essentialism

In today's episode of Slo Mo, we're joined by Greg McKeown, the mind behind the 'Essentialist' philosophy. Greg, renowned for his insights on simplifying life's complexities, shares his personal journey, shedding light on the experiences and inspirations that have shaped his perspective.

He is an influential author and speaker, best known for his work on essentialism and simplicity. His notable books include "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" and "Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most." His philosophy focuses on the importance of prioritizing the most vital aspects of life and work, advocating for a disciplined approach to decision making. Greg has reached a wide audience, with his books being translated into multiple languages, and he has spoken to numerous top-tier companies worldwide. Additionally, Greg hosts "The Greg McKeown Podcast," popular in self-improvement and educational categories, and his newsletter, the 1-Minute Wednesday, is rapidly growing in popularity.

Listen as we discuss: 

• What makes a Bestselling Book? 
• Hoarding and Unburdening
• People in Modern Times
• Suffering, Gratitude, and Meaning
• About Loss
• What changing the past can look like
• What is the Dark Playgroun
• How important is Effective Dependence?
• Are Online Connections Good? 
• Finding balance in our lives.
• How to be an Essentialist and live effortlessly 
• Our Systems and our Values 

Please visit Greg McKeown's website and continue the conversation on our social media channels. 

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Website: mogawdat.com

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In this episode, Cal visits eight of the most influential books in personal productivity, identifying for each a single idea that ended up most resonating both with his own work and the culture more generally. 

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo 

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia 

Today’s Deep Question: What productivity ideas from other authors are the most worth paying attention to? [4:54] 

- How do I time-block for the unanticipated “a-ha!” moment of insight? [40:23] 

- Is my life as a surgeon dooming me to a reactive life? [45:19] 

- Is it possible to read too many productivity books? [52:10] 

- Is the Deep Life influenced by The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People? [58:55] 

- Am I a disciplined worker if I only respond to deadlines? [1:01:09] 

The 5 Books Cal Read in August 2023 [1:09:31] 

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Have you experienced burnout? Possibly burnout in school, your social life, exercise, work? In this episode, Jadyn explains her secret to balancing a healthy lifestyle in work, school, food and exercise. You will learn steps on how to accomplish more, by doing less when using the 80/20 Rule. Jadyn explains how surprisingly, that incorporating coffee breaks and relaxing will actually result in being more productive. Take some time off from your work load to listen to this episode, on how to live a more healthily balanced lifestyle! 

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Greg McKeown (@GregoryMcKeown) is the host of the What’s Essential podcast, and author of the New York Times bestseller Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. His latest book, Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most, is out now.

What We Discuss with Greg McKeown:

• If you want 10x the results of any endeavor without putting in 10x the effort, it's important to understand your ROE (return on effort).
• How the disciplined pursuit of less keeps you from getting overwhelmed with unexpected options and opportunities that come from what should be the good news of success.
• Why, if you find yourself procrastinating on a project because it's not perfect enough to your liking, you should delay a bad first draft and create a truly awful zero draft.
• Why "easy" does not (always) equal "lazy" and what you can do to work smarter rather than harder to avoid earning the meaningless badge of honor that burnout has become in the modern workforce.
• Five questions to ask yourself before taking on a project that's in danger of being overthought, overwhelming, and anything but effortless.
• And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/534

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We’ve been conditioned to believe that the path to success is paved with relentless work. The more important the goal, the harder we have to grind. That if we aren’t perpetually exhausted, we’re not doing enough. Now, working hard is more exhausting than ever and many of us are stuck in an endless loop of “Zoom, eat, sleep, repeat” and we’re often working twice as hard to achieve half as much.

This week, I’m joined by writer, speaker and podcast host, Greg McKeown who believes that getting ahead doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it. In his new book, Effortless: Make It Easier To Do What Matters Most, Greg explains that no matter what challenges or obstacles we face, there is a better way: instead of pushing ourselves harder, we can find an easier path. And that it's absolutely vital that we find it so that we can fulfil the most important missions of our lives.

This conversation is full of relatable anecdotes and actionable advice for making the most essential activities in your life the easiest ones, so you can achieve the results you want, without burning out. There is so much freedom to be gained from Greg’s advice and I’m sure your life will be better for hearing it.

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I'm joined in today's episode by Greg McKeown, author of the mega-bestseller Essentialism, and his new book, Effortless.

We talk about the massive success of Essentialism, decoding why it did so well and discussing how it changed his life. We then get into the origin of the ideas that became Effortless, and use some of my own attempts to make essential work easier as a case study.


Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music.

Greg McKeown — The Art of Effortless Results, How to Take the Lighter Path, the Joys of Simplicity, and More | Brought to you by UCAN endurance products powered by SuperStarch®, FreshBooks cloud-based small business accounting software, and Headspace easy-to-use app with guided meditations. More on all three below.

Greg McKeown (@GregoryMcKeown) is the author of the new book Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most and a previous book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, which hit The New York Times bestseller list and has sold more than a million copies. He is also a speaker and the host of the popular podcast What’s Essential.

Greg has been covered by The New York Times, The New Yorker, Fast Company, Fortune, Politico, and Inc., has been interviewed by NPR, NBC, Fox, and The Steve Harvey Show, and is among the most popular bloggers for LinkedIn. He is also a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum. Originally from London, England, he now resides in California with his wife, Anna, and their four children.

Please enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by UCAN. I was introduced to UCAN and its unique carbohydrate SuperStarch by my good friend—and listener favorite—Dr. Peter Attia, who said there is no carb in the world like it. I have since included it in my routine, using UCAN’s powders to power my workouts, and the bars make great snacks. Extensive scientific research and clinical trials have shown that SuperStarch provides a sustained release of energy to the body without spiking blood sugar. UCAN is the ideal way to source energy from a carbohydrate without the negatives associated with fast carbs, especially sugar.  

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Go to Headspace.com/Tim for a FREE one-month trial with access to Headspace’s full library of meditations for every situation.

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Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.

DEEP DIVE: What Does "Productivity" Actually Mean? [5:04]

WORK QUESTIONS
 - How do I stay productive after the pandemic? [17:56]
 - How do I relearn how to think deeply? [22:51]
 - Can I build a world without email with non-knowledge workers? [31:38]
 - Are some people more aligned to some jobs than others? [34:47]

TECHNOLOGY QUESTIONS
 - Do I need a dumb phone? [38:48]
 - How will the pandemic impact higher education? [42:28]

DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS
 - Has my liberal arts education helped my CS career? [51:23]
 - How do the "deep life" buckets related to quarterly planning? [56:05]

Thanks to Jay Kerstens for the intro music.

Greg McKeown (@GregoryMcKeown) is the host of the What's Essential podcast and author of the New York Times bestseller Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, which challenges core assumptions about achievement (e.g., “more is better”) to get to the essence of what really drives success — on one’s own terms.

What We Discuss with Greg McKeown:

• Essentialism: the antidote to the problems of feeling busy but not productive, stretched too thin in one area of life, and fulfilling the agendas of others but not our own.
• Learn how to live by design, not by default.
• Find out how to say “no” effectively without getting in trouble at home — or fired.
• Discover how to set hard boundaries between work and play.
• Learn why folks who are originally very good at essentialism can end up ruining their career and their sanity by letting these boundaries slip over time.
• And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/429

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In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions about dealing with unproductive days, avoiding curated content fatigue, and the importance of developing character, among many other topics.

To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.com. You can submit audio questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/CalNewport

Please consider subscribing (which helps iTunes rankings) and leaving a review or rating (which helps new listeners decide to try the show).

Here’s the full list of topics tackled in today’s episode along with the timestamps:


OPENING: The terribleness of my recent experiment with constant online news consumption.


WORK QUESTIONS

* Dealing with unproductive days [11:50] 
* My system versus David Allen’s systems [15:16] 
* The timeline for developing deep habits [22:35]
* Assessing your own career capital [31:17] 
* The road to academic superstardom [36:05] 
* Ideal number of working hours [45:28] 
* Building a reasonable schedule for an unreasonable workload [51:32]


TECHNOLOGY QUESTIONS

* Avoiding curated content fatigue [53:41]
* Capture technology [58:22]
* The plan for this podcast [1:00:19]
* Music and concentration [1:07:01]
* Instant messaging and distraction [1:08:02] 


DEEP LIFE QUESTIONS

* Essentialism versus the deep life [1:13:48] 
* Deep home life [1:16:57] 
* My ideal work environment [1:23:37]
* Character and the deep life [1:27:58] 


Thanks to listener Jay Kerstens for the intro music.

In this special episode of DEEP QUESTIONS, I rebroadcast a conversation recorded earlier this summer, featuring me and the bestselling author Greg McKeown. It originally aired on Greg's fantastic podcast, WHAT'S ESSENTIAL (https://gregmckeown.com/podcast/).

You probably know Greg from his influential 2014 book, ESSENTIALISM, which I recommend all the time. In this conversation, we talk about unplugging from distraction, the art of doing less (without accomplishing less), and how to improve your ability to focus.

I hope you enjoy it. 

Thanks to our sponsors Magic Spoon (use magicspoon.com/CAL to receive free shipping) and Blinkist (use blinkist.com/DEEP for a 7 day free trial).

Also thanks to listener Jay Kerstens for the intro music.

Is it possible to get more out of life with less? Jay Shetty sits down with New York Times Bestselling author and business owner, Greg McKeown, to navigate essentialism’s insights.

According to McKeown, essentialism is not about doing more things. It's about doing more of the right things. If you are overwhelmed with a full plate and caught up in the rat race of life, tune in to this entire episode of ON Purpose to hear Jay Shetty and Greg McKeown discuss the critical aspects of essentialism and how you can apply them to your life.

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In this mini-episode, I take "calls" from listeners asking for advice about how best to tune-up their productivity and work habits in a moment of increased distraction and disruption.

You can submit your own audio questions at speakpipe.com/calnewport.

Here are the topics we cover: 

* Coping with surprise shallow tasks (aka., "slaying the productivity hydra") [2:09]
* Reading strategies for PhD students [12:37]
* Switching to a more fulfilling career [16:33]
* Improve or quit in response to a challenging new job [24:32]

As always, if you enjoy the podcast, please considering subscribing or leaving a rating/review.

Thanks to listener Jay Kerstens for the intro music.

This episode of The Tim Ferriss Show showcases two chapters from Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown (@GregoryMcKeown), one of my favorite books of the past few years.

The first chapter explains how to say "no" gracefully (and why most of us have trouble doing this in the first place), and the second one gives us ways to cut our losses and uncommit in the aftermath of a premature "yes."

This should help you shorten your to-do list and lengthen your not-to-do list.

Enjoy!

This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. While I often praise this company's lion's mane mushroom coffee for a minimal caffeine wakeup call that lasts, I asked the founders if they could help me—someone who's struggled with insomnia for decades—sleep. Their answer: Reishi Mushroom Elixir. They made a special batch for me and my listeners that comes without sweetener; you can try it at bedtime with a little honey or nut milk, or you can just add hot water to your single-serving packet and embrace its bitterness like I do.

Try it right now by going to foursigmatic.com/ferriss and using the code Ferriss to get 20 percent off this rare, limited run of Reishi Mushroom Elixir. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you'll be disappointed.

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If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!

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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.

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Do you feel overwhelmed? Do you feel like you're always busy but not productive? Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people’s agendas? 
If you can answer yes to any of those questions, today's episode is for you. I talk to business consultant Greg McKeown about his book "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less." In it, Greg argues that by doing less we can actually not only be more productive, but, more importantly, get more of the right things done in life.
We begin our conversation talking about the differences between an essentialist and a non-essentialist, and why essentialists look at every decision with a 100-year view. Greg then shares how you can apply essentialist principles to your work so that you can convince your boss that maybe some of the stuff you’re working on isn’t that important. We then discuss why taking time for play, sleeping, or doing absolutely nothing can sometimes be the most productive thing you can do. Greg then shares tips on how to say no to people without feeling like a jerk and why adding buffer to your life is an important part of being an essentialist. 
This podcast is filled with both brass tacks advice and deep insights about living a flourishing life. You’re going to want to take notes.