“Essentialism” by Greg McKeown (personal notes)

Here are my notes on Essentialism by Greg McKeown.

• Make clear decisions and commit, in order to prevent constantly questioning yourself (decision fatigue). (× Clear Thinking (rules to prevent decision fatigue))
  • Fewer decisions — better made.
• Reduce priorities. If everything is a priority, nothing is. You cannot have five priorities going on at once. For most of history, ‘priority’ was used exclusively in the singular.
  • Focus yields results. Instead of spreading oneself too thin and making a bit of progress if many directions; concert your efforts and make significant progress in one direction. “The success that results from making a consistent set of choices.” Less but better.
• “Shift the ratio of activity to meaning” (× busy-work) (× OKRs (output instead of activity); Naval (be paid for your output, not your input))
• If you don’t know what’s the most important, then the most important is to figure it out.

• Endowment effect — we value things we own more than they are worth.
  • “If I didn’t own this, how much would I pay for it?”, to reduce possessions. (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up; The Laws of Simplicity (reducing)).
  • “If I wasn’t involved in this project, how hard would I work to get on it?” The endowment effect happens for projects we own as well (clinging to them). Uncommit from non-essential projects you are responsible for.
• Sunk-cost bias: continuing down the path because you’ve invested a lot in it already — even though you should ditch it (e.g. personal projects).
• Zero-based budgeting: at the beginning of a new period, review expense items individually — rather than starting off from last period’s budget. (blank slate, clean slate) (prevents inertia effect, status quo bias.)
  • Zero-based life review: periodically questioning all of your habits, projects, use of your time and of your energy.
  • Zero-based scheduling: “If I didn’t have this commitment, how much would I want it?” (applied ot one’s calendar)
• Reverse pilot: remove something suspected unessential, see if there is a (negative) response. If not, congratulations, you’ve removed something unessential. (to prevent status quo bias)
• External advice helps with getting untrapped from the endowment effect.

• You can always choose — even if you cannot control the options. Deciding is an action. If you don’t decide, someone else will do it for you (or your past self will (× Debt)). (× At the Existentialist Café; Frankl) Choices vs options. “Choose choice, in every area of your life.” (intentionality) (× Clear Thinking; Psycho-Cybernetics (tackle your issues))

• Don’t decide on something just because the ideal option isn’t there yet. Don’t choose an option because it’s the least bad. Wait out the ideal option ­— decline other options in the meantime. Be comfortable with the void; make space (for the ideal option). (× hiring: the cost of a bad hire is higher than being one staff short)
• Use explicit and NARROW criteria. “Would that person LOVE working here? Would we LOVE working with that person?” (“Is this a “fuck yes”?” ­× Art of Gathering (no invites by obligation); Never Split the Difference (enthusiastic acquiescence — “that’s right”))
  • “We might never have gone after it, but now it is so easy to get it that we consider it.” (× endowment effect (prizing possessions more, keeping them “by default”, because of ease)) “If I didn’t have this opportunity, what would I be willing to do to acquire it?”

• Having clarity (on your priority) eases saying no. (“When you have nothing to protect…”) We can say no and feel bad for a few minutes; or say yes, feels good for a few minutes, and feel bad for weeks or months.
• No by default — instead of yes by default. Reject everything except the essential.
  • “What are the trade-offs?” (to accepting this invite, taking on this project) — what am I sacrificing for it? (× Clear Thinking (what is the cost of choosing this?))
    • Remembering the trade-off helps you say “no” more easily.
  • If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.
  • “Their problem is not your problem.”
• Graceful no’s (declining adroitly)
  • A clear “no” is better than a vague “yes” or a noncommittal response.
  • “No, but…“ (let’s meet up after my exam!) (“you are welcome to … ; I am willing to …” — negotiating (a.k.a. “no, but this much I can do for you”))
  • Defer response: “Let me check my calendar and get back to you”
  • E-mail bouncebacks: “I’m in Monk Mode writing my book until the end of the month.”
  • (To a superior) “Yes, what should I de-prioritize?”
    • Applied to one’s life: if I add this activity, what do I decide to ditch? If I take on this project, what do I decide to de-prioritize?
  • Setting rules (known to everyone) in advance (≠ yes man)

• Take time off to reflect; re-prioritize. ≠ Being too busy to question what you’re busy with. Schedule “time off”, review-time, daydreaming-time.
  • Review your journaling month and identify trends, patterns. Find the headline of the period — see the big picture; don’t get lost in the details.
• Monthly team meeting for brainstorming and agreeing on priorities. Clear direction. (× Clear Thinking (agreeing on the problem first))
  • Let each person have a clear responsibility and a single goal / top priority (PayPal) (× Measure What Matters (accountability); Shop Class as Soulcraft (communal ownership); Shop Class as Soulcraft (anarchy is irresponsibility); Naval (reputation); The Design of Everyday Things (less ownership means less vigilance); The Toyota Way (single-point accountability)). Check in often (gemba); help remove roadblocks to the people. “What obstacles or bottlenecks are holding you back from achieving X, and how can I help remove these?”
• Express what you’re trying to achieve and what’s important for you in the project when teaming up to work together. Agree on the direction before starting. (× The Art of Gathering (communicate your reasons); × Clear Thinking (agreeing on the problem first)) “Let’s just agree on what we want to achieve. Here are a couple of things that really matter to me…”

• Remove constraints first — systematic things that hamper your progress. First remove blocks & brakes; then double in on accelerators (× Come As You Are, Sex Talks: first reduce turn-offs, then double in on turn-ons) (× The Toyota Way (work clean, then work fast); The Toyota Way (reducing waste, then improving processes by bursts (kaizen); The Toyota Way (highlight the problem through continuous flow)) & Psychedelics Revealing (amplify issues to have to confront them))
  • “What is the “slowest hiker” in your job or your life? What is the obstacle that is keeping you back from achieving what really matters to you?” (80/20)
  • “Making a one-time investment in removing obstacles (early)” (group retreats, therapy, etc.)

• Prepare early. Pack a few days ahead; make buffers. (× Clear Thinking (2x margin of safety))
  • “What is the minimal amount I could do right now to prepare? (for an upcoming goal or deadline).

• Two questions for Editing: “Are you saying what you want to say? & “Are you saying it as clearly and concisely as possible?” (i.e. accuracy & precision) (× Creative Being)
• An Editor doesn’t do what the director tells them to do, but what the director really wants.

• “When we play, we are engaged in the purest expression of our humanity, the truest expression of our individuality.” (× Come As You Are (play disarms); Come As You Are (turning sex into play); Improvise (play-self meeting other play-self); Improvise (“When we play, we we simply live in a reality until it stops being useful or fun.”): Improvise (adults are atrophied children; need to re-learn the art of play) )
  • Play helps us challenge old assumptions. Play lets us explore. (× Improvise (play into exploration); Sex Talks)
  • Play lets us come up with new stories.
  • You cannot be playful and tense at the same time.

• Knowing the boundaries frees you to play in all of the space. Schoolchildren only playing in a small area because of a nearby road — a fence is put up — they now play in the whole area and know they’re safe there. By knowing the boundaries, we can live closer to the edges, and bigger. Test the boundaries.

• Protect the asset. You are the tool for making your highest contribution to the world. Invest in yourself.

• Control the behaviour of your children by creating an economy (weekly token allowance, to be traded either for money or screen time; × Debt (creating an economy))

• Automatic mode. Cue/Action/Reward. The cue tells the brain to go to automatic mode. (× Psycho-Cybernetics; deliberate beliefs; mental rehearsal).
  • To change a routine, change the cue. Don’t focus on the behaviour but focus on the cue.

• Regrets of the dying: “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” (× All About Love (death); Clear Thinking (memento mori); Art of Gathering (worrying about things that did not matter))
• Visit cemeteries around the world as you travel — keeps your mortality top-of-mind.