Afterpage · week card
Essentialism
Greg McKeown
Key ideas
- Trade-offs are not optional.
- Explore before you commit.
- If it isn't a clear yes, it's a no.
- Say no gracefully.
- Make execution effortless.
The week
| Day 1 | Read the summary. Five key ideas and where the book overreaches. |
| Day 2 | List every commitment. Write down everything you're currently committed to, at work and outside it, and star the three that matter most. Bad day: Write down the ten things taking most of your time this week and star one. |
| Day 3 | Book time to think. Put a 20-minute block on your calendar this week with no task except thinking about what matters, and hold it. Bad day: Sit for two minutes with no phone and write one answer to “what matters most this quarter?” |
| Day 4 | Apply the 90 percent rule. Take one pending request or opportunity and score it out of 100 against your most important goal; if it scores under 90, decide to decline. Bad day: Score one item on your calendar this week out of 100 and write the number next to it. |
| Day 5 | Say one graceful no. Turn down one request or step back from one commitment today, in writing or in person. Bad day: Draft the no message and save it, ready to send. |
| Day 6 | Uncommit from one thing. Pick one ongoing commitment from your day 2 list that you'd say no to if asked today, and end it or shrink it. Bad day: Cancel or decline one recurring meeting you don't need. |
| Day 7 | Protect the essential with a buffer. Take your one starred priority and schedule its next step with 50 percent extra time built in. Bad day: Write the next step for your top priority and when you'll do it. |
Free week by email at getafterpage.com/books/essentialism