Master the Art of Effortless Success

The mindset shift you need to succeed in all areas of your life

A boss tried to high-five me once. That’s when I knew I had to leave. Í Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

Exploring ‘Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most’ by Greg McKeown | Not Sponsored Content

How to achieve more by doing less

Productivity experts @#$%! me off. They tell you what to do and bang on about the importance of work, but often don’t create anything themselves.

I’m pretty sure that a puritanical cult is behind most productivity porn. They chant to make the most of your time, squeeze out every last drop of blood, and sacrifice your life on the altar of work. It’s almost like they don’t have the good sense to be lazy.

Do you struggle to keep up with everything you’ve got to get done? Do you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Do you wish it was easy? If so, then welcome to the real world. That said, you should give the effortless approach a try.

I’m talking about Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown. It’s the follow-up to his previous book: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

I listened to the audiobook whilst out walking because that’s how productive I am.

Essentialism was about how to cut back to the essential things in your life and work. How to focus on what matters most to you. Effortless takes a different tack. It looks at how to make those essential things as effortless as possible. Both books contain some solid advice, but I found Effortless to be more practical and useful.

Are you tired of pushing yourself to the limit to get even basic day-to-day stuff done? Do you feel burnt out but can’t seem to slow down? If so, then Effortless is for you. In this article, I’ll review the essentials (geddit?!) of McKeown’s approach to life and work. Let’s try to make achieving hard things in your life as effortless as possible.

The virtuous circle of effortless effort

The book has three main sections: Effortless State, Effortless Action, and Effortless Results. One thing leads to another until you’ve got all your ducks in a row and swimming in the right direction. An effortless state leads to effortless action, which leads to effortless results. When you’re in an effortless state, and take effortless action, the results you achieve are often… what’s the word? I’m sorry, my brain hurts.

Effortless state

The effortless state is one where we’re relaxed, focused, and present. When we’re in this state, we’re more likely to be productive and creative. McKeown suggests that we relax, meditate, or do anything else that helps us unwind and clear our minds.

Effortless actions

Effortless actions are those that are easy to do but have a high impact. They help you to achieve your goals without draining your energy. You need to identify the high-leverage activities that matter the most to you and focus on them. By doing so, you get better results with less effort.

Effortless results

Effortless results are the residual results you get when you work in an effortless way. They’re the rewards that you reap again and again without further effort. They’re the friends with benefits of productivity. It’s all very modern.

The essentialist mindset

Essentialism is about doing the right things. Effortless is about doing them in the right way. Both books promote an essentialist mindset. Motivation isn’t enough because it’s a limited resource. To make progress on the things that matter, you need a new way to live and work. You need to focus on the essentials in as effortless a way as possible. Don’t try to get the best results by pushing harder — try to make your essential activities easier.

A tale of two types of result

There are two types of results: linear and residual. Linear results need a one-time effort with a 1:1 return ratio. This means that no effort equals no result. Whereas to achieve residual results, you apply effortless actions to high-leverage activities. These results are limitless and don’t need any further effort.

How to overcome obstacles

The effortless approach is a way to deal with obstacles and make progress on the things that matter most. There are common obstacles that prevent us from achieving our goals. Perfectionism makes essential projects hard to start. Self-doubt makes them hard to finish. Trying to do too much, too fast, makes it hard to sustain momentum.

Effortless offers a simple approach to life and work. Focus on essential activities and do them in an effortless manner. You get better results with less burnout. You achieve more with less effort. So why not give it a try? What’s the worst that can happen?

Most of us feel like we’ve too much to do and don’t have enough time. What’s new, right? But Effortless encourages an efficiency that makes your life simpler and more enjoyable. It’s a practical and accessible approach. The book includes examples of what this approach would look like in the real world. It shows you how to make your life easier with small changes to your habits and schedule.

Practical advice for productive people

Effortless offers practical advice that readers can put in place in their lives. The author provides strategies to simplify tasks, prioritise goals, and create better habits. Efficiency and effectiveness are two sides of the same coin. He also talks about the importance of rest and relaxation. Taking breaks will actually increase productivity in the long run. Like the hare and the tortoise, am I right?

Mindfulness and self-awareness are all that they’re cracked up to be

Take a deep breath. And another one. Feel better? Good. The book emphasises mindfulness and self-awareness without getting fluffy. Which is nice. You’re encouraged to try to stay present and aware of your thoughts and emotions. This helps you to make better decisions and avoid getting distracted by shiny things. I like shiny things.

Do less, achieve more

One of the key themes in Effortless is the idea of doing less to achieve more. In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do too much. You’d never do that now, would you? Say hello to overwhelm, stress, and burnout. They’re friends of mine. Or you can always take a step back, identify what matters to you, and do that instead.

You’ve got to have a system

Let’s hear it for automation and efficiency. Create systems and routines to streamline your life. Try to automate or outsource the obligatory stuff that’s on your plate whenever you can. It frees up time and mental energy to focus on the stuff that matters to you. Or to have fun. Does anyone remember fun? You should also try to set boundaries and say no to unnecessary crap if you can. Say no to a lot more in general. Try to avoid doing stuff you don’t need to do, doing too much, or becoming overwhelmed.

Get some rest, you look tired

One thing about the book that I particularly liked was the emphasis on self-care. I appreciated the practical tips for incorporating self-care into your daily routine. It’s important to take care of yourself so that you can be more productive and effective. You need to rest and rejuvenate. You also need to drink lots of tea. Sorry, I put that last bit in myself. What do you mean I’m lazy? A cup of tea solves everything — including running out of tea. I’ll see myself out.

My hot take

Effortless is an engaging and thought-provoking read. It’s friendly and approachable and supported by research and evidence.

McKeown’s first book Essentialism was all about how to cut down to the essential and focus on what matters. Effortlessis about how to make those essential things as effortless as possible. In particular, how to structure your life and work with this end in mind. This book is far more practical and stands to have a greater impact on your life and work than its predecessor. Good stuff.

Laziness is actually a useful tool in your life if you know how to use it. I will die on this hill. Think of it as productive procrastination. We all have things that we’d rather avoid doing and that, at first glance, look like it would be best that we never did. Sometimes laziness is exactly what you need to succeed.

Manage your energy, focus on the right things, and understand where you are in life and where you want to be. Taking risks and making mistakes may help you to grow, as a person, but work for work’s sake is a chore.

Don’t buy into the lie that you can get everything done. You’ve only got the time that you’ve got. There are the same hours in your day as anyone else. It doesn’t matter how productive you are. You’re going to die behind with things left on your to-do list. Sorry, wrong meeting. I’m available as a life coach and motivational speaker by the way.

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Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most and Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less are both by Greg McKeown. They’re well worth a read but get the audiobooks if you can.

These are affiliate links, but this isn’t a sponsored post. I enjoyed both of these books. If you use them I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you. All views remain my own. Have you ever noticed how people who say things like “All views remain my own” don’t have any ideas of their own? That’s what I thought.