[Reading Notes] Essentialism — Live Essentially and Take Back Control of Your Life

Essentialism Author: Greg McKeown Translator: Cai-Ni Zhan

One-sentence summary: Say no to anything you don't absolutely love, apply the 80/20 rule, live essentially, and take back control of your life

I recently finished running a startup forum event and felt my life needed to be healthier and more regular. I didn't want to keep being busy without getting anywhere. That's when I came across Essentialism, and I immediately knew it was the book I needed most right now. So I decided to give it a chance — and it turned my life around.

The core concept of Essentialism is actually very simple: living essentially. And how do you do that? Say no to anything you don't absolutely love.

There you go — you've finished the book. The core concept of Essentialism really is that simple, "living essentially", and the remaining two hundred-plus pages exist to support this concept and show you how to put a simple life into practice.

A summary this lean is itself a demonstration of the 80/20 rule (the Pareto principle).

Yes — even though every paragraph in the book stays on topic, I think it has way too many words. If you want to read it, my personal advice is to just read the highlights. Where are they? The images, the inverted black pages, the bold text, and the "Essentialist vs. Non-Essentialist" table found in every chapter. If you're short on time, these parts are enough.

Here's a quick look at the book's structure. Essentialism is divided into four parts:

• Essence: What is the core mindset of an Essentialist? Knowing how to make trade-offs
• Explore: What are the criteria for those trade-offs? What is the 20% that benefits you the most?
• Eliminate: Once you've found your 20%, how do you cut out the less important 80%?
• Execute: Finally, how do you effectively execute on that most important 20%?

After finishing the book, I immediately started living essentially. I turned down some gatherings I wasn't that into, and stopped eagerly filling my calendar with new activities — stepping away from a life that looks full but actually gets you nothing.

I've only just started, but I can already feel a clear improvement in my quality of life. I'm starting to take back control of my life — and I'm really not joking about this.

"If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will."

If you want a better quality of life, want to stop being busy without getting anywhere, and want to live a more productive life, I think Essentialism is a great place to start.