Greg McKeown’s earlier book, Essentialism, definitely ranks among the most life-changing I’ve ever read. So my expectations were high for his second book, Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most.
Effortless assumes that, as the reader has already read the first book (which is about identifying and sticking to only the most vital things in life), it is time to know how to do those things with ease.
A sequel right from the premise, which is probably why I didn’t find the book quite the breakthrough as its predecessor. But it is still an important book in the world of productivity. These are the ideas that struck me most:
“Not everything has to be so hard.” Oh my, this is gold — nay, gospel. With the essentials of life — family, duty, work — clamoring for our attention and care, it can really be easy to conclude that “hard work” is the only way to succeed in anything. Not true. As McKeown clearly explains, you only have to be smart and have foresight. You’ll soon find the tools to make hard things easy.
Work only up to 85% of your capacity. This doesn’t mean you’re not going to do your best, you’re just not exerting extreme effort. Effort is not always equal to quality. If you work up to 100% everyday, you’ll soon get exhausted, burnt out. You’ll find yourself in a vicious cycle of activity, exhaustion, recuperation and dread for yet another day of arduous activity. By working only up to 85%, you’ll find the headspace and time for serendipity, creativity and energy replenishment — each of them a competitive advantage.
Being an essentialist is not enough: you also have to know how to achieve the essentials effortlessly. Because life gets tough, and we need to learn to not make it any tougher by resisting it. Illustrating this poignantly, McKeown shares how he coped with his daughter’s recent medical ordeal. The story is heart wrenching. But you will see how McKeown and his family practiced his Effortless principles in managing the essential that was his daughter’s excruciating journey to health. McKeown walks his talk.
Daryl Zamora 
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