Effortless : Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most

The New York Times bestselling author of Essentialism takes on the holy grail of human performance: How can we make it easier to get the right things done?

It's normal to feel overwhelmed by the hard things in life, from the big, weighty challenges to the everyday frustrations. But lately doesn't it seem like we're feeling this way a lot more often than we used to?

The problem isn't a lack of motivation or effort; if it were, we would already have achieved all our goals. The problem is that motivation and effort are limited resources. And the more we deplete them, the more burnt out we get, making it even harder to produce the results we want.

There is a better way: We can make the most essential tasks the easiest ones. In Effortless, McKeown shows us how, in three easy phases:

  •  Return to the Effortless State: By removing distracting thoughts and emotions, we regain the mental energy and clarity to focus on the right thing at the right time.
  •  Take Effortless Action: By simplifying our processes, embracing imperfection, and finding the right pace (and sticking to it), we make the important work itself easier to do.
  •  Achieve Effortless Results: By choosing high-leverage activities--like learning what no one else knows, automating essential steps, and solving problems before they happen--extraordinary results continue to flow to us.

By making it easier to get the right things done, we can accomplish more of what matters, without burning out.