Do you ever feel like your life is a treadmill? Like you’re constantly running, but you’re not really getting anywhere? Last week’s Simple Living Sunday theme was about the search for balance in our lives. This week, we follow that up with a look at essentialism and how applying its principles can improve your life.

I had never heard of essentialism until a few months ago when someone mentioned it in a comment on my post about extreme minimalism. Intrigued and wanting to learn more, I read the book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. It’s an excellent read, full of wisdom and practical tips to help you get off that treadmill and start living a more intentional life.

What if society encouraged us to reject what has been accurately described as doing things we detest, to buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like?

Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

This book inspired the tips and ideas in today’s post. But first, let’s recap the past week.

Three simple pleasures and highlights

Continuing my practice of celebrating the simple things in life, here are three simple pleasures and highlights of the last week.

• I took advantage of a couple of milder, sunny days this week to get out for nice, long walks. Now that the clocks have changed, it will be light in the evenings so I’ll be able to get out and walk after dinner.
• My daughter Laura, who is graduating from college this spring, found an apartment with a couple of friends. It’s exciting—and a little scary—to see her making plans for her future.
• I discovered a new YouTube workout channel thanks to Kim from Words on a Page. GrowWithJo has a huge assortment of videos that can be done in small spaces with no equipment. The first one I tried was this 20-minute morning workout routine. In 20 minutes, I racked up 2,500 steps and burned 158 calories. It’s awesome!

This week’s simple living focus: Essentialism

The world puts constant pressure on us to do more, be more, and have more. As we emerge from the pandemic restrictions, I can feel the level of busyness picking up. If we ever needed essentialism, it’s right now.

The basic premise behind essentialism is simple but it makes so much sense. It’s about shifting your mindset to “Less but better.” The core mindset of an essentialist favours:

• “I choose to” instead of “I have to”
• “Only a few things really matter” instead of “It’s all important”
• “What are the tradeoffs?” instead of “Can I fit it all in?”

Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.

Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

The truth is, we all spend time—often a lot of time—on things that don’t really add value to our lives. The essentialist seeks to eliminate the “trivial many” in order to focus on the “vital few.” It comes down to deciding what things you want to excel at, and letting everything else take a back seat.

We all have the same 24 hours in our 7-day week. Applying the concepts of essentialism can help create space for you to get off the treadmill, and explore life.

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Three things to do this week

There are so many principles and habits related to essentialism, picking just three was tough. I decided to pick tasks related to the three principles of the core mindset of an essentialist.

Here are three things to do this week to get started…

Ask if you really “have to”

We all know there are things in life that we have to do but, if we never stop to question what we do, we’ll just keep mindlessly doing them. This applies to our work life and our life outside work.

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

Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

This week, every time you hear yourself saying “I have to…”, stop and question if this is something you really have to do. Ask yourself who cares about this, and if anyone would notice if you just didn’t do it.

Identify the things that really matter

Discerning between the vital few and trivial many isn’t easy but it’s a necessary exercise to free up space for the things that matter.

Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution toward the things that really matter.

Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Take a piece of paper and put two columns on it. Label the columns “Vital few” and “Trivial many.” For a day or two this week, take time to write down everything you do in one of the columns.

Next, examine everything in the “Trivial many” column. Identify one or two things you can stop doing in order to make more progress on the “Vital few”. Then, stop doing them.

Understand your tradeoffs

Everything in life requires a trade off. Saying yes to something means saying no—consciously or subconsciously—to something else. The principles of essentialism teach us that we should only say yes to things that are a definite yes. If you have to give it even a moment’s thought, it should be a no.

This week, say yes only to things that matter. Before accepting that invitation or adding another task to your to do list, understand the tradeoffs you’re making. Could you better spend that time focusing on some of the items on the “Vital few” side of your list?

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Applying the principles of essentialism can help you focus on what’s important, and get more out of life.  To learn about essentialism, I highly recommend Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

Do you feel like your life is a treadmill? What do you think of the essentialist mindset? Tell me your thoughts below.