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.
Esto apoya el sentimiento atribuido a Lao Tse: En el trabajo, haz aquello que disfrutes. En la vida familiar, está completamente presente.
Clay recalls: That taught me an important lesson. If I had made an exception then I might have made it many times.
By definition, applying highly selective criteria is a trade-off; sometimes you will have to turn down a seemingly very good option and have faith that the perfect option will soon come along. Sometim...
As it happens, Cynthia’s father was the management thinker Stephen R. Covey (author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) who had
As a quote attributed to Victor Hugo, the French dramatist and novelist, puts it, Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.
So they will arrive late. So what should he do? The answer, Alex finds, is to do anything and everything to make things easier for Herbie. With the slowest boy at the front of the line, if Herbie move...
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...
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
Ignoring the reality of trade-offs is a terrible strategy for organizations. It turns out to be a terrible strategy for people as well.
Every second spent worrying about a past or future moment distracts us from what is important in the here and now.
Cuando tratamos de hacerlo todo y tenerlo todo, nos encontramos haciendo concesiones en los márgenes que nunca asumiríamos como nuestra estrategia intencional.
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...
A lead contains the why, what, when , and who of the piece.
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.
When we start small and reward progress, we end up achieving more than when we set big, lofty, and often impossible goals. And as a bonus, the act of positively reinforcing our successes allows us to...
This logic holds true in our personal lives as well. When we were newlyweds, Anna and I met someone who had, as far as we could tell, an amazing marriage and family. We wanted to learn from him, so we...
The way of the Essentialist means living by design, not by default. Instead of making choices reactively, the Essentialist deliberately distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many, eliminates th...