Focus Your Life with Essentialism 

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

Greg McKeown

By John Millen

Over the past year, I’ve worked hard to focus only on things that really mattered in my life and business. It’s not been easy. 

In a world that bombards us with choices and opportunities, trying to focus on real priorities can be challenging.

But throughout this year I’ve made a lot of progress with the help of this book: Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. 

Essentialism is a mindset that encourages us to discern what truly matters and eliminate the non-essential. It challenges the prevailing notion that we can and should do it all. 

Getting the right things done

“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done,” McKeown says. “The way of the Essentialist is the relentless pursuit of less but better. It doesn’t mean occasionally giving a nod to the principle. It means pursuing it in a disciplined way.”

In a society that mostly glorifies busyness and multitasking, embracing essentialism requires a paradigm shift. It challenges us to make deliberate choices to channel our time, energy and resources toward activities that align with our highest priorities.

McKeown outlines a three-step process that asks us to explore our choices and goals, eliminate the unnecessary and execute on our true priorities.

To get you started, here are six practical tips for you to begin using essentialism in your life: 

1. Define your essential intent

Start by clarifying your purpose and identifying your core values. What is truly important to you? What are your long-term goals? Understanding your essential intent provides a compass to guide your decisions and actions.

McKeown has a few useful phrases to help focus your mindset and approach: 

"I choose to" 

"Only a few things really matter" 

and "I can do anything but not everything"

2. Learn to say “no” more often

Most of us get pulled into doing things we don’t want to do, or that don’t align with our real priorities. 

That’s why one of the cornerstones of essentialism is the ability to say "no" gracefully. You’re being asked to evaluate opportunities and commitments against your essential intent.

With this in mind, this year my mantra for accepting client work or participating in activities has been, either I say, “hell, yes” because I really want this, or it’s a “no.”  

I realize that not everyone has the opportunity to use this approach most of the time, but I’ll tell you that you have more opportunity than you think to say “no.” 

If something doesn't align with your priorities, declining it is not a rejection; it's a strategic choice to protect your time and energy. You can certainly find a socially acceptable way of declining opportunities.

One of the simple sentences I use: “I just have a lot of commitments right now, so I’m going to have to pass this time. Thanks for thinking of me.” 

You’re welcome.

3. Prioritize ruthlessly

The 80/20 principle, also known as the Pareto Principle, notes that 80 percent of our results come from 20 percent of our efforts. You can apply this principle to your life by identifying and focusing on the tasks and activities that yield the most significant results. 

If you can find just one project at a time in business and one in your personal life and focus on those to completion you’ll find better results and more satisfaction.

Prioritize the most important tasks, and let go of the rest. 

As someone who used to respond to everything, I learned a valuable technique you should try: don’t ignore a request at work or in life, but give it some time to mature by not answering right away. At least half of the time you’ll find that the issue was resolved without your involvement or everyone forgot about it because it wasn’t that important.

4. Create buffer zones

Essentialism doesn't mean filling every moment with productive tasks. Allow for buffer zones in your schedule to recharge and reflect. 

These moments of stillness can enhance your ability to make thoughtful, intentional decisions. This could be 15 minutes in the morning, mid-day or evening. Just put down your phone and sit quietly reflecting on what really matters, maybe even write these thoughts in a notebook or note file on your phone.

Just these buffer-periods alone are game changers for living a more satisfying life.

5. Eliminate decision fatigue

Simplify your daily choices by reducing decision fatigue. Adopt routines and rituals for tasks that don't require extensive mental effort, allowing you to reserve your cognitive resources for more critical decisions.

The late Steve Jobs was known for wearing his black turtleneck and jeans every day. Jobs said his personal uniform eliminated his first decision of the day and saved his mental energy for his work at Apple.

You don’t have to be that extreme but think of areas where there is friction in your life and make decisions to streamline. It could be prepping your meals, laying out your workout gear or choosing your clothes the night before.

6. Regularly review and reflect

Your life is dynamic, and priorities shift. Regularly review your focus and activities to ensure they remain aligned with your essential intent. 

Reflect on what is working and what can be improved, adjusting your course as needed.

In a world saturated with distractions and choices, essentialism provides a path to clarity, purpose and fulfillment. 

By adopting this mindset in your personal and professional life, you can declutter the non-essential, allowing the essential to shine through.