Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

"Do you feel it, too? That relentless pressure to sample all the good things in life? To do all the 'right' things? The reality is, you don't make progress that way. Instead, you're in danger of spreading your efforts so thin that you make no impact at all. Greg McKeown believes the answer lies in paring life down to its essentials. He can't tell you what's essential to every life, but he can help you find the meaning in yours."
-- Daniel H. Pink, author of TO SELL IS HUMAN and DRIVE

"Entrepreneurs succeed when they say "yes" to the right project, at the right time, in the right way. To accomplish this, they have to be good at saying "no" to all their other ideas. Essentialism offers concise and eloquent advice on how to determine what you care about most, and how to apply your energies in ways that ultimately bring you the greatest rewards."
-- Reid Hoffman, co-founder/chairman of LinkedIn and co-author of the #1 NYT bestseller "The Start-up of You"

"Greg McKeown's excellent new book is a much-needed antidote to the stress, burnout and compulsion to "do everything," that infects us all. It is an Essential read for anyone who wants to regain control of their health, well-being, and happiness."
--Arianna Huffington, Co-founder, president, and editor in chief, Huffington Post Media Group"

"Essentialism holds the keys to solving one of the great puzzles of life: how can we do less but accomplish more? A timely, essential read for anyone who feels overcommitted, overloaded, or overworked--in other words, everyone. It has already changed the way that I think about my own priorities, and if more leaders embraced this philosophy, our jobs and our lives would be less stressful and more productive. So drop what you're doing and read it.."
--Adam Grant, Wharton professor and bestselling author of Give and Take

"As a self-proclaimed "maximalist" who always wants to do it all, this book challenged me and improved my life. If you want to work better, not just less, you should read it too."
- Chris Guillebeau, NYT bestselling author of The $100 Startup

"Great design takes us beyond the complex, the unnecessary and confusing, to the simple, clear and meaningful. This is as true for the design of a life as it is for the design of a product. With Essentialism, Greg McKeown gives us the invaluable guidebook for just such a project."
-Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO

"In Essentialism, Greg McKeown makes a compelling case for achieving more by doing less. He reminds us that clarity of focus and the ability to say 'no' are both critical and undervalued in business today."
-Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedIn

"While everyone else is still leafing through Lean In or Outliers, get a competitive jump on the new year with....Essentialism... learn how to identify the right things, focus on getting them done, and forget the rest. In other words, 'do less, but better.'" -Forbes

"Essentialism is a powerful antidote to the current craziness that plagues our organizations and our lives. Read Greg McKeown's words slowly, stop and think about how to apply them to your life - you will do less, do it better, and begin to feel the insanity start to slip away."
- Robert I. Sutton, Professor at Stanford University and author of Good Boss, Bad Boss and Scaling Up Excellence.

In a world of increasing chaos and complexity, the ideas and tools of Essentialism turn chaos into commitment and complexity into accomplishment. This timely, well written book is a must read and do for any employee, manager, leader, or parent whoever feels overwhelmed. It is truly the right book at the right time.
- Dave Ulrich, Professor, University of Michigan School of Business and Partner, the RBL Group

"Essentialism is a rare gem that will change lives. Greg offers deep insights, rich context and actionable steps to living life at its fullest. I've started on the path to an Essentialist way of life, and the impact on my productivity and well-being is profound."
-Bill Rielly, Senior Vice President, Intel Security

"In this likeable and astute treatise on the art of doing less in order to do better...McKeown makes the content fresh and the solutions easy to implement. Following his lucid and smart directions will help readers fine "the way of the essentialist" -Success Magazine

"Essentialism will give you richer, sweeter results and put you in real control, giving greater precision to the pursuit of what truly matters." -Forbes.com

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER 

Have you ever felt the urge to declutter your work life?

Do you often find yourself stretched too thin?
 
Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized?
 
Are you frequently busy but not productive?
 
Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people’s agendas?
 
If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist.
 
The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done.  It is not  a time management strategy, or a productivity technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter. 

By forcing us to apply a more selective criteria for what is Essential, the disciplined pursuit of less empowers us to reclaim control of our own choices about where to spend our precious time and energy – instead of giving others the implicit permission to choose for us.

Essentialism is not one more thing – it’s a whole new way of doing everything. A must-read for any leader, manager, or individual who wants to do less, but better, and declutter and organize their own their lives, Essentialism is a movement whose time has come.