- Cut out options. Eliminate the trivial many to make room for the vital few.
- Condense. Look for the single most important point and say it concisely.
- Correct. Be willing to make changes based on performance, feedback, and changing circumstances.
- Edit less. Restraint is sometimes more valuable than activity. Do less but better.
Section: 3, Chapter: 13
"Think of your life as an overgrown garden. You have a limited amount of time and energy (and money and attention) to cultivate that garden. You can try to tend to every single plant but then the few that truly matter to you aren't going to get the attention they deserve. Or you can go through and pull up the weeds—cut out the nonessentials—so that what remains can really thrive. That is the Essentialist approach to editing your life."
Section: 3, Chapter: 13
Setting clear boundaries on what we will and will not do, or allow others to do, is essential for focusing on our highest priorities. Boundaries:
- Protect our time and energy from being hijacked by others' agendas
- Empower us to choose how we spend our resources
- Free us from the guilt and resentment of overcommitting
- Show others we respect ourselves and our priorities
While setting boundaries can be uncomfortable in the short term, it earns respect in the long run. It's the only way to retain control over what's most essential. Essentialists set boundaries deliberately and in advance to avoid being caught off guard by unexpected demands.
Section: 3, Chapter: 14
Sunk-cost bias is the tendency to continue to invest time, money, or energy into something we know is a losing proposition simply because we have already incurred the cost that cannot be recouped. Examples include:
- Sitting through a bad movie because you've already paid for the ticket
- Continuing to pour money into a renovation project that's way over budget
- Staying in a job or career we're not passionate about because we've already invested so much time in it Essentialists avoid the sunk-cost trap by:
- Admitting when they've made a mistake and cutting their losses
- Setting a stopping point in advance for when they will pull the plug on something that isn't working
- Focusing on opportunity cost - what they could do with their time and energy if they walked away
Section: 3, Chapter: 12
An essential intent is both inspirational and concrete, both meaningful and measurable. It is a mission statement with a clear finish line. It answers the question "How will we know when we are done?" Some examples:
- "Eradicate smallpox from the face of the earth" - WHO's essential intent in the 1960s
- "I will get everyone in the UK online by the end of 2012" - Martha Lane Fox's essential intent as UK Digital Champion
- "Build 150 affordable, green, storm-resistant homes for families living in the Lower 9th Ward" - Brad Pitt's essential intent for his Make It Right foundation in New Orleans
Essential intent provides a clear direction and definition of success, aligning and inspiring efforts.
Section: 3, Chapter: 10
When Greg McKeown worked with an executive team to identify their top 5 priorities, one manager kept insisting on 18 "top priorities." She eventually cut it down to 17 - still far too many to meaningfully focus on. By refusing to make tough decisions on what mattered most, she spread her team's energy and focus too thin.
Contrast this with Apple under Steve Jobs, who would often ask "What are the top 10 things we should be doing next?" and then cross off the bottom 7. Jobs had an almost inhuman level of focus on the very few things that mattered most. An Essentialist strives for this level of clarity, willing to cut good options to invest in truly great ones.
Section: 3, Chapter: 10
We can say no without actually uttering the word:
- "I am flattered that you thought of me but I'm afraid I don't have the bandwidth."
- "I would love to but I'm overcommitted at the moment."
- "Your project sounds wonderful. I would not be able to do it justice given my current commitments."
- "I am in the middle of something that I need to focus on, so I am afraid I will have to pass on this."
- "Let me check my calendar and get back to you." Saying no gracefully allows us to focus on our essential intent without damaging relationships.
Section: 3, Chapter: 11
Practice zero-based budgeting. Instead of just continuing what you've always done, start from scratch and justify each activity anew.
- Apply selective criteria. If your initial evaluation of an opportunity doesn't score 90% or above, change the rating to 0 and walk away.
- Run a reverse pilot. Temporarily remove an initiative or activity and see if anyone notices. If not, consider eliminating it permanently.
- Get over FOMO (fear of missing out). Focus on the upside of what you'll be able to accomplish by uncommitting, not what you might miss out on.
Section: 3, Chapter: 12
"Instead of focusing on the efforts and resources we need to add, the Essentialist focuses on the constraints or obstacles we need to remove... Nonessentialists tend to force execution, Essentialists invest the time they have saved by eliminating the nonessentials into designing a system to make execution almost effortless."
Section: 4, Chapter: 16
- Be very clear on your role and responsibilities. Gracefully turn down requests outside that scope.
- Create a system for saying no. Have go-to phrases or strategies to decline nonessential requests.
- Suggest an alternative. "I can't take on that project, but here is something I could do..."Offer a referral. "I'm not able to do it, but I know Sarah is great at that sort of analysis."
- Appeal to your essential intent. "My top priority is delivering Project X, so I need to focus there." Setting boundaries is an ongoing practice, but it gets easier with time as others learn to honor them.
Section: 3, Chapter: 14
