Do you consider yourself a minimalist? My focus on decluttering and sustainability might lead some to call me a minimalist. I’m not a fan of labels, but I prefer the term essentialist. If you’re not familiar with essentialism, read on to learn about its core principles, and how they can help you get more out of life.

I heard the term essentialism for the first time when someone mentioned it in a comment on a blog post I wrote about extreme minimalism. My curious nature wanted to know more, so 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 start living a more intentional life.

Less But Better

The world puts constant pressure on us to do more, be more, and have more. The pandemic gave us an opportunity to slow down, and press pause. Yet as soon as things opened up again, most people ran right back to their chaotic lives and busy calendars. Clearly, many people missed the lesson.

The basic premise of essentialism is simple, but it makes so much sense. It’s about shifting your mindset to “Less but better.”

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

We all have the same 24 hours in our 7-day week. Let’s be honest though, many of us spend time—often a lot of time—on things that don’t add value to our lives. The essentialist seeks to eliminate the “trivial many” in order to focus on the “vital few.” It’s about deciding what things you want to excel at and letting everything else take a back seat.

Exploring the Core Principles of an Essentialist

According to McKeown, 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?”

Adopting this mindset can help create space for you to step off the treadmill and enjoy life. Let’s take a closer look at each.

I Choose To

Yes, 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 what we’ve always done. This applies to our work life and our life outside work.

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

Only a Few Things Really Matter

Discerning between the vital few and trivial many is tough, but it’s a necessary exercise to free up space for the things that matter.

Take a piece of paper and put two columns on it. Label the columns “Vital Few” and “Trivial Many.” For a day or two, 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.

What are the 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 we should only say yes to things that are a definite yes. If you have to give something even a moment’s thought, it should be a no.

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?

This is the most challenging of the three principles because saying no is hard—especially if you’re someone who has always said yes in the past. The book provides practical strategies on how to gracefully say no.

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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 more about essentialism, I highly recommend reading 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.

Learn more about me in my bio and on my personal blog at BoomerEcoCrusader.com. You can also find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.