Essentialism, or removing the “trivial” tasks and focusing on the vital few to achieve effectiveness. What really does it mean and why is it important? And how does it help us in our daily lives?
ESSENTIALISM EXPLAINED
Wikipedia defines essentialism as the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity.
But this is not the entirety of the essentialism we’re talking about here – instead, we’re talking more about “Essentialism”, or focusing only on the “essentials”.
FIND WHERE YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE THE MOST
There’s a book called “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg Mckeown, and it talks about how you can fully design and take control of your life by doing only the things that are really “necessary” and dropping the trivial things that are not just taking your time but also unknown to you, distracting you from reaching your maximum potential by being able to make your highest contribution.
How do you know if as opposed to being an essentialist, you’re living as a non-essentialist? Well… let me ask you this question:
“Do you feel like you’re always BUSY, but when you look at your progress… they’re very little – so you know you’re not really PRODUCTIVE?”
BEING BUSY VS. BEING PRODUCTIVE
The key to success is not just working hard, but also working smart – and it’s the same as how being productive, not being busy, is the key!
But how do they differ?
Just put it this way: you can be busy with too many “unnecessary” things, but that doesn’t make you productive. You can be busy doing things that are all just trivial but when you look at them – they’re actually not taking you anywhere. Why?
BECAUSE PRODUCTIVITY IS NOT JUST ABOUT MANAGING YOUR TIME
Productivity is not just about time management alone – but also about how you spend your energy with the things you do.
Are you being efficient? Are you spending your energy wisely? What’s the use of spending your energy on too many things at once – but never reaching anywhere because you have not yet identified the most important ones where you can make your highest contribution?
ELIMINATE THE NONESSENTIALS
Let’s admit it, not everything is essential. Most people just feel a certain obligation to say yes to everything – which piles up their plate with too many nonessential things. But that can be turned around by saying NO, or by eliminating the nonessentials.
Take the late Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the first man who practiced the art of elimination. From being all busy running an empire, he decided to apply the art of elimination and started choosing his battles by considering only those that mattered most to him.
Don’t you think we must all do that? Let go of the unnecessary and focus on what is really important, to be able to make our highest level of contributions.
Now I know all these could sound overwhelming, that’s why I’ve listed down some tips you can start with!
Avoid Doing These Things To Be More Productive:
- Caring about what other people think.
Caring about what others think and say will bring you nowhere. Focus on what’s important – you and your improvement. You are not born to please anybody.
- Ignoring your ultradian rhythm.
Working 18-20 hours is not going to make you productive. Taking short but frequent breaks and remembering that rest is a vital part of the growth will. It’s time to break the cycle!
3. Putting off what’s most important.
When you put off important things, you do not get away from doing them – just delaying them. So, you’ll eventually have to do them but at that time, with much more pressure & stress due to procrastination/lack of time.
4. Checking your social media accounts every hour!
Social media can drain you very quickly and you won’t even notice the time passing when you get too hooked on it. Don’t be a mindless zombie and don’t let social media take too much of your precious time.
5. Saying “yes” to everything and everyone.
When you don’t set boundaries, people will constantly depend on you. When you don’t make decisions for yourself, somebody eventually will.
It’s time to put an end to betraying yourself by constantly saying yes and saving yourself from possible future chaos.
6. Comparing yourself to others.
In today’s digital world where almost everybody posts everything online, it’s a little hard not to compare for some or most people.
But remember, not everything you see online is real, and people will most of the time only post the good sides. Besides, you are not in competition with others, and our lives run at our own pace.
7. Seeking pleasure.
Instead of seeking pleasure, try to seek purpose. Not everything in life is meant to give us pleasure. Let’s try to welcome all types of feelings, as long as they align with our purpose. They are vital for our growth.
8. Checking your email incessantly.
Don’t be a hostage to your emails. Try to make it a point to log off from your email at specific points during your day.
9. Doing everything yourself.
Remember, it’s okay to ask for help. No man is an island… 😉
10. Trying to be perfect.
Don’t try to be perfect, nobody really is…. So go and cut yourself some slack, we are all just humans after all! 🙂
11. Being busy all the time.
Always remember to reflect on the things you have to do, and assess whether they’re really essential. Like the late Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, you too can choose your battles!
12. Saying “I can’t.”
Now in this one, you might be confused because I just mentioned that you at times need to learn to say no – so this applies to the things that are essential. If you see something as essential – but hard, instead of immediately saying you can’t, try first.
There is no harm in trying… and it’s better than ending up thinking about the “what ifs”.
13. Multitasking.
When you multitask, the possibility of losing focus is higher. Instead of multitasking, try setting out a routine to follow and do it one by one.
Besides… having too many things at once mostly lead to half-baked cookies.
14. Being so negative.
If you don’t like the way something is, ask yourself if there’s something you can do to change it. Constant complaining and negativity won’t fix any problem…
15. Being militant about eliminating distractions.
Go offline.
Log out, go to a quiet area, and try to focus only on completing your tasks. This way, you’ll lessen distractions and be more able to focus without the unnecessary “noise”.
16. Not working on your own agenda.
Remember how I said if you don’t decide for yourself, somebody else will? Well… it’s time you start working on your own agenda and not let someone else set the tone of your day. You can be in charge!
17. Visualizing or telling anyone your goals.
Try to keep your goals to yourself instead of going around and announcing them. Positive fantasies of success drain the energy out of ambition…
18. Running from your problems.
Grab the bull by the horns, and face your problems head-on!
And no, it won’t be easy, but this is what ultimately molds us into the person we are destined to be.
19. Trying to compete against everyone else.
Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you, or whether you think they’re doing better… Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
20. Being jealous of others.
Jealousy… or the art of counting somebody else’s blessings instead of focusing on yours.
What can help is reflecting also on the things that you have but they don’t, this way, you will realize that not everybody can have everything in this world, and you can make your peace with it.
21. Doing the same things over and over without taking a break.
If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes, you need to distance yourself and try to see the bigger picture to see things clearly.
22. Being anywhere but here
Be present! Put the phone down, turn it off, and look up. You will not know what you are missing in life if you are constantly attached to your phone.. 😉
GET HELP IF YOU NEED
If it feels hard to decide what you want to do on your own – get a mentor. Reach out if you need help. It is always important and there will always be things that you can support.
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To your success and keep smiling,
