How can we make it easier to get the right things done?

Essentialism by Greg McKeown is one of my favorite GO TO books. I had the chance to get and debate it during an Offsite at work and its impact on my life can’t be overstated. I read it every January to remind me to focus on what’s really important NOW, besides sharing new insights to friends and students during my Soft Skills Classes.

When I knew Effortless, the following book by McKeown would be launched, I've pre ordered it immediately and the countdown just started... Whereas Essentialism is about choosing where to focus your energy, Effortless is about how you structure your work to make the most essential activities the easiest ones to achieve.

The problem is that the complexity of modern life has created a false dichotomy between things that are "essential and hard," and things that are "easy and trivial."

Here goes a high level summary and my key takeaways on each Part of the book:

Part I: Effortless State

The Effortless State is an experience many of us have had when we are physically rested, emotionally unburdened, and mentally energized. We are completely aware, alert, present and able to focus on what matters most with ease.

INVERT - What If This Could Be Easy?

Instead of asking, “Why is this so hard?,” invert the question by asking, “What if this could be easy?” Challenge the assumption that the “right” way is, inevitably, the harder one. Make the impossible possible by finding an indirect approach. When faced with work that feels overwhelming, ask, “How am I making this harder than it needs to be?”

ENJOY - What If This Could Be Fun? 

Accept that work and play can co-exist. Turn tedious tasks into meaningful rituals. Our rituals are habits with a soul. Allow laughter and fun to lighten more of your moments.

RELEASE - The Power Of Letting Go

Focus on what you have. Let go of emotional burdens you don’t need to keep carrying. Remember: When you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have. When you focus on what you have, you get what you lack.

REST - The Art of Doing Nothing

Relaxing is a responsibility. Discover the art of doing nothing. Do not do more today than you can completely recover from by tomorrow. 

NOTICE - How To See Clearly

Achieve a state of heightened awareness by harnessing the power of presence. Train your brain to focus on the important and ignore the irrelevant. To see others more clearly, set aside your opinions, advice, and judgment, and put their truth above your own.

Part II: Effortless Action

Effortless Action means accomplishing more by trying less. You stop procrastinating and take the first obvious step. You arrive at the point of completion without overthinking. You overachieve without overexerting. Past a certain point, more effort doesn’t produce better performance. It sabotages our performance. 

DEFINE - What “Done” Looks Like

To get started on an essential project, first define what “done” looks like. Establish clear conditions for completion, get there, then stop. Take sixty seconds to focus on your desired outcome. Write a “Done for the Day” list. Limit it to items that would constitute meaningful progress.

START – The First Obvious Action

Make the first action the most obvious one. Break the first obvious action down into the tiniest, concrete step. Then name it. Gain maximum learning from minimal viable effort. Start with a ten-minute microburst of focused activity to boost motivation and energy.

SIMPLIFY – Start With Zero

To simplify the process, don’t simplify the steps: simply remove them. Recognize that not everything requires you to go the extra mile. Maximize the steps not taken. Measure progress in the tiniest amount of increments.

PROGRESS – The Courage to Be Rubbish

When you start a project, start with rubbish. Adopt a “zero-draft” approach and just put some words, any words, on the page. Fail cheaply: make learning-sized mistakes. Protect your progress from the harsh critic in your head.

PACE – Slow The Smooth. Smooth Is Fast

Set an effortless pace: slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Reject the false economy of “powering through.” Create the right range: I will never do less than X, never more than Y. Recognize that not all progress is created equal.

Part III: Effortless Results

You’ve continued to cultivate your Effortless State. You’ve started to take Effortless Action with clarity of objective, tiny, obvious first steps, and a consistent pace. You are achieving the results you want, more easily. 

But now you want those results to continue to flow to you, again and again, with as little additional effort as possible. You are ready to achieve Effortless Results.

LEARN – Leverage The Best Of What Others Know

Learn principles, not just facts and methods. Understand first principles deeply and then apply them again and again. Knowledge may open the door to an opportunity, but unique knowledge produces perpetual opportunities.

LIFT – Harness The Strength Of Ten

Use teaching as a lever to harness the strength of ten. Achieve far-reaching impact by teaching others to teach. Live what you teach, and notice how much you learn. Tell stories that are easily understood and repeated.

AUTOMATE – Do It Once And Never Again

Free up space in your brain by automating as many essential tasks as possible. Use checklists to get it right every time, without having to rely on memory. Seek single choices that eliminate future decisions. Take the high-tech path for the essential and the low-tech path for the nonessential.

TRUST – The Engine Of High-Leverage Teams

Leverage trust as the engine oil of frictionless and high-functioning teams. Make the right hire once, and it will continue to produce results again and again. Follow the Three I’s Rule: hire people with integrity, intelligence, and initiative. Design high-trust agreements to clarify results, roles, rules, resources, and rewards.

PREVENT – Solve The Problem Before It Happens

Don’t just manage the problem. Solve it before it happens. Seek simple actions today that can prevent complications tomorrow. Invest two minutes of effort once to end recurring frustrations. Catch mistakes before they happen; measure twice, so you only have to cut once.

By making the toughest tasks just a little bit easier, we can accomplish MORE of what matters with LESS effort and MORE joy . ???? ??