Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Summary

We all have too much to do in seemingly too little time. McKeown teaches us how to zoom in on the few things that matter most so we can feel and be our best more often than not.

Actionable Takeaways

  1. One sentence summary every day in bullet journal
  2. Attitude/Gratitude items every day in bullet journal
  3. No cell phone, or screens, after 9pm.

Table of Contents

  • Essence

    • Choose
    • Discern
    • Trade-off

  • Explore

    • Escape
    • Look
    • Play
    • Sleep
    • Select

  • Eliminate

    • Clarify
    • Dare
    • Uncommit
    • Edit
    • Limit

  • Execute

    • Buffer
    • Subtract
    • Progress
    • Flow
    • Focus
    • Be

Thoughts, by the pages

Disclaimer: I mark up my books so that they’re almost illegible to another reader. I’m concerned about typing up quotes from the book to such an extent that I’m plagiarizing the author’s work. So, as a general rule I’m only copying out my own marginalia here with links to page numbers so that I can find the original content in the future. I’m curious to see how my reading of the same content might change over time.

The Essentialist

  • p.2 – Only do “FUCK YES!” projects. This only works when you are “So Good You Can’t Be Ignored” (a different book by Cal Newport that I read half of while reading this one).

  • p.3 – A full bucket can’t do any more work. Find some empty space in the bucket!

  • p.4 – A full cup can’t fit any more

  • p.5 – “Less but better” –> mastery of craft –> mastery/relatedness/autonomy lead to workplace fulfillment

    • I want your good to get better (2021 tag line)

  • p.6 – focused efforts moving in one direction instead of effort spread across many directions is the way to move from Zero to One (a different book by Peter Thiel that I read some time ago).

  • p.7 –

    • management books teach us to manage energy instead of time – managing time is missing the point
    • links to So Good They Can’t Ignore You
      • deliberate practice instead of just sitting around aimlessly playing tunes
      • Cal Newport attacks “lifestyle design” quite hard; I think he’d make an exception for essentialism because… that’s where deliberate practice comes from. First a practitioner has to select a skill to practice. If they pick a non-essential one they’re wasting their time.

  • p.8 – opportunity cost is a big deal. When we do stuff we are by definition not doing other stuff

    • At work I want my team to stop talking about whether something is valuable or not valuable and start talking about whether Thing A is more valuable than Thing B, right now knowing what we know right now.
      • New information changes priorities.
        • We can’t do it all. It’s impossible.
          • hmmm… note to self: Righteous Mind taught us that having this conversation at the rationale level won’t work. Influence Is Your Superpower reinforces that message. Figure out how to have this conversation at the Feeling Level (if you really want to change the trajectory of the team).

  • p.9 – essentialism doesn’t encourage us to do less, it encourages us to do more of the things that matter.

  • p.11 – only do what matters.

  • p.15 – only make a decision when you absolutely have to (Taleb teaches the same in Antifragile)

    • A superior at work just taught me that we should groom and plan just in time, so we don’t waste the effort.

  • p.16 – lots of people regret their lives: “At the top of the list: ‘I wish I ’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.’”

    • FUCK! DON’T LET THIS BE YOUR STORY, JOE-JOE!
    • Priority implies 1. I have another Cal Newport book on my shelf called The One Thing that I imagine will have a tie in here.

  • p.17 – only do “Fuck Yes!” things.

  • p.18 –

    • only do “Fuck Yes!” things.
    • if you want to understand behaviors, understand incentives
    • “kill your darlings” -Dorothy Parker (?)
    • make it path of least resistance to get the results you want
    • ask yourself: “If I didn’t already have this thing, what would I be willing to pay for it?”

  • p.19 –

    • limit a day’s plan to 5 “urgent and important” things, then leave space
    • there are two different types of anxiety: content and process (Book of Brassie); use content solutions for content problems and process solutions to deal with process problems.
    • look for compounding returns for efforts, not linear returns.
    • the dream:
      • personal life <– effiency/productivity/effectiveness –> professional life
      • the way:
        1. discover what is important
        2. eliminate what isn’t
        3. effortlessly do the essential

  • p.20 –

    • life is finite; this is what gives conversations about “meaning” and “consequence” their weight (link to Man’s Search For Meaning)
    • when you can see an angle no one else can see, you can do a thing no one else can do (TODO: link to my own poetry!)
    • You are born. Stuff happens. You die. The rest is up to you.

  • p.21 –

    • target your learnings. fail fast.
    • only choose when you have to (Antifragile)

  • p.22 – right info, right person, right time

  • p.23 –

    • Eliminating means “cutting out the trivial many”
      • which includes “pushing against social expectations.”
        • Things like:
          • In software, you should seek to become a dev.
          • You only matter if you could do it on your own, but choose not to.
    • It’s okay to not be a developer! Find your way to contribute to the system!

  • p.25 –

    • make it path of least resistance to move fast.
    • re-read Effortless, another McKeown book that reduces the good life to 15 verbs. Here I’m focusing on “Start.”
    • so what if we fail? learn and iterate.
    • Time and place dictate which ideas are ready and when
    • “For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory… forever” -The Lord’s Prayer
    • You live. Stuff happens. You die. The rest is up to you.

  • p.26 –

    • A library is not a place you go to read, it’s a place you go to be (TODO: link out to poetry)
    • “intelligence, capability, resourcefulness, initiative”

  • p. 27 –

    • path of least resistance to do less instead of more
    • stay open to getting hurt badly – that’s where the good shit happens

Essence

  • p.31 –

    • some big ideas:
      1. You don’t have to do it – no one is making you do this.
      2. Some things are more important than others
      3. You can’t do it all.
    • some parallels to other books
      1. I choose to…. (Man’s Search for Meaning)
      2. Only a few things matter (Big Magic, “What are you interested in, even a little?”)
      3. I can do any- thing, but not every- thing (Chris Hadfield on Masterclass; Almanack of Naval Ravikant)

  • p.33 – our choices carry consequence; that’s why they matter. If we are doing one thing, we necessarily aren’t doing something else.

  • p.34 –

    • the bar bell strategy can be good. It makes a lot of sense. You’ll never win as big you would have if you were all in on one strategy.
      • principle: comparison is the thief of joy.
      • try things that work for you. If the results are good (for you), keep going. If they’re not good, stop. Do something different
        • Antifragile, Nassim Taleb – the more you rely on assumption the harder it will hurt if they prove to be false.
          • Black Swan, Nassim Taleb
        • Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It, Kamal Ravikant

  • p.35 –

    • when squeezed between " I can’t do this" and " I have to do this" remember the Rule of Three. Also remember “And, … not but…”
    • every 2.5s you have a choice to do something different. “Now” is defined in increments of 2.5s. Stay right here, friend.
    • when you actively invest time and energy, you become opne to being hurt (TODO: link to letter – live like you want to get hurt really badly)
      • “a choice is an action”… which employs agency
        • fulfillment consists of autonomy (agency), mastery, and relatedness

  • p.36 – making choices is a skill we can practice; remember the Bootstrap Conjecture. Things done for the first time are never done well.

  • p.37 –

    • if you believe in a better way, you’ll fight for it.
    • Samwise Gamgee: “There’s good in this world worth fighting for, Mr. Frodo.”
    • Man’s Search For Meaning: Frankl writes that his mission in the concentration camp became to write his book. And reminds us that the best people, those unwilling to compromise, were the first to die.
      • measure your results for you. If it works, keep going. (Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It)

  • p.38 –

    • you don’t have to try to do it all.
    • “everything is designed to make it hard for us to say no”
      • Seth Godin teaches that everyone is a marketer.

  • p.41 –

    • measure real impacts, not perceived or hoped for ones.
    • deliberate practice is the only way to level up
    • Cut away at the inessential.

  • p.43 –

    • some results are attained linearly per effort, others are attained exponentially. The latter grow faster.
      • Bear in mind: the more you rely on assumptions, the more it will hurt when they’re wrong (Black Swan)
    • if it feels weird to try on something new, go the Ted Lasso way and just try it on and strut. What’s the worst that could happen?

  • p.44 –

    • seek exponential returns for efforts, then go big or go home
      • In Almanack of Naval Ravikant, Naval suggests setting a target hourly rate and not doing anything that “pays” under that rate
      • In Four Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss teaches us how to trim away the actions we actually take to those that are actually value generating because they differentiate our business

  • p.45 –

    • seek the power law – I marginalia’d that I can be a difference maker as a thinker but not as a dev.
    • “Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.”

  • p.49 –

    • valuable skill is built by deliberate practice (So Good They Can’t Ignore You)
    • from 1972-2002, Southwest Airlines outperformed the rest of the S&P 500 – differentiated model with point-to-point flights.
      • They accepted the risk as a team, and it paid off huge.

  • p.51 –

    • every problem you solve creates a new one in its place, so… what problem do you want in your life?
    • limiting WIP is a good way to get things done

  • p.53 –

    • Simplify to Scale
    • from my own poetry: the world is holographic, it’s elastic.
    • from my work experience: quality is value to some person.

  • p.55 –

    • if you have more than 3 priorities, you have no priorities
    • every problem you solve creates a new one
    • which problems do you want in your life?
    • trade-off and compromise –> Influence Is Your Superpower for learning techniques here.
    • we can’t do it all –> accept the risk of work undone as a group and move forward together.

  • p.56 –

    • you can’t do it all, so go all-in on relatively few things (with small incremental steps to measure results, so you can pivot)
      • this is just the way it is. What you do about it is up to you.

  • p.57 –

    • I remember when I started dating my current partner… I would say all the time “it’s all about direction, not location.” I just wanted us to keep pointing the good way and taking one small step at a time. Eventually we’d climb to someplace new. Just keep taking one step at a time. Or taking one small bite of the elephant.
    • step 1: acknowledge you can’t possibly do it all.

Explore

  • p.60 – Jim Comey, former Director of the FBI, teaches that early in careers professionals should treat opportunities like buffets: grab some of everything, so you can go back and get more of what you like.

  • p.61 –

    • the value of planning is in the activity itself, not the artifacts. The artifacts are wrong as soon as you write them down because the world changes and context is king.
    • deliberate exploration
    • Shane Parrish and Ryan Holiday both have some phenomenal writings about journaling. Also: Writing Down The Bones is one of my favorite books of all time.

  • p.64 – choose quiet space, so your brain can bubble up the critical things that your clutter is preventing you from seeing.

  • p.65 –

    • like managing process anxiety through the sympathetic nervous system (Book of Brassie), we can use space to make it path of least resistance for our brains to do what we want them to do (The Idea Factory)
    • Now is always this 2.5s right now. And you can always choose to focus on now, or not.

  • p.66 –

    • software testing is risk management – you’re just the headlights on the car
      • the map is not the territory (Shane Parrish, big red books) so the only way to know what’s out in the environment is to go out in the environment and look around
        • what are we about to hit? nothing? great! go faster!
    • make sure to create voids for the brain to go where it wants
    • James Bach (satisfice.com) teaches that working with the mind’s set is much more effective than fighting with it. Also: Thinking, Fast and Slow, Righteous Mind, and Influence Is Your Superpower.

  • p.67 –

    • In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert teaches us that we have to treat our creative projects like roommates. We have to create spaces for them (or the voids mentioned above) so that they’ll want to stick around.

  • p.68 –

    • find some quiet.
    • let yourself get bored.

  • p.69 –

    • if you don’t use the tool, it’s using you.
    • schedule 30 minute blocks of nothing
    • Zach Brown Band’s Quiet Your Mind

  • p.70 –

    • create space to read; reading is one of those activities that is nearly guaranteed to deliver exponential returns
    • read old books.
      • if they’ve survived this long, they’re likely to go on surviving. Which means they are actively shaping the world of tomorrow.

  • p.73 – as soon as we write anything down it’s wrong because we’re in a different now from when the thing was written.

  • p.74 – effective storytelling is a superpower.

  • p.75 – when overwhelmed, do less not more. At least try it on and see if it fits.

  • p.76 –

    • be careful about what you consume and who you spend time with, because these 2.5s lead to the next ones. Stack the good 2.5s.
    • create a latticework of ideas, tools, and models (Shane Parrish, big red books)
    • focus on what isn’t said instead of what is.

  • p.77 –

    • humans are forgetful and faulty.
      • we forget pain really quickly.
      • we focus on the wrong stuff, by default, because most of us aren’t the most effective communicators and our Gator Brains (Kahneman’s System I) are lazy (Thinking, Fast and Slow and Influence Is Your Superpower)

  • p.78 –

    • start small with journaling; the point is the practice, not the output (Seth Godin’s The Practice)
    • In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert teaches us that nobody cares what we get up to because everyone’s busy worrying about themselves all the time.
      • They’re too busy to track you, so don’t start with what you missed. Just report.

  • p.81 – what conversation are we having? what problem are we solving? (Crucial Conversations)[add link]

Play

  • p.83 –

    • what are you interested in, even a little? (Big Magic)[add link]
    • joy and goodwill are contagious.

  • p.84 – you live. stuff happens. you die. what it all means is up to you. remember to have some fun.

  • p.85 –

    • “Essentialists know play is essential… and it sparks exploration.”
    • “There was room for both of us.” - The World Was Wide Enough, Hamilton.
    • Too much of anything is bad, but let your mind go where it wants.
      • Satisfice.com teaches this too. Let your mind do the type of work that it wants to do. Trying to fight it is… not going to yield frictionless results.

  • p.86 –

    • Play is deliberate practice for change. It’s a way to jar the brain loose from it’s normal operations. And from Antifragile, we know it’s a good idea to be able to capitalize on change.
    • Reading fiction is one way to play.

  • p.87 –

    • Under stress use T.I.P.P.S (temperature, … sour - reference Book of Brassie)
    • As stress goes up, play more. Groove that slot to Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It.
Sleep

  • p.91 –

    • Only the next 2.5s.
    • Orientation, not location.
    • “Protect the Asset.”

  • p.94 –

    • target a balanced life:
      • Conversations With Teenager - Charlie Ledbetter
      • 1/3 learn, 1/3 earn, 1/3 burn.
      • Never stop learning –> easiest way to get there is to teach.

  • p.95 –

    • “If you can’t nap whenever you want, you’re not free.” -Nassim Taleb
    • Take care of yourself – listen to what your mind, body, and soul each need.

  • p.97 –

    • Deliberate Practice ( So Good They Can’t Ignore You)
    • It’s about what you get for your time, not that you spent the time.
    • To be great, sleep more.

  • p.98 – If you want fans, win games. Get results. Others will ask you how you’re pulling it off.

  • p.99 –

    • Tim Ferriss frequently asks a great question on The Tim Ferriss Show: “What do you believe that no one else does?”
      • Parts of businesses focusing on making others more effective in their roles (R&D) are revenue centers, not cost centers.
      • Sleep is king.
      • Life is meant to be enjoyed.
      • It doesn’t matter if God exists or not.
Select

  • p.103 –

    • only fuck yes people. only fuck yes things.
    • only fuck yes matches for hiring. only fuck yes tasks at work.

  • p.104 –

    • Mari Kondo: say thank you and let it go.
    • only fuck yes crew.

  • p.105 –

    • right opp. @ right time,… right thing.
    • every opp. that doesn’t work creates another one.
      • Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert
      • “There Will Be Another One” - Bronze Radio Return
    • reality sets in: If we only take fuck yes people and things… what if nothing is good enough?
      • have faith: if you create the space, and tend to it, the right people and things will come.
    • Deliberate Practice (So Good They Can’t Ignore You) & Ship! (The Practice)
      • You gotta ship on small opps so that when an optimal (read: fuck yes) opp. turns up, you’ll be ready to ship
        • “good luck is where hard work meets opportunity.” -old adage.
        • “the legs feed the wolf, gentlemen.” -Miracle
      • Make it path of least resistance to do the work you need to do.

  • p.106 – “because they are doing it…” is a horrid reason to do anything

Eliminate

Clarify
Dare
Uncommit
Edit
Limit

Execute

Buffer
Subtract
Progress
Flow
Focus
Be

  • pp.226-227 –

  • p.229 – Focus on what you have to get what you want. If you focus on what you want, you’ll lose what you have.

  • p.230 –

    • It’s okay to fail.
    • Don’t just walk through doors because they happen to be open.
    • Helping others; hearing others; supporting others.

  • p.231 – Only the next 2.5 seconds really matter. What can I do in that time?

  • p.232 –

    • Who is making you do this stuff you’re doing? Did you pick it actively?
    • What is something you believe that no one else does?
      • cell phones are bad for us.
      • 80 minute commute on public transit is a good use of time (to read and let the brain dance)

  • p.233 – Say no to things that aren’t the most critical today.

  • p.234 – Don’t force it; let the game come to you.

  • p.236 –

    • Life is finite, so our choices matter. They carry consequence.
      • You are born; some stuff happens; you die. What it all means is up to you.

  • p.237 – Sleep is essential.

Appendix: Leadership Essentials

  • p.239 –

    • FCS (Jeff Weiner @ LinkedIn), pronounced “Focus”
      • F: “Fewer things done better.”
      • C: “Communicating the right info to the right people at the right time.”
      • S: “Speed and quality of decision making.”
    • Wanna change the world? Find a small group of thoughtful, committed actors.

  • p.240 – clarify purpose.

  • p.241 – clarity = success.

  • p.245 – be clear. be consistent.