Will I love Essentialism?

This book gave language to something I had long practiced intuitively: doing less, but better. McKeown’s concept of “the disciplined pursuit of less” is critical in a world where distractions are disguised as opportunities. It reminds us that focus isn’t just a tactic—it’s a strategy.

I often recommend this book to leaders and individuals who feel overwhelmed and are struggling to regain control of their time.

I loved this book because it connected the idea of having priorities with the concept of criteria; put simply, the way to evaluate how important given priorities actually are. Criteria is a slippery, ephemeral topic. So, by helping me easily understand how to discern whether a potential priority is more versus less important, the author cut to the heart of why prioritization is so dang hard. But he did so in a way that makes it accessible and easy to understand.

The other thing I liked about this book is that it framed the topic of prioritization as a philosophy… show more.

I am a person who always has more ideas of things I could be doing than I could ever possibly have time for. I love and appreciate this book for a simple reason: it reminds me that most things on my list aren’t all that critical, and there are only a few things I can do that will really help me achieve my goals.

This is another book that is mostly about prioritization and identifying what is truly important, and it is incredibly useful when I am feeling overwhelmed. I recently re-read it and took notes on it, and again… show more.

I connected deeply with this book and the author’s powerful story about choosing a meeting over the birth of his child. At first, it seemed extreme, but then I realized how often I prioritized work over my husband in the past.

His message is clear: true productivity means being ruthless about what’s essential. His argument that productive people are ruthless at removing and finding what's essential is a writer-downer for many. I liked his language, arguments, and hope for the future of corporate America.

Greg McKeown's Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less is more than a book; it's a life-altering philosophy.

As someone brimming with creative energy and ideas, I found myself often lost in a sea of projects, losing sight of my true goals. This book was a revelation. It adeptly distinguishes between essentialist and non-essentialist mindsets, compelling you to evaluate your intentions and commitments.

Through its teachings, I've learned to eliminate non-essential projects, focusing only on what truly aligns with my core objectives. It's a must-read for anyone looking to declutter their life and mind, ensuring that every action taken is a… show more.

I am a practicing Zen Buddhist. Every year, I spend a week in silence, and it influences how I see the world.

This book is incredible at defining what is essential. It’s not about minimalism, or maximalism; it’s about the essentials. As Dieter Rams is quoted in the book, “less but better.”

I’m not a great fan of self-help tomes, but this one spoke to me.

I’m a sucker for saying ‘yes,’ which always leaves me with too much on my plate and not enough time to focus on the things I really love.

Building a better future is about focus, and Essentialism is a great guide to focusing on those things that will really make a difference in your life.

In our world of 24/7 connectivity and overly busy lives, Greg McKeown provides the key to happiness and success; decide what you want to achieve (i.e., what’s essential to you), and then focus all of your energy on that while tuning out other distractions. As someone who tries to “do it all,” this book helped me understand how to be strategic in how I spend my time.

This book is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt stretched too thin, who has said yes when wanting to say no, or who has felt the frustration of having precious time… show more.

A major component of our burnout is that we’ve implicitly accepted the “more, faster, better, stronger” paradigm of productivity and are continually committing to more because we can. Until we can’t, that is. Essentialism gets us off the maximization bus and instead has us focus on fewer things that matter more.

As startup founders, we are often trying to do too much. By spreading ourselves thin, we lose. I love this book because McKeown provides a selective criteria framework for making decisions about what is important and essential -- decisions that any founder has to make on a daily, if not hourly, basis.