Essentialism: the art of doing less better!

In a world where we have a multitude of demands from family obligations to work deadlines, the daily to do list can get really long and our mind can be pulled in so many different directions. Add to that social media, and a multitude of messages telling you to carpe diem, and constantly marketing to you the latest product or gadget to keep you organized. Being driven and goal oriented can certainly take us far, however if this ambition an energy is not correctly directed, if attention is often scattered in many directions, the result can be overwhelm frustration and decision fatigue.

What is essentialism?

Because modern life presents seemingly endless opportunities for what we can eat, what we can wear, where can vacation, and even what we can become, this seemingly endless options can be overwhelming and even exhausting.

Even though we crave and reach for the novel, our brains are also wired for routines and simplicity which then leaves room for creativity and rest.

"Essentialism is not about how to get more things done , it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn't mean just doing less for the sake of less either it is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at your highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential"

The image above symbolizes the difference between the non-essentialist way on the left where energy is directed to many pursuits.

Contrast this with the focused progress that can be made if we eliminate the unnecessary and have the discernment needed to make sometimes difficult trade offs to minimize where we would like to focus energy .

"Essentialism is : the art of honing in on what matters to our life at any given time, and eliminating frivolous pursuits and distractions that clutter our minds and hinder progress towards our goals.

The table below further breaks down the different mindsets of essentialists vs. non-essentialists, with non-essentialists prioritizing all tasks while essentialists de-prioritizing most takes and pursuits in favor of few.

The Essentialist vs. Non-essentialist mindset

Non-Essentialist	Essentialist
Thinks almost everything is essential	Thinks almost everything is non-essential
Thinks opportunities are equal	Distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many
Thinks I can do both	Asks what is the trade off I want to make
Is too busy doing to think/reflect on life	Creates space to escape, enjoy, and explore life
Hears everything being said	Hears what is not being said
Is overwhelmed by all the information	Scans to find the essence of the information
Thinks play is trivial	Knows play is essential
Thinks one hour of less sleep equals one more hour of productivity	Knows that one hour more of sleep equals several more hours of much higher productivity
Thinks sleep is a luxury	Knows sleep is a priority
Thinks sleep breeds laziness	Knows sleep breeds creativity
Says yes to almost every request or opportunity	Says yes to only the top 10% of opportunities
Thinks that making things better means adding something	Thinks that making things better means subtracting something
Starts with a big goal and gets small results	Starts small and gets big results
Thinks about what was important yesterday or tomorrow	Tunes in to what's important right now
Worries about the future or stresses about the past	Enjoys the moment

Think about 3 areas of your life that are important to you. This can be career goal, personal goal, relationship goal, or personal development goal. What are some non-essentialist believes that have hindered you from pursuing your goals? What are small steps you can take today to adopt a more essentialist approach to create more space for doing what's most important to you?

If you are interested in getting in more depth about essentialism as a lifestyle and how to implement the above principles in your life, you can learn more by reading the book by Greg Mckewon Essentialism: the Disciplined Pursuit of Less.