“When it comes to living, there’s no getting out alive. But books can help us survive…by passing on what is most important about being human before we perish.” — The Wall Street Journal Books, books, books! If only we could live forever and read all … [Read more...]
Essentialism Blog Posts
Articles about essentialism, being an essentialist, the Essentialism book by Greg McKeown, essentialism philosophy, and more.
Life Purpose: “The Crossroads of Should and Must” by Elle Luna (Book Summary)
"All too often, we feel that we are not living the fullness of our lives because we are not expressing the fullness of our gifts." — Elle Luna I have NO idea how I didn't stumble across Elle Luna's viral blog post or book during my existential … [Read more...]
An Intro to Effective Altruism & How to Do the Most Good in Your Life
"Effective altruism — efforts that actually help people rather than making you feel good or helping you show off — is one of the great new ideas of the 21st century." — Steven Pinker I first came across the effective altruism movement during my … [Read more...]
7 Unbusy Tips for the Daily Work Grind (Reader Q&A)
After my previous post, Good Busyness? A Full Life vs A Busy Life, I received a reader email with some thoughts and questions. With the reader's permission (let's call her Sue), I thought this would be an interesting and insightful look into the … [Read more...]
Slow Hack 007: Say “NO” Often to Say “YES” to What Matters
This is one of the most important slow hacks I'll ever write. Everyone and everything — every person in your life, company, brand, advertiser, product, service, you name it — wants a piece of your time. The pieces of time requested of you have no … [Read more...]
Slow Hack 006: Create a Daily Routine with Calendar Time Blocking
I really think I've tried just about every productivity and to-do list tip, trick, hack, and app. Trying to make a day seem more like a day and a half. In the past, I definitely fell into the societal belief that more is better. But, no matter our … [Read more...]
Forget “How-To” — “When” by Daniel Pink is a “When-To” Book (Book Summary)
I devoured Daniel Pink's new book When in just a few sittings. It's an eye-opening and quick read. And, it couldn't have come at a more opportune time because I have some BIG NEWS to share. Yesterday marked the end (at least for now) of a a 10+ … [Read more...]
You can’t do ALL the Life Hacks, and that’s OK
A recent Zen Habits excerpt by Leo Babauta inspired this post: It’s something most of us deal with every day, often without realizing it’s there: a feeling of time scarcity. We know it well: the feeling of having too much to do and not enough time … [Read more...]
Ikigai: The Japanese Purpose or “Reason for Being”
Looking for a book summary of Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles? You can find that Ikigai book summary here. I've read and personally explored a lot about purpose over the last few years. … [Read more...]
Slow Hack 003: Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? (5 Whys)
Ask "Why?" 5 Times • This slow living hack is easy to explain but difficult to implement (especially consistently). Asking "Why?" five times is a technique to help you get to the root cause of a problem. Simple as that! The origin of the … [Read more...]
