Rating: Average
The Art of Less Doing blurb excerpt: At the peak of his career and success, Ari Meisel nearly killed himself from exhaustion and overwork. He had to make a choice: he could let his “success” destroy him physically and mentally, or he could find a better way to live. He spent the next few years redesigning his life from scratch. Ultimately he found a way to reduce his workload by 80%, while actually increasing results and success. Furthermore, he could spend time on what matters most: his family. This book describes his method.
My opinion: This was an average read for someone who has read extensively on the topic. There were some good points raised by the author but a lot of the recommendations were at a very high level with very few worked examples. I also got a strong sense that the book was designed to promote his outsourcing business. Kudos to him if it is, but it did impact the readability of the book.
Lessons from The Art Of Less Doing;
The initial question " What would you do if you only worked for 1 hour each day?
The answer to that question resulted in the development of the 3 step productivity framework:
Optimize
Automate
Outsource
*I added eliminate as the first step as there is a lot of time spent on unproductive tasks. Most things in life are not distributed equally, you must learn to identify the things that require the least amount of effort but yield the most results.
Data collection, self-analysis, and tracking are key to transformation.
Collect data by tracking your time, energy, and resources to identify patterns. Focus on one thing at a time. Eliminate multitasking and other unproductive behaviors. Implement the Pareto Principle (the 80/20 Rule). Focus on the things in your life that give you the highest return on investment
You can't optimize a behavior or activity until you first identify it and then understand it. Track a behavior will help you to understand it.
Steps to Less: There are many more than this, but these are the ones that resonate with me
Collect data by tracking your time, energy, and resources to identify patterns.
Focus on one thing at a time, eliminate multitasking and other unproductive behaviors.
Implement the 80/20 rule, focus on the things that give you the best return on investment.
Offload ideas and knowledge for safe storage and to free up brain space (think jotting down ideas into Evernote).
Implement the Pomodoro technique to maximize efficiency. Work in sprints, not marathons.
Identify your hour of peak productivity. This hour becomes a standing appointment. Respect it, optimize your environment for it, and never miss it.
Utilize downtime by churning through low focus tasks.
Implement the 3 "D" decision matrix: Delete, Defer or Deal with the task at hand.
Strive for ABD - always be done.
Identify and create a plan to offload 70% of the tasks you perform daily.
Relinquish control and experience freedom.
Establish productive habits.
Get in the zone by batching similar tasks together.
Create a filter on your email to move any email that has an "unsubscribe" option to a different folder.
IFTT.com If This Then That - a smart way to connect and optimize your various applications.
To-do lists are not productive, as a list often involves a number of items that you have no control over. So instead of focussing on what needs to be done, focus on when you can do certain things. (I have maintained a task list but have separated tasks into 2 groups, 1 in which I have complete control over and the other where I am waiting on other people.)
The Art Of Less Doing Quotes:
“Don't try and do the most possible, try and do the least necessary."
"We have not evolved biologically as quickly as we have technologically"
“If you have good habits, technology can make them better. If you have bad habits, it will intensify those habits.”
"Focus on the smallest action that will lead to the greatest outcome, anything other than that is wasteful."
"Recognize that sometimes the hurdle is you."
What Next:
If you're interested in this book, I recommend:
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