My copy of Leo Babauta’s new book, The Power of Less, arrived Friday evening, and by late Friday I’d read it cover to cover. Now, on Sunday, I’m starting it again. It may be about “less”, but is contains more than my brain could take in with a single read.
Leo, the owner of the wildly popular ZenHabits blog, has written one of those classics that apply to both our business and personal lives. In brief, The Power of Less is a treatise on the small steps (see my blog post on the Kaizen way) we can take to simplify our lives and in the doing find far more joy and success than all of our manic behavior could produce.
The book begins with Leo’s own story of being an debt, overweight, smoking, workaholic who rarely saw his family. His life was chaotic and he never had time for the things and people he loves. (Sound familiar?) Then, he made the choice to simplify his life in small continuous ways; first he quit smoking by focusing all of his energy on that one goal.
Then, he attacked other goals, one at a time, like becoming a runner, eating healthier, starting a successful blog, and getting out of debt.
One by one the goals were met (and exceeded). Leo has run two marathons, has doubled his income, became a vegetarian, decluttered his home, lost 45 pounds, and spends quality time with his family. Today, Leo’s blog is one of the top 50 blogs in the world, with more than two million readers a month. If that doesn’t make you want to adopt his principles, nothing will!
The Six Principles of Simple Productivity
The Power of Less is divided into two sections; the first walks readers through the six principles of simple productivity:
- Set limitations
- Choose the essential
- Simplify
- Focus
- Create habits
- Start small
Part II details practical tips for implementing the six principles in key areas including e-mail, health, time management, filing, Internet, and decluttering your work space.
Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy
While the principles are simple, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re easy to implement. Anyone who has started a new habit (like a diet) knows that for sure. However, with small continuous improvement, the principles are achievable.
For example, Leo has weaned himself off e-mail to checking only twice a day. I probably check e-mail 100 times a day – - and just as a nutritionist wouldn’t ask us to cut out every unhealthy food in one day, they would encourage us to cut-back. For me, that would mean (first) KNOWING how many times a day I check e-mail, and then (second) cutting back a little, then a little more, and then a little more. Until I reach a point that e-mail doesn’t rule my existence.
The Principle of Choosing the Essential
While all of the principles serve as stepping stones to a life of more, the one that hangs me up the most is the principle of choosing the essential. And it’s a bugaboo that’s been with me life-long. As Leo says, once you know the essentials you’ll be in a position to eliminate the chaos of incoming information, commitments, and clutter.
Thankfully, the section on choosing the essential has a series of questions to help define what’s essential – and this is the section I’m currently re-reading – because it’s the most difficult for me. I know absolutely that once I have those essentials defined, the remaining principles will be far easier to integrate.
The reason this principle is so important to me is that in knowing the essentials, I’ll know which projects or tasks have the highest priority – because they’re the ones that will have the biggest impact on the essentials. For me, this is the key to having the life of what truly IS more.
Putting the Principles Into Action
As a life-long “clean desk” advocate, I was ahead of the game on the decluttering principle, but way behind on e-mail, Internet, commitments, and health.
Fortunately, simplifying these areas are a matter of making small continuous changes (the Kaizen way), instead of radical ones. For instance, one of the life issues discussed is making time for what we love. As a self-employed person, I get so caught in the flow of work that I forget what I really love.
However, once prompted by The Power of Less, I really thought about what I love – then I made a list, and one-by-one will begin implementing them in my life.(and being a true Kaizen-ista) will NOT try to take on all of them at once!) By the way, my list includes learning to kayak, to play the harmonica, and hiking.
A Perfect Time for a Perfect Book
As I wander the Internet, I hear over and over the desire for simplification. The entrepreneurs I know have all hit the wall at the same time – - they’re on information overload, have massive (and unattainable) to-do lists, poor health, wretched time management, cluttered desks and minds, and no fun.
If ever there was a time for The Power of Less, it’s now.
