Effortless.
(By Greg McKeowen)
A few years ago I was gifted with a copy of Greg McKeown’s “Essentialism” – the Disciplined Pursuit of Less. I loved reading it! At the time I had a lot of complexity specifically in my work life, and it helped me to think differently about the areas of my life and ways of working that I had chosen to complicate.
I listened to “Effortless” – Make it Easier to do what Matters – as an audio book, narrated by the author, and I found his enthusiasm for his topic compelling, and his knowledge so insightful. As I had expected, the solutions he outlined were simple and logical, and very do-able to put into practice. So much so that I would listen to this book (or read the hard copy) again this year.
Getting the most out of an insightful read, for me, means putting into practice and experimenting with the ideas that are shared. The results should flow, and the feedback loop should begin.
Key take outs for me:
If you are physically rested, emotionally unburdened and mentally energized, you can focus on what matters with ease. In other words: sleep well, live lightly and simply, eat well and move… chose to use your brain meaningfully.
1. INVERT:
Instead of asking “Why is this so hard?”; ask “What if this could be easy?”. Challenge the assumption that the right way is the harder one. When feeling overwhelmed ask “How am I making this harder than it needs to be?”. My example: I shifted to (mainly) online grocery shopping, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the goods, the efficiency of the delivery and the financial saving of only buying what I needed – not to mention the extra time it freed up.
2. ENJOY:
Pair essential activities with enjoyable ones. Accept that work and play can co-exist, and find ways to turn tedious tasks into enjoyable, meaningful rituals. My example: I group all my banking and rote work tasks together on a Monday, and clear my day to work on only those items. I sit down in my office with my list and some soothing background music, and I get stuck in.
3. RELEASE:
Let go of emotional burdens that you don’t need to keep carrying. My best quote in this book: “When you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have. When you focus on what you have, you get what you lack.” My example: I try to focus on the key relationships (both in business and my personal life) that are the most meaningful and important, rather than spread my sanity on new relationships and connections.
4. REST:
Discover the art of doing nothing. Do not do more today than you can completely recover from by tomorrow. Try breaking down essential work into 3 x 90-minute sessions. My example: My example: Two or three of these sessions, two or three days a week, spent doing a complex/important task in a focused manner means that I get it done well, and on time. As long as I don’t allow any interruptions and I start on time, this is a wonderful way for me to cover ground in the right areas.
5. NOTICE:
Achieve a state of heightened awareness by harnessing the power of presence. Train your brain to focus on the important, and ignore the irrelevant. To see others more clearly; set aside your opinions, advice and judgement, and put their truth above your own. My example: I’ve really tried to focus fully on whatever I’m doing in the moment. Where I’ve found this to be most rewarding is if my children are telling me a story or anecdote – I try to stop and listen with my full attention, facing them, and not think about what I’d like to say next. Often what they are looking for is a full acknowledgement and not a remedy, and it’s enough for me to listen.
6. DEFINE:
To begin an essential project, first define what “Done” looks like. Take 60 seconds to focus on your desired outcome. Write a “Done for the Day” list, and limit it to items that will constitute meaningful progress. My example: I try to think of three things that I would like to have done well by the end of the day, and structure my day around doing them. Study one chapter of a course that I’m doing and make summary notes; do one hour of timed research on content for a client presentation; do 45 timed minutes of photo sorting to put aside for the video I am creating.
7. START:
Make the first action the obvious one. Name it, and then do it. Start with a 10-minute microburst of focused action to boost motivation and energy. My example: The opening up and saving of a blank document for a client presentation and inputting what I have so far as a starting point. Its less daunting to return to when I’ve actually begun the task already.
8. SIMPLIFY:
To simplify the process don’t simply the steps… simply remove them! Clear the clutter in your physical environment before clearing the clutter in your mind. My example: I spent time reviewing an editing a few process spreadsheets at work and removed the inputs that are no longer necessary (our business requirements change every year) and in some cases even combined two or three documents into one document, to avoid duplications.
Finally, the concept of “Progress by Pacing” is what resonated with me most. May I keep my wits about me this year and keep practicing what I’ve learnt, in order to cover the ground that I’d like to!