine that reflects your distinction between the essential and the nonessential by firmly implanting the most-critical activities within the structure of your day.

Rather than attempting to include everything in a chaotic, nonessentialist fashion, the essentialist way promotes making a fair compromise so that you can be fully present in whatever you are doing—both in your social life and in your work

When we succeed in our work, we gain credibility, and it is likely that we will later be offered more opportunities because of our achievements. Initially, this might seem like a positive outcome. Yet a greater number of opportunities can lead to us growing confused due to the sheer multiplicity of options, and we can lose sight of our original focus: that which made us successful in the first place.

he maintains autonomy over the structure of each day, determining how he spends his time, rather than being passively swept up in the course of various situations.

CEO of LinkedIn, Jeff Weiner, who allocates two hours in 30-minute slots over the course of each day in which he can simply reflect.

taking time out to do nothing but think is becoming increasingly difficult.

Without utilizing time and space specifically to contemplate what we are doing and process what is going on around us, we deny ourselves crucial access to establishing the essential from the nonessential

Following the laws of essentialism means making a crucial distinction so that we can reclaim some control over how we spend our time and what we choose to focus on.

We tend to desire more in general, because we are led to believe that more equals better.