“The Power of Less” by Leo Babauta is extremely relevant for today’s age of buzz words and stress. The book crafts a beautifu
l blueprint for taking your life from a clutter, noise and unnecessary work to one filled with serenity and productivity. From streamlining your e-mail to managing your daily tasks to developing specific steps to achieve your goals, The Power of Less is the user manual to the work life everyone deserves.
Over the course of the last couple months I’ve been a productivity junky (conducting case studies, reading various books, subscribing to the “lifestyle design blogs”). After reading Tim Ferriss’ “4HWW” and David Allen’s “Getting Things Done,” I found both books to be significant pieces of work. The only problem was that they are on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. One shows you how to craft a new lifestyle, the other instructs the reader how to manage your current lifestyle.
I thought, “wouldn’t it be great if there was a book that captured significant elements of the two?”
Well there is: The Power of Less
Admittedly, I was bummed out when reading The Power of Less. In my mind, I was contemplating writing a book on simplicity. I wanted to combine new-age productivity with age old wisdom. I don’t have to anymore. Leo said everything I wanted to say, and then some.
What’s great about Leo’s book is that it’s enjoyable to read. What do I mean? Many productivity books give you the feeling of angst. As you’re reading, you think about your “To-Do” list. You end up reading in short bursts–unable to actually take in the information being provided. The Power of Less has the exact opposite effect. You feel at ease reading it. And after finishing the book, you get a sense that you’ve changed somehow. You focus on quality, and in the process, rid yourself of stress.
His book is broken down into two sections: “The Principles” and “In Practice”
The Principles consist of the following chapters:
- Why Less Is Powerful
- The Art of Setting Limits
- Choosing the Essential, and Simplifying
- Simple Focus
- Create New Habits, and the Power of Less Challenge
- Start Small
In Practice contains the following chapters:
- Simple Goals and Projects
- Simple Tasks
- Simple Time Management
- Simple E-mail
- Simple Internet
- Simple Filing
- Simple Commitments
- Simple Daily Routine
- Declutter Your Work Space
- Slow Down
- Simple Health and Fitness
- On Motivation
One of the biggest “take-aways” of Leo’s work is his emphasis on starting with the smallest task/goal/habit. Once mastering that small item, move onto another small one. His reasoning revolves around the fact that if we have a large quantity of goals, we often fail to accomplish many and give up. By focusing on just one, it allows you to actually succeed.
I’m now going to share with you some of my favorite sections and lessons within the book:
- Simplicity boils down to two steps: First, Identify the essential, Second, Eliminate the rest.
- Another thing I really like about Leo’s work is that it’s coming from someone who faces the same challenges many of us experience. It’s easy to do anything if you’re single without any kids. It’s an entirely different challenge if you have a family to feed. Leo’s managed to implement his lifestyle while still supporting “six beautiful kids.”
- The following principles exist throughout The Power of Less:
1. Set Limitations
2. Choose the essential
3. Simplify
4. Focus
5. Create habits
6. Start small
- Great excerpt: “Limitless is weak. Learn to focus yourself with limits, and you’ll increase your strength.”
- Benefits of Limits:
1. It focuses you. Instead of diluting yourself, you focus your energy on a smaller number of things.
2. It simplifies things. Your life becomes more manageable and less stressful.
3. It helps you achieve. Many times, when we are spread too thin, we only make incremental progress on important projects and goals.
4. It shows others that your time is important.
5. It makes you more effective.
- Where you should start setting limits:
1. E-mail
2. Daily tasks
3. The amount of time spent on the phone
4. The number of projects you have on your plate
5. The number of blogs or other projects you subscribe to
6. The amount of time you spend reading on the Internet
7. The number of things on top of your desk
- Think about the following sentence–it’s so simple, yet so profoundly true: “Creating new habits is the secret to making lasting changes that will actually improve your life.”
Bottom Line:
The Power of Less is one of those books that you’ll finish too fast and highlight too much. Every page is filled with pragmatic advice, prompting you to circle the section. When you’re done, you’ll find that almost every page is marked up. Yes, it’s that good.
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