In this book extract
* Do less. Get more done
* A lack of limits creates chaos
* Focus comes from success
* Learn to say no
“Going from a limitless life that's overwhelming and not very effective to a life with limits, focus and power is an incredible transformation.” - Leo Babauta, The Power of Less
The next time you're sitting at a red light, note how many of the drivers around you are talking on cellphones or text messaging. Do your co-workers scurry about, occasionally pausing to converse, even though they're clearly preoccupied? Most people seem resigned to living in the fast lane, where stress and multitasking are unavoidable realities.
Not Leo Babauta, even though he is the father of six children. Babauta believes you can stop the insanity by simplifying your life. His strategy for restoring order is based on six productivity principles, starting with setting limits, since it's impossible to do everything. If you examine your core beliefs, values and goals, Babauta says you can begin trimming away things that complicate your life and focus on what's really important (even if a three-item main project list seems a little short to you). Although the author does not break new ground, his suggestions and ideas are reassuring and helpful. Plus, it's nice to know that someone has conquered the daily chaos.
Leo Babauta's The Power of Less shows people in an increasingly cluttered world how to streamline their lives by identifying and focusing on the essential, and eliminating the unnecessary. The result is a freedom from everyday clutter that enables productivity by showing people how to focus on accomplishing goals that can change their life for the better. The book shows readers how to break any goal down into manageable tasks; focus on only a few tasks at a time; create new and productive habits; and increase efficiencies.
“You just have to eliminate everything that's not essential.” - Leo Babauta, The Power of Less
Book Extract: The Power of Less by Leo Babauta
Why less is more
Many people focus on time management to beat the hectic pace of modern life. You may think you can fit more into a 24-hour day, but that approach never yields satisfactory results. You inevitably will get overstressed and will spend too much time performing relatively unimportant tasks. Living a more sensible life means setting limits and focusing on essential things. Follow the six principles of “simple productivity”:
1. Set limitations
Limitations are the cure to feeling beleaguered and overwhelmed. The key is determining which goals, obligations or responsibilities influence your life the most so you can focus on them. Ask if a work assignment significantly affects your job or career, or has an impact on your life a month or two from now. Living without limits may seem attractive, but it actually creates chaos. Choosing among five flavours of ice cream is easier than selecting from 50. Limits allow you to narrow your options and concentrate your energy. Setting boundaries can work in any area of your life, but it is particularly effective in the workplace. Many people feel inundated with e-mail, phone calls, projects, meetings and responsibilities. Establishing limits, such as checking your e-mail two times a day instead of forty, may feel awkward at first, but once it becomes a habit, you'll find that aspect of your life more manageable.
“Anytime you find yourself procrastinating on an important task, see if you can break it into something smaller.” - Leo Babauta, The Power of Less
2. Choose the essential
Defining the essentials in your life requires careful self-examination of these components:
* Principles - Consider your values, morals and ethics. Most people live their lives according to a specific set of core beliefs.
* Objectives - Zeroing in on short- and long-term goals helps you decide whether your specific actions are moving you in the right direction.
* Priorities - What are your main personal and professional concerns? What is really important?
* Consequences - At home and in the office, evaluate the effects of your decisions and behaviours. Some things have more impact than others.
* Wishes vs requirements - Do you really need those expensive sneakers? Much of what you think you want is nonessential.
3. Simplify
Most people can name at least 10 goals they'd like to realise in the next few years, but tackling them all at once will likely guarantee failure. Achieving worthwhile objectives requires commitment, concentration and effort. So choose a single aspiration you can reach in six to 12 months and break it down into “sub goals”. For example, if you want to attend grad school, you first need to figure out what you want to study. Determine which schools offer the appropriate curriculum. Creating a step-by-step plan makes the process of attaining a goal more manageable.
Most people seem resigned to living in the fast lane, where stress and multitasking are unavoidable realities.
Mandy de Waal, ITWeb contributor
Use a “Simple Projects List” to handle daily or short-term obligations. List every project in your life. Pick the top three. Put the rest on a waiting list. Focus on completing these three items, so you get things done instead of becoming bogged down. Don't tolerate distractions. If your co-workers are holding up a project or you're awaiting management input, switch to another project on your list. Break your projects down into tasks. Carrying out tasks daily moves you closer to completion.
Ideally, you would control your projects list, but often your boss is the decision-maker.
Share your strategy and explain its benefits. In many instances, your boss will allow you to implement your plan. If not, ask him or her to select the projects you should focus on, since - like everyone else - you have limited time. If your boss won't accept that reality, it may be time to look for another job.
4. Focus
To succeed at work or to live a meaningful life, you must cultivate the ability to focus. Willpower is important, but it's not enough if you cannot stay on task. Obsessing about the past or worrying about the future disrupts your ability to concentrate on the present, the only thing you can control. Maintain a positive outlook; negative thoughts can defeat you and knock you off track.
The frantic pace of modern-day society has made multitasking a way of life. People talk on their cellphones while driving. Your boss gives you two new priority assignments when you're in the middle of working on another one. Juggling three or four balls at once may be commonplace now, but it's neither healthy nor productive. Focus on one thing at a time. Identify your most important task at work each morning and make sure you do it. If possible, don't answer your phone, surf the Internet or read your e-mail. Learn to discipline yourself. Be aware of your thought patterns. If you find that you are becoming distracted or discouraged, get up and take a walk or have a healthy snack. Then come back with renewed vigour and focus. Celebrate your successes.
About the author: Leo Babauta is the author of The Power of Less and the creator and blogger at Zen Habits, a Top 100 blog with 80 000 subscribers - one of the top productivity and simplicity blogs on the Internet. Babauta is considered by many to be one of the leading experts on productivity and simplicity, and has also written the top-selling productivity e-book in history: Zen To Done: The Ultimate Simple Productivity System. It has sold thousands of copies and has reached tens of thousands of readers.
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The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential
By Leo Babauta
Hardback: 192 pages
EAN: 9781401309701
Publication Date: 01 January 2009
Publisher: Hyperion
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