Do you ever feel stretched too thin, flitting from one project to the next, feeling over extended and really enjoying nothing because you are already thinking of your next “to do”?
Do you ever feel overworked and underutilized?
Do your days tend to get hijacked by someone else’s agenda?
Do you say yes to fill a need or because you feel you should only to stress and regret it later?
Greg McKeown shares in this enlightening book that you can say no to things – you can do less, feel better about it, and produce a better outcome. It is about regaining control of our own choices where to spend our time and energies instead of giving others permission to do it for us.
Essentialism isn’t one more thing – it’s a different way of doing everything.
First up – I loathe self-help books. I think, probably more accurately I loathe the category “self-help”. It implies (IMO) that we are unable to help ourselves… it makes me personally feel weak-minded. And not to say that there is anything wrong with these books – I just do not like how they are categorized.
This is NOT a self-help book.
This book is a way of tweaking how you do life, and more specifically what you say yes to, and evaluating why you say yes.
Family obligation
you feel if you don’t do it, who will?
There is a need and no one else is offering
It’s not a big commitment
I do all of his… ALL THE TIME. I have turned into a yes person, and it is not all bad – by saying yes to things I have really experienced some awesome things. I do have to admit though I have also taken on too much, been bitter about my commitments, missed out on things I wanted to do because I said yes to something else…. you get the picture.
I wanted to listen to this audio because I find the whole concept interesting. Our world we live in is full of choices and commitments and opportunities… oh my! I can not even imagine how many choices I make in a day.
What Greg is saying in his book, that saying no does not have to be a bad thing. If saying yes to something at work is going to overextend you, make you stay late, put pressure on your other projects – then politely decline. While it may cause irritation in the beginning from those who are used to you saying yes, in the long wrong it will gain your respect.
(for the record I am that person who will say yes, stay late to get it done, be upset with myself because now I have made myself late to whatever was next…. vicious circle!)
I enjoyed listening to this audio. Greg McKeown narrates this himself (great accent!) I did pick up some things from it that I can apply and hope to. I like to learn, and by listening to this audio I did pick up on some tips I can apply to my own life and know that you should say yes…
to the right things 🙂
Publisher: Crown Business
Release date: April 15, 2014
- Do you sometimes feel overworked and underutilized?
- Do you feel motion sickness instead of momentum?
- Does your day sometimes get hijacked by someone else’s agenda?
- Have you ever said “yes” simply to please and then resented it?
If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist.
The Way of the Essentialist involves doing less, but better, so you can make the highest possible contribution.
The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s not about getting less done. It’s about getting only the right things done. It’s about challenging the core assumption of ‘we can have it all’ and ‘I have to do everything’ and replacing it with the pursuit of ‘the right thing, in the right way, at the right time’. It’s about regaining control of our own choices about where to spend our time and energies instead of giving others implicit permission to choose for us.
In Essentialism, Greg McKeown draws on experience and insight from working with the leaders of the most innovative companies in the world to show how to achieve the disciplined pursuit of less.
– See more at: http://gregmckeown.com/essentialism-the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/#sthash.QpirtZky.dpuf
- Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin?
- Do you sometimes feel overworked and underutilized?
- Do you feel motion sickness instead of momentum?
- Does your day sometimes get hijacked by someone else’s agenda?
- Have you ever said “yes” simply to please and then resented it?
If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist.
The Way of the Essentialist involves doing less, but better, so you can make the highest possible contribution.
The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s not about getting less done. It’s about getting only the right things done. It’s about challenging the core assumption of ‘we can have it all’ and ‘I have to do everything’ and replacing it with the pursuit of ‘the right thing, in the right way, at the right time’. It’s about regaining control of our own choices about where to spend our time and energies instead of giving others implicit permission to choose for us.
In Essentialism, Greg McKeown draws on experience and insight from working with the leaders of the most innovative companies in the world to show how to achieve the disciplined pursuit of less.
– See more at: http://gregmckeown.com/essentialism-the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/#sthash.QpirtZky.dpuf
Book Journey 
Ah, Sheila, the first thing I wanted to say has to do with your impression of “self-help”—as a category, that is, since I’ve never perceived it in the way you do. I actually wrote a long comment here, but decided I’ll eventually make a post out of it when I have my blogs running, rather than be longwinded here, so I’ll try to be concise:
I’d say the reason it’s called “self-help” is because you’re looking to help yourself and need ideas or guidance from outside yourself to “help” you do that when you’re “stuck” or “unsuccessful” with an issue. It’s not that “self-help” connotes that we can’t help ourselves, but that we can possibly find information through these books that we haven’t been able to find from within our own mind/box, yet desire to.
It’s no different than using a thesaurus to find that “just right” word we can’t think of when we need it. Or getting that “fresh eye” for a different perspective through a critique on our writing simply because we’re too close to our work and sometimes find ourselves going in circles.
Anyway, in respect to Greg’s book: I don’t need it ’cause I’ve already been dealing with these issues for so many years. Having spent way too much of my life saying “yes,” my life goals are YEARS behind because of it. I’ve gotten better at saying “no” when I need to, but need to learn how to say “no” more to myself. I still find it difficult to say “no” to the many things I WISH you could fit into the limited amount of hours in each day—often interrupted and derailed hours.
Thanks for posting this, and honestly, I had no idea it would turn into this long-winded post!
Great points! I dont know why I have such an issue with “self help”, I liked your thoughts on this. 😀
Hey, Sheila 🙂 I’m glad you didn’t mind all that! I hope it helps to lessen your loathing of the term! lol
I think I need that 😀