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

- Canonical: https://easonchang.com/posts/less-but-better
- Date: 2016-03-17T08:20:00.000Z
- Language: en
- Translation: AI-assisted, from the zh-TW original

*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

![IMG_2342.JPG](https://i.imgur.com/P0nkaLj.jpg)

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.