Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, is one of them. He says: I’m more alert and I think more clearly. I just feel so much better all day long if I’ve had eight hours.
I’ll be the first to admit that choices are hard. By definition they involve saying no to something or several somethings, and that can feel like a loss. Outside the workplace, choices can be even har...
For some reason there is a false association with the word focus. As with choice, people tend to think of focus as a thing. Yes, focus is something we have. But focus is also something we do.
For example, Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years in jail becoming an Essentialist. When he was thrown in jail in 1962 he had almost everything taken from him: his home, his reputation, his pride,...
Essentialists will commit and go big on only the vital few ideas or activities, they explore more options at first to ensure they pick the right one later.
Curiously, and overstating the point in order to make it, the pursuit of success can be a catalyst for failure
Clay recalls: That taught me an important lesson. If I had made an exception then I might have made it many times.
Was once paired with a colleague who approached projects in a completely opposite way. People predicted there would be fireworks between us. But our working relationship was actually quite harmonious....
The planning fallacy.6 This term, coined by Daniel Kahneman in 1979, refers to people’s tendency to underestimate how long a task will take, even when they have actually done the task before
Sólo cuando te das permiso de dejar de hacerlo todo, de dejar de decirles que sí a todos, puedes hacer tu mayor contribución a las cosas que realmente importan.
Seen people trapped by controlling managers and unaware that they do not have to do all the thankless busywork they are asked to do. And I have worked tirelessly to understand why so many bright, smar...
Remember that anytime you fail to say no to a non-essential, you are really saying yes by default. So once you have sufficiently explored your options, the question you should be asking yourself is no...
Planning fallacy.6 This term, coined by Daniel Kahneman in 1979, refers to people’s tendency to underestimate how long a task will take, even when they have actually done the task before.
Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter. What
Of the Essentialist involves learning to tell the difference—learning to filter through all those options and selecting only those that are truly essential.
Ignoring the reality of trade-offs is a terrible strategy for organizations. It turns out to be a terrible strategy for people as well.
Condensing doesn’t mean doing more at once, it simply means less waste. It means lowering the ratio of words to ideas, square feet to usefulness, or effort to results. Thus to apply the principle of c...
Are vital. The way of the Essentialist involves learning to tell the difference—learning to filter through all those options and selecting only those that are truly essential.
Yet every second spent worrying about a past or future moment distracts us from what is important in the here and now.
Ya sea que puedas invertir dos horas diarias, dos semanas al año o tan sólo cinco minutos todas las mañanas, es importante hacer espacio para escapar de tu vida ajetreada.