Contents

Introduction

PartI:ThePrinciples

1.WhyLessIsPowerful

2.TheArtofSettingLimits

3.ChoosingtheEssential,andSimplifying

4.SimpleFocus

5.CreateNewHabits,andthePowerofLessChallenge

6.StartSmall

PartII:InPractice

7.SimpleGoalsandProjects

8.SimpleTasks

9.SimpleTimeManagement

10.SimpleE-mail

11.SimpleInternet

12.SimpleFiling

13.SimpleCommitments

14.SimpleDailyRoutine

15.DeclutterYourWorkSpace

16.SlowDown

17.SimpleHealthandFitness

18.OnMotivation

AcknowledgmentsAbouttheAuthorCopyright

INTRODUCTION

THEREHASNEVERBEFOREbeenanageinwhichwecouldgetsomuchdonesoquickly.Therealsohasneverbeforebeenanageinwhichweweresooverwhelmedwithinformationandtasks,sooverloadedwithe-mailsandthingstoreadandwatch,sostressedbytheincredibledemandsofourlives.

Formanypeoplethesedays,workisaconstantstreamofe-mails,ofnewsandrequests,ofphonecallsandinstantmessages,ofpapersandnotesandfiles.Thedaystartswithanin-boxfullofe-mails,andendswithanin-boxjustasfull,andeache-mailrepresentsarequestforinformationorforactionsthatwedon’thavetimetofulfill.Wearedrinkingfromafirehoseofinformation,withnoideaofhowtoreducetheflow.

It’sstressfulandwasteful.Andifwestoptothinkaboutit,it’snothowwewanttospendourlives.

FINDINGCALMINTHECHAOS

What’sthealternativetoinformationandtaskoverload?MustwefollowtheexampleofThoreau,andbuildacabininthewoods,shuttingourselvesofffromsocietyandmoderntechnology?

Iproposeamiddleground:onewherewecanstillenjoyaccesstovast

amountsofinformation,stillhaveinstantcommunicationwhenwewantit,stillgetthingsdonequickly—butoneinwhichwechoosehowmuchweconsumeanddo.Asimplerlife,butoneinwhichweaccomplishthethingswewanttoaccomplish.

Thesolutionliesinsettinglimitstohowmuchweconsumeanddo.Itliesinmakingthemostofourtimebyfocusingonthemostimportantthings,insteadofeverything.Picturealifeinwhichyouhaveafairlypeacefulworkday,wherestresslevelsareminimal,whereyou’reabletofocusonyourwork.Imaginethatyouonlydoafewtasks,butthey’rechosensothattheyhavethemostimpact.Youaccomplishmajorgoalswithoutthestressofdoingeverythingatonce.

Itmightsoundidyllic,butit’sdefinitelyachievable.I’vedoneitusingasystemthat’sveryeasytoimplement.

Itallcomesdowntomakingchoices.

SIMPLICITY

I’mafirmbelieverinsimplicity.MylifeisbetterwhenIsimplifyit,whenIcutdownonthenoiseandI’mabletoenjoythethingsIlove.MyworkisbetterwhenIcutoutthedistractionsandI’mabletofocus.MywritingismorepowerfulwhenIcaneliminateexcesswordsanduseonlythosewordsneededtoconveymycoreideas.

Simplicitymeansalotofthingsindifferentcontexts.Forsome,itmeansgoingbacktousingrawmaterialsinsteadofmanufacturedones,buildingandmakingeverythingyourselfinsteadofbuyingit,doingeverythingyourselfinsteadofrelyingonothers.Whilethatdefinitionholdsalotofappealforme,thesimplicityIseekinmylifeissimplicityinwhatIdo.Doless,notmore,butachievemorebecauseofthechoicesImake.

Simplicityboilsdowntotwosteps:

1. Identifytheessential.

2. Eliminatetherest.

Inthisbook,we’lltalkaboutalotofwaystoapplythosetwostepstovariousareasofyourworkandpersonallife,butwe’llalwayscomebacktothosetwoideas:Focusontheessentialandalloweverythingelsetodropaway.

It’llmakeyoumuchhappier,lessstressed,andperhapssurprisingly,moreproductive.

HOWITWORKEDFORME

Onlyafewyearsago,Iwasovermyheadindebt,withaworkschedulethatrarelyallowedmetoseemyfamilyandhadmestressedtomaximumlevelseveryday.Iwasoverweightandunhealthy,Iwaseatingfriedandfattyandsaltyandgreasyfoodseveryday,Iwasn’texercising,andIwasasmoker.Iwasunhappyatworkandgoingnowhere,fast.Mylifewascomplicated,andIdidn’thavetimeforthethingsIloved.

SoImadeachoice:Idecidedtosimplify.Idecidedtomakepositivechanges.Itstartedwithquittingsmoking—Ifocusedonthatfirst,andonlythat.Ipouredallofmyenergyintothisonegoal,andanamazingthinghappened:Thatfocusedenergyallowedmetobreakthroughtheinitialbarriersofquitting,whichI’dfailedatnumeroustimesbefore.

Beatingthatbarrierhelpedinspiremetonewgoalsandhabits,andIusedthesamemethodoneachone:I’dfocusallofmyenergyandattentiononthatonechallenge,andthebarrierswouldbreakdown.I’dfocusononegoalatatime(Icallitmy“OneGoal”)andnottrytoaccomplisheverythingatonce.

Throughthismethod,overthelastseveralyears,I’vebeenableto:

1. Takeuprunning

2. Begineatinghealthier

3. Becomeorganizedandproductive

4. Trainforandruntwomarathons

5. Worktwojobsanddoublemyincome

6. Becomeanearlyriser(Iwakeat4a.m.)

7. Becomeavegetarian

8. Completetwotriathlons

9. Startasuccessfulblog—ZenHabits

10. Completelyeliminatemydebt

11. Saveasubstantialemergencyfundforthefirsttime

12. Simplifymylife

13. Decluttermyhome

14. Loseforty-pluspounds

15. Writeandselltwosuccessfule-books

16. Writethefirstdraftofanovel

17. Quitmydayjobandworkfromhome

18. Startasuccessfulsecondblog,WriteToDone,forwriters

19. Publishthisbook

AndI’vedoneallofthatwhileraisingandmakingtimeforsixbeautifulkids.

Thatmaysoundlikealot,butIaccomplishedallofthisinsmallsteps,onethingatatime.Again,IusedtheconceptofOneGoal—Ifocusedononlyonegoalatatime,andputallofmyenergyintoit.

Myblog,ZenHabits,whichdocumentshowI’vereachedthesegoals,isnowinthetopfiftyblogsintheworld,withmorethansixtythousandsubscribersandabouttwomillionreadersamonth.ManyofmyreadershaveaskedmehowIcandosomuch,giventhatIhavethesamenumberofhoursinthedayaseveryoneelse.Myanswer:It’samatterofplacinglimits,andfocusingontheessential.

THESIXPRINCIPLESOFSIMPLEPRODUCTIVITY

PartIofthisbookwillexplorethesixguidingprinciplesofthePowerofLess—theideasthatwillhelpyoutomaximizeyourproductivitywhilesimplifying

yourlife.ThesePowerofLessPrincipleswillreappearthroughoutthebook:

1. Setlimitations.

2. Choosetheessential.

3. Simplify.

4. Focus.

5. Createhabits.

6. Startsmall.

InPartIIofthisbook,thePowerofLessinPractice,we’lltakealookatpracticaltipsforimplementingtheseprinciplesinkeyareas,fromyourworktoyourpersonallife.

WHATTHISBOOKWILLDO

First,letmetellyouwhatthisbookwon’tdo:Itwon’tteachyouexactlyhowtowriteanovelorrunamarathonorquitsmoking.Thisisn’tahow-tomanualtodoanyofthat.Thisisahow-tomanualonhowtosimplifyandfocusontheessential.Howtodolesswhileaccomplishingmore.Howtofocusandusethatfocustoachieveyourgoals,nomatterwhattheyare.

It’saboutlimitationsratherthanvolume.

Eachchapterofthisbookisdesignedtoteachyouhowtofocusonlessandtousethatfocustobemorepowerfulindifferentareasofyourlife.You’lllearntosimplifywhatyoudo,toreducethevolumeofyourtasksandprojectsandcommunicationandinformation.You’lllearntoreducetheclutterinyourlifesothatyou’relessstressedandmoreproductive.You’lllearnhowsimplicitycanbeextremelypowerfulandhowtousethattoaccomplishyourgoals,oneatatime.

You’lllearnhowtocreateamoretranquilworkdayandenvironment,nomatterwhereyouwork.

Thisisabookaboutless,andhowfocusingonlesscantransformyourlife.

Andit’snotanabstractbook,either:Itwillgiveyouverypracticaladviceabouthowtoputtheconceptoflessintoaction,everyday.

partIthePRINCIPLES

one

WhyLessIsPowerful

WELIVEINaworldwhere,moreoftenthannot,moreisbetter.Weareaftermoremoney,tobuybiggerhousesandcars,andmoreclothesandgadgetsandfurniture.Weneedbiggershoppingmallsratherthanthesmallshopsofyesterday.Weconsumemore,andweproducemore,andwedomorethaneverbefore.

Atsomepoint,however,werunintolimits.Thereisonlysomuchwecandoorconsume.Thereareafinitenumberofhoursinaday,andoncewereachthatlimittoourproduction,wecan’tdomore.Manypeopleseetheselimitsasproblems,whileothersseethemasachallenge:HowcanIsqueezemoreintomyday?IfImanagemytimeeffectivelyandlearntobemoreproductive,canIgetmoredoneinthelimitednumberofhoursavailabletome?

Theproblemwithconstantlytryingtoincreasevolumeisthatitdoesn’talwaysproducethebestresults.Doingahugenumberofthingsdoesn’tmeanyou’regettinganythingmeaningfuldone.Infact,it’ssohit-and-missthatit’salmostlikeplayingagameofroulette:Ifyoudoenoughtasks,oneofthemisboundtopayoffbig.

Itdoesn’tworkthatway.Doingmorethingsmeansyou’relikelytodoalotofunimportantthings,andyou’llbeoverworkedandstressedatthesametime.

Imaginetworeportersworkingatanewspaper:Onegoesforahighvolume

ofarticleseachweek,andtheotherdecidestodoonlyone.Thereporterwritingthirtyarticlesaweekscansavastamountofsourcesforanylittlebitofinformationthat’sremotelyinteresting,turningeachintoashort,quick,andfairlylimitedarticlethatdoesn’tgetmuchattention.Hiseditorispleasedbytheamountofworkhe’sdoing,andhegetsrewardedwithpraise.

Thesecondreporterdecidesthatifhe’sjustgoingtodoonearticlethisweek,he’dbettermakeitcount.Hespendshalfofthefirstdayresearchingandbrainstormingandthinkinguntilhechoosesahigh-impactstorythatheknowswillknockpeople’ssocksoff.It’llbeanarticlethatwinsawards.Hespendstwodaysresearchingitandanothercoupledayswritingitandcheckingfacts.

Guesswhathappens?Notonlydoesheproducethebestarticleoftheweek,butitbecomesanaward-winningarticle,onethatthereadersloveandthatgetshimapromotionandlong-termandwidespreadrecognition.Fromthatarticle,andotherslikeit,hecanbuildacareer.Thefirstreporterwasthinkinghigh-volume,butshort-term.Thesecondreporterfocusedonless,butitdidmuchmoreoverthelong-term.

That’sthePowerofLess.

THELESSONSOFTHEHAIKU

ThefairlypopularformofJapanesepoetryknownasthehaikuhasacoupleofinterestinglessonstoteachusaboutwhylessispowerful.Thehaiku,asyoumayknow,isusuallyanature-relatedpoemofjustseventeensyllables,writteninthreelines(fivesyllables,thenseven,thenfive).Apoetwritingahaikumustworkwiththoselimitations,mustexpressanentireideaorimageinonlythatnumberofsyllables.Itcanbeadauntingtaskifyouhavesomethingimportanttoconvey.

Sothehaikupoethasacoupleofchoices:Hecanquicklywhipoutseventeensyllablesandhaveacompletedhaikuinashortamountoftime;orhecancarefullychooseonlytheessentialwordsandimagesneededtoconveyhisidea.Andthissecondchoiceiswhatcreatessomeofthemostpowerfulpoetryinsuchalimitedform—choosingonlytheessential.Sothelessonswecanpickupfromthehaikuarethefirsttwoprinciplesofsimpleproductivity:

Principle1:Bysettinglimitations,wemustchoosetheessential.Soineverythingyoudo,learntosetlimitations.

Principle2:Bychoosingtheessential,wecreategreatimpactwithminimalresources.Alwayschoosetheessentialtomaximizeyourtimeandenergy.

Thesetwolessonsformthekeytothisbook.TheyarethePowerofLessintwosentences.Everythingafterthisissimplyanexplorationoftheseconcepts,orpracticalwaystoapplythemtomanyareasofyourlife.

CHOOSINGTHINGSWITHTHEMOSTIMPACT

Inourworklives,wecanbelikethefirstreporterintheexampleabove,crankingouttaskslikecrazy,andwe’llprobablygetawholelotdoneandbepraisedforit.Peopleliketoseehardworkerswhowillhandleanythingthrownatthem.

However,wecanmakeanotherchoice:Wecanbelikethesecondreporterandchoosetodofewerthings,butthingswiththemostimpact.Whatdoesthatmean,“themostimpact”?Ataskorprojectcouldbe“high-impact”inanumberofdifferentways.Itcould:

getyoulong-termrecognition;

makeyoualotofmoneyinthelongrun;

behighlybeneficialtoyourcompany,intermsofrevenues,branding,expandingintonewareas,etc.;

changeyourcareerorhavethepotentialtogreatlyadvanceyourcareer;

changeyourpersonallifeinsomeimportantway;or

contributetosocietyorhumanityingeneral.

Thesearejustsomeexamples—youcanprobablythinkofotherwaysataskor

projectcanbehigh-impact.

Howcanyoudeterminewhichtaskshavethemostimpact?Therearegenerallytwogoodwaysofdoingthis.

1.Examineyourtasklist.Takealookateverythingonyourlistandaskyourselfthefollowingquestionsabouteachone:Willthishaveanimpactthatwilllastbeyondthisweekorthismonth?Howwillitchangemyjob,mycareer,mylife?Howwillthisfurtheralong-termgoalofmine?Howimportantisthatgoal?Fromtheseanswers,youcandeterminewhichitemswillhavethemostimpactoverthelongterm.Whilethissoundslikeatediousprocess,itactuallygetsveryeasywithpractice,andsoonyou’llbeabletodoitinjustafewminutes.

2.Startwithyourgoals.Ifyoustartbyidentifyingthethingsyoureallywanttoaccomplishinthenextyear,youcanplanyourtaskssothatyouaredoingthingseachdaytofurtherthosegoalsalong.Let’ssayyouhavethreelong-termgoals—eachday,chooseataskfromyourlistthatwillmoveyouclosertothosegoals.Thiswillensurethatyouarecompletingthetaskswiththemostimpact,becausetheyrelatedirectlytoalong-termgoal.

Whichofthesetwomethodsshouldyouuse?Whichevermethodworksforyou.We’lltalkmoreaboutworkingwithgoalsandtasksinlaterchapters,butfornowIjustwanttopointoutthatit’snotaneither/orchoice.Youcantryacombinationofbothoftheabovemethods,andinfact,Ithinkthat’snecessary.Youcandoyourbesttoplanforyourgoals,buteventhebestofushastasksoutsideofthosegoalsthatmustbecompleted.Allyourtaskswillpileupinalonglist(ifyou’recarefultowritethemdown)andthenon-goaltaskscaneasilypushbackyourgoaltasks.Whatyou’llneedtodoisdoareviewofyourtasklist(methodnumberoneabove)tochoosethehigh-impacttasks,insteadoftryingtotackleeverythingregardlessofhowmeaningfulthetasksaretoyourlife.

APPLYINGLIMITATIONSTOEVERYASPECTOFLIFE

Thelessonsofthehaiku,ofapplyinglimitationsinordertoforcechoices,ofchoosingtheessentialandfindingthePowerofLess—thesearelessonswecan

applynotonlytothetasksonourto-dolists,buttoeverythinginourlives.Ifthere’sanyareaofyourlifethatisoverwhelmingyou,andthatyou’dliketosimplify,applylimitations.

Havetoomanye-mailsinyourin-box?Applyalimitation:You’llonlychecke-mailtwiceaday,andonlyrespondtofivee-mailseachtime.You’llbeforcedtoworkmoreeffectively,andonlywriteimportante-mails.

Havetoomanyprojects?Limitthemtothree.Havetoomuchstuffinyourhouse?Limityourselftotwohundreditems.Yougettheidea.

We’llexplorethesedifferentareasinmoredetailandseehowthelessonsofthehaikucantransformtheseareasofyourlifeintosomethingpowerfulandmeaningful,butfornow,ithelpstoaskyourselfthefollowingquestions:

Whichareasofmylifeareoverwhelming?

WhatwouldIliketosimplify?

InadditiontothetasksIneedtoaccomplishindifferentareas,doIwanttolimitthenumberofpossessionsIhave,whatinformationIreceive,orwhatresponsibilitiesIhave?

Thesearejustpreliminaryquestionsfornow;we’llexplorethisinmoredetailandfigureoutwhat’sessentialandwhatisn’taswegetintothefollowingchapters.

two

TheArtofSettingLimits

MOSTOFUSleadlivesfilledwithtoomuchstuff,toomuchinformation,toomanypapers,toomuchtodo,toomuchclutter.Unfortunately,ourtimeandspaceislimited,andhavingtoomuchofeverythingisliketryingtocramalibraryintoasinglebox:Itcan’tbedone,it’shardtoenjoythebooks,andsoonerorlatertheboxwillbreak.

Ourproblemislivingwithoutlimits.It’slikegoingshoppingwithoutspendinglimits—youtendtogooverboardandendupwithabunchofstuffyoudon’tneedorreallywantmuch.Butifyouhaveabudget(sayonehundreddollars),you’llchooseonlythethingsthatmatter,andyou’llendupwithmuchlessjunk.

Ourentirelivesarelikethis:Welivewithoutlimits.Andwhilethatfreedomcanseemfunatfirst,afterawhileitgetstobetoomuch.Wedon’thaveenoughroomforeverything.Wecan’thandlethestressoftryingtodoeverything.Wejustcan’tfititinourlives,nomatterhowmuchwe’dliketodoso.

Itweakensusinsomanyways.Itdilutesourpowerandeffectiveness.Itspreadsustoothin.Ittiresusoutsothatwedon’thavetheenergytohandletheimportantstuff.Alifewithoutlimitsistakingacupofreddyeandpouringitintotheocean,andwatchingthecolordiluteintonothingness.Limitedfocusisputtingthatsamecupofdyeintoagallonofwater.

Limitlessisthepitcherwhopitchesnineinningseverythreedays,throwingasmanypitchesashecan,ashardashecan.Soonhe’stootiredtopitchveryhard,ifatall.Therealpoweriswhenthatsamepitchercomesinforoneinningeverythreedaysandcanmowdownthebatterseverytime.

Limitlessistryingtoexcavateanentireacreoflandwithasingleshovel.Limitedfocusisdiggingwiththatsameshovelinonespotuntilyouhitwater.

Limitlessisweak.Learntofocusyourselfwithlimits,andyou’llincreaseyourstrength.Inthischapter,we’llexplorePrinciple1,SettingLimits.

HOWLIMITSCANHELP

Goingfromalimitlesslifethat’soverwhelmingandnotveryeffectivetoalifewithlimits,focus,andpowerisanincredibletransformation.

Herearejustafewbenefitsofsettinglimitsoneverythingyoudo:

Itsimplifiesthings.Yourlifebecomesmoremanageableandlessstressful.

Itfocusesyou.Insteadofdilutingyourself,youfocusyourenergyonasmallernumberofthings.

Itfocusesonwhat’simportant.Insteadoftryingtodoeverythingandnothavingenoughtimefortheimportantthingsinyourlife,youdoonlywhat’simportanttoyou.That’sanincrediblechangeformostpeople.

Ithelpsyouachieve.Manytimes,whenwearespreadtoothin,weonlymakeincrementalprogressonimportantprojectsandgoals.Butifwefocusonjustafewimportantthings,wecanactuallycompletethem.You’llachievemuchmorebyfocusingontheessential.

Itshowsothersthatyourtimeisimportant.Whenwetrytotakeoneverythingthatcomesourway,thepeoplearoundusgetthemessagethattheirtimeismoreimportantthanours,thatwe’llsayyestowhateverrequeststheyhave.If,however,wehavefirmlimitsonwhatwedo,wesendthemessagethat

wevalueourtimeandourpriorities.Otherswillvalueyourtimeinreturn.

Itmakesyoumoreeffective.Bydoinglessofthebusywork,andmoreoftheimportantwork,youarespinningyourwheelslessandusingyourlimitedtimeandenergyonsomethingwithlastingimpact.Thathelpsyoumakethebestuseofyourtime,andeliminatesmuchofthenonessentialinyourlife.

WHATTOSETLIMITSON

Whatareasofyourlifeneedlimits?Everythingthatyoufeelisinanywayoverloaded.Everyareathatyou’dliketoimprove.

Youdon’tneedtorevampyourentirelifeallatonce.That’sasurerecipeforfailure,actually.Takingontoomuchatonceistheantithesisofthisbook—tosucceedatsettinglimits,youshouldstartwithoneareaatatime,andpreferablyanareawithagreatlikelihoodofsuccess.

Whereshouldyoustart?Thatcan’tbeprescribed,aseachperson’slifeisdifferent,andyou’llneedtodowhatworksforyou.Takeafewminutestothinkaboutyourlife—whatareastakeuptoomuchtime,orseemoverloaded?Whatwouldyouliketosimplify?Someideasforgoodplacestostart:

E-mail

Dailytasks

Theamountoftimespentonthephone

Thenumberofprojectsyouhaveonyourplate

Thenumberofblogsorotherprojectsyousubscribeto

TheamountoftimeyouspendreadingontheInternet

Thenumberofthingsontopofyourdesk

Thesearejustideas,ofcourse.You’llslowlybeexpandingintootherareas.Focusononechangeatatimeuntilitbecomesapartofyourroutine,andyou’re

comfortablewiththelimit.

HOWTOSETLIMITS

Whenyoufirstsetalimitonsomething,it’llbeafairlyarbitrarynumber,asitwilltakesometimetoseewhatworksforyou.However,settinglimitsisn’tjustpullingarandomnumberoutofahat—it’sbasedonyourexperiencewiththattypeofactivity,andbasedonwhatyouthinkyouridealis.

Forexample,whenyoufirstsetalimitonthenumberoftimesyouplantocheckyoure-mail,ifyoujustrandomlyselectanumber,itcouldbewelloverathousand.Butyouknowfromexperiencethatthatwouldobviouslybetoohighalimit,soyou’lllikelychoosefromarangethat’sreasonablebasedonyouryearsofexperienceincheckinge-mail.Let’ssayyounormallychecke-mailtentofifteentimesaday,andthatseemsliketoomuchforyou.You’respendingmostofyourdayine-mail,insteadofgettingyourotherworkdone.Soyoumightchoosefromarangeofonetofivetimes,asthatseemsideal.Maybeyou’lltrytwiceaday—onceinthemorningandoncebeforeyouleavework.

Thenextstepistotestitout,toseeifthatlimitworksforyou.Isitalimityoucanreasonablystickto?Isithurtingyourcommunicationwithothersinanappreciableway?Areyouabletogetmuchmoreworkdonewiththislimit?

Thinkofyourfirstweekwiththatlimitasanexperiment.Ifitdoesn’tworkforyou(andthere’snosinglelimitthatworksforeveryone),thenadjustitabit.Iftwiceadayisn’toftenenough,trythreetimesaday.Ifyouthinkyoucangetbywithevenless,tryonceaday.Thentestthatnewlimitoutuntilyoufindwhatworksforyou,anduntilyoumakethatlimitapartofyourdailyroutine.Onceit’sahabit,youcanmoveontothenextareaofyourlife.Sosettinglimitsforanythingelsewillworkthesameway:

1. Analyzeyourcurrentusagelevels(howmanytimesdoyoudosomethingaday?)andpickalowerlimitbasedonwhatyouthinkwouldbeideal.

2. Testitoutforaboutaweek,andthenanalyzewhetherthat’sworkingforyou.

3. Ifitdoesn’twork,adjusttoanewlevelyouthinkmightwork

better,andtestthatoutforaboutaweek.

4. Continuetoadjustuntilyoufindtherightlevelanduntilyoumakeitahabit.

Onceyou’velearnedtosetlimits,youwillthenlearntomakethemostofthoselimits—bychoosingtheessentialandthensimplifying.That’swhenthepoweroflimitscanreallybeseen:whenthelimitsforceyoutoreduceyourselftoonlytheessentials.We’lldiscussthisinthenextchapter.

three

ChoosingtheEssential,andSimplifying

INTHISCHAPTER,we’llexplorePrinciple2,ChoosetheEssential,andthenPrinciple3,Simplifying.Choosingtheessentialisthekeytosimplifying—youhavetochoosetheessentialbeforeyousimplify,oryou’rejustcuttingthingsoutwithoutensuringthatyou’rekeepingtheimportantthings.

Howdoyouknowwhat’sessential?That’sthekeyquestion.Onceyouknowthat,therestiseasy.

Onceyouknowwhat’sessential,youcanreduceyourprojects,yourtasks,yourstreamofincominginformation,yourcommitments,yourclutter.Youjusthavetoeliminateeverythingthat’snotessential.

It’sliketheoldjoke:howdoyoucarveastatueofanelephant?Justchipawayeverythingthatdoesn’tlooklikeanelephant.Well,firstyouhavetoknowwhattheelephantlookslike.

PUTTHEHORSEBEFORETHECART

Manyproductivitysystemswilltellyoutodothingsinreverse:They’lltellyouhowtodothingsquickly,withouttryingtofigureoutwhatthingsyoushouldbedoing.They’lltellyouhowtogettheurgenttasksdone,andhowtohandleamassofassignmentsandinformationcomingatyou,butthesesystemsdon’tdo

agoodjobofdiscriminatingbetweenwhat’simportantandwhat’snot,andyouendupdoingeverythingthat’sthrownatyou.Thatputsyouatthemercyoftheflowoftasksandinformationcomingatyou—inotherwords,atthemercyofanyone’swhimorrequests.

Instead,youmustaskyourselfineverythingyoudo,whatisessential?Whetherthat’saskingyourselfwhatyouwanttodotoday,orthisweek,orthisyear,orinyourlifeingeneral,askyourselfwhatisessential.Whetherthatbedecidingwhiche-mailstoreplyto,whatyoucanbuythismonthwithyourlimitedbudget,howtodeclutteryourdeskoryourhouse—askyourselfwhattheessentialsare.

Thatputsthehorsebeforethecart,insteadofafterit—you’reidentifyingtheessential,andthenaccomplishingthoseessentials.

CHOOSINGTHEESSENTIAL:ASERIESOFQUESTIONS

Ineverythingyoudo,usethesequestionstoguideyoutochoosetheessential,especiallyifyouhaveproblemsdeciding.Onceyougetthehangofit,youwon’tneedthesequestionsanymore—they’llbecomeautomatic.

1.Whatareyourvalues?Valuesaresimplyknowingwhatthingsaremostimportanttoyou.Thinkaboutthethingsthatreallymattertoyou,thequalitiesyouwanttohave,theprinciplesyouwanttoliveyourlifeby.Onceyou’veidentifiedthesevalues,everythingyoudoandchooseshouldfollowfromthose.

2.Whatareyourgoals?Whatdoyouwanttoachieveinlife?Howaboutoverthenextyear?Howaboutthismonth?Andtoday?Ifyouknowwhatyou’retryingtoachieve,youcandetermineifanactionoritemwillhelpyouachieveit.

3.Whatdoyoulove?Thinkaboutwhatyoulove,whoyoulovetospendtimewith,whatyoulovedoing.

4.Whatisimportanttoyou?Alongthesamelines,makealistofthemostimportantthingsinyourlife,inyourwork,orinwhateverareayou’rethinkingabout.

5.Whathasthebiggestimpact?Ifyouhaveachoicetomakebetweenalistofprojectsortasks,thinkaboutwhichprojectortaskwillmakethebiggestdifferenceinyourlifeorcareer.Whatwillhavethebiggesteffectoneverythingelse?Forexample,ifyouhaveachoicebetweenmakingsomecalls,havingameeting,andwritingareport,thinkabouttheimpacteachtaskwillhave:thecallsaretoclientswhospendperhapsonehundreddollarseachonyourcompany,themeetingiswithaclientwhowillbringintenthousanddollarsinbusinessifyoucanclosethedeal,andthereportissomethingthatmightnotevenberead.Themeeting,inthisexample,hasthebiggestimpact,andisthereforethemostessential.

6.Whathasthemostlong-termimpact?There’sadifferencebetweenthesizeofanimpactanditslong-termvalue.Forexample,ameetingwithaclientmightbringintenthousanddollarsnextweek,butalong-termmarketingcampaignmightbringinhundredsofthousandsofdollarsoverthenextyear.Theimpactdoesn’thavetobeintermsofmoney—itcouldbeanythingthat’svaluabletoyou.

7.Needsvs.wants.Thisisagoodcriteriatousewhenyou’retryingtodecidewhethertospendoncertainitems:Whichitemsdoyouactuallyneed,andwhichonesarejustthingsyouwant?Ifyoucanidentifyneeds,youcaneliminatemostofthewants,whicharenonessential.

8.Eliminatethenonessential.Sometimesit’susefultoworkbackward,ifyou’rehavingtroublefiguringouttheessentials.Ifyouhavealistofthingstodo,forexample,startbycrossingoffthenonessentialitems.Youknowthatwashingyourcar,forexample,isn’tasimportantaspayingyourbillsorfixingthatleakthatiscostingyouhundredsofdollarsonyourwaterbill.Onceyoueliminatesomeofthenonessentialstuff,youareleftwiththemoreessentialthingsonthelist.

9.Continualeditingprocess.Mostofthetimeyoudon’tparethingsallthewaydowntotheessentialsonyourfirsttry.Youeliminatesomeofthenonessentialsandgivetheremainingthingsatry.Thenyoutakeanotherlookatitinaweekortwoandeliminatemorethings.Continuethatprocessuntilyouarehappythatyoucan’teliminateanythingelse.

HOWTOAPPLYTHEQUESTIONS

Thelistofquestionsaboveisagoodwaytodeterminewhichthingsareessentialtoyouifyou’rehavingdifficulties,nomatterwhatareaofyourlifeyou’reexamining.Fromyourworkprojectsandtasks,toe-mails,tofinances,togoals,toyourcommitmentsinlife,totheclutterinyourhomeandonyourdesk,identifyingtheessentialsisthefirstandmostimportantstepinsimplifyingthingssothatyoucanbemoreeffective.

Thekeyistotakeafewmoments(orhours,ordays,ifnecessary)tostopwhatyou’redoingandthinkaboutitinabroaderperspective.Areyoufocusingontheessentials?Whataretheessentials?Canyoueliminatethenonessentials?Takethetimetoaskyourselfthequestionsaboveandyou’lldoamuchbetterjobofhoninginonwhatyoureallyneedtodo,andreallywanttodo—abetterjoboffocusingonwhat’simportant,andongettingtheimportantthingsdone.That’llcutbackonthetimeyouspenddoingthingsthataren’timportant,thatyoudon’tlovedoing,thatdon’tleadtotheaccomplishmentofyourgoals.

Herearesomewaysyoucanapplytheessentialsquestions(withmoredetailinthefollowingchaptersonthesetopics):

Lifecommitments:Whatcommitmentsinyourlifeareessential?Applythequestionsabove,especiallythoseaboutvaluesandgoalsandthethingsyoulove,toreduceyournonessentialcommitments.

Yearlygoals:Atthebeginningofeachyear,weareoftenfilledwiththedesiretoaccomplishmanygoals.Itdoesn’talwaysturnoutthewaywewantedatthebeginningoftheyear,andoneofthemainreasonsforthatishavingtoomany

goals.Pickoneortwogoalsfortheyearandfocusonthose.Learntousetheessentialsquestionstodecidewhichgoalsarethemostessential.Youcanalwaysgettothelessessentialgoalslater.

Workprojectsandtasks:Ifyouhavealonglistofprojectsandtasks,youneedtosimplify—usetheessentialsquestionstodecidewhatyourprioritiesare.Whatprojectwillyoufocusonthisweek?Whattaskswillyoufocusontoday?Eliminateasmanynonessentialprojectsandtasksaspossible.Theessentialsquestionsregardingyourgoals,andtheimpactofeachprojectandtask,arethemostrelevant.

E-mails:Ifyouhavetwentye-mailstoanswer,usetheessentialsquestionstopickthethreetofivee-mailsyou’reactuallygoingtoanswertoday.Worryaboutthenonessentialonestomorrow—orifyoudare,justeliminatethem.

Finances:Theneedsvs.wantsquestionisimportanthere,butsoarethequestionsaboutgoalsandvalues.Ifyoualignyourspendingwithyourgoalsandvalues,you’lleliminatealotofnonessentialspending,andyourfinanceswillbebetteroff.

Clutter:Eliminateclutterbystartingwiththeneedsvs.wantsquestion,byeliminatingthenonessentialandusingacontinualeditingprocess.Eventuallyyou’llweedoutthejunkandgetdowntowhatistrulynecessaryandthethingsyoutrulyloveanduse.

Regularreview:Choosingtheessentialisalmostneveraone-timedecision.It’ssomethingyouhavetorevisitregularly,asnewthingsaccumulate,asyourvaluesandgoalschange,asyoulearnthatyoucanlivewithlessandless.Ifyougothroughanareaofyourlifeandeliminatemanyofthenonessentials,markadateinyourcalendartorevisitthatarea,andcontinuetheeditingprocessoverandover.Andlearntoenjoytheprocess,nottostriveforacertaindestination.

Simplifyingisn’tmeanttoleaveyourlifeempty—it’smeanttoleavespaceinyourlifeforwhatyoureallywanttodo.Knowwhatthosethingsarebeforeyoustartsimplifying.

Principle3:Simplifying—EliminatingtheNonessential

Onceyou’veidentifiedtheessential,thetaskofsimplifyingistheoreticallyeasy—youjusthavetoeliminateallthenonessential.However,inpracticethisisn’talwayseasy,althoughitdoesgetlessdifficultthemoreyoudoit.

Let’ssayyouhaveatasklist,forexample,andyou’veidentifiedthetopthreethingsyouneedtodoonthatlist.Tosimplifythelist,you’dwanttoeliminateasmanyofthenonessentialthingsonthelistaspossible—everythingthat’snotidentifiedasessential.Soyoustartbycrossingoffthethingsthataren’treallyimportant,thendelegatingothertasksthatcanbedonebycoworkers,andfinallypostponingassignmentsthatyoudoneedtogetdonebutthatdon’tneedtobedonetoday.

Thehardpartcomeswhenotherswantyoutogetsomethingdone,butyoudon’tthinkit’sessential.Inthatcase,you’llhavetolearntosay“no.”We’lltalkmoreaboutthisinthechapteronSimpleCommitments,butfornowit’susefultounderstandthatsaying“no”issimplyacommitmenttostickingtotheessentials.Ifthatmeanstellingpeopleyoudon’thavetimetodomore,thenthat’swhatthecommitmentmeans.Andsaying“no”getseasierwithpractice,especiallyasyougainconfidencethatstickingtotheessentialissomethingthatwillhavegreatbenefitstoyouinthelongterm.Additionally,otherswillstarttorespectyouforbeinghonestaboutwhatcommitmentsyoucantakeonwithoutoverloadingyourself,andtheywillstarttorespectyourtimeifyourespectitfirst.

fourSimpleFocus

“Withthepast,Ihavenothingtodo;norwiththefuture.Ilivenow.”—RALPHWALDOEMERSON

PRINCIPLE4ofthePowerofLessisthatyourfocusisyourmostimportanttool.Focusonlesstobecomemoreeffective.FocusonOneGoalinordertoachieveit(moreonthislater).Focusonthetaskathandinsteadofmultitasking,andyou’llbemoreproductive.Focusonthepresent,toreduceanxietyandstress.

Principle4:Focusisyourmostimportanttoolinbecomingmoreeffective.

HOWTOUSEFOCUSTOIMPROVEYOURLIFE

Let’sfirstlookathowtousethepoweroffocusindifferentways:

Focusonagoal.Focusisthemostimportantfactorindeterminingwhetheryou’llachieveagoalorsticktocreatinganewhabit.Notself-discipline,notrewards,notsheerwillpower,notevenmotivation(thoughthisisalsoanimportantingredient).Ifyoucanmaintainyourfocusonagoalorhabit,youwillmoreoftenthannotachievethatgoal

orcreatethathabit.Ifyoucan’tmaintainyourfocus,youwon’tachievethegoal,unlessit’ssuchaneasygoalthatitwouldhavehappenedanyway.It’sthatsimple.

Focusonnow.Focusingonthepresentcandoalotforyou.Ithelpsreducestress,ithelpsyouenjoylifetothefullest,anditcanincreaseyoureffectiveness.Focusingonnow,ratherthanthepastorthefuture,isn’teasy,andtakesalotofpractice.We’llexplorehowtodothisinthenextsection.

Focusonthetaskathand.Haveyouevercompletelylostyourselfinatask,sothattheworldaroundyoudisappears?Youlosetrackoftimeandarecompletelycaughtupinwhatyou’redoing.That’sthepopularconceptof“flow”,andit’sanimportantingredientinfindinghappiness—havingworkandleisurethatgetsyouinthisstateofflowwillalmostundoubtedlyleadtoit.Peoplefindtheirgreatestenjoymentnotwhenthey’repassivelymindless,butwhenthey’reabsorbedinamindfulchallenge.Thefirststepistofindworkthatyou’repassionateabout.Next,youneedtoclearawaydistractionsandfocuscompletelyonthetaskyousetbeforeyourself.

Focusonthepositive.OneofthekeyskillsI’velearnedishowtobeawareofmynegativethoughts,andtoreplacethemwithpositivethoughts.Ilearnedthisthroughquittingsmokingandrunning—therearemanytimeswhenyoufeellikegivingup,andifyoudon’tcatchthesenegativethoughtsintime,they’llfesterandgrowuntilyouactuallydogiveup.Instead,learntofocusonthepositive.Thinkabouthowgreatyoufeel.Thinkabouthowotherpeoplehavedonethis,andthatyoucantoo.Thinkabouthowgooditwillfeelwhenyouaccomplishwhatyou’retryingtodo.Also,learntoseethepositiveinjustaboutanysituation.Inmyexperience,thisresultsinhappiness,asyoudon’tfocusonthedifficultornegativepartsofyourlife,butonthegoodthings.Bethankfulforwhatyou’vebeengiven.

FOCUSINGONONETASK(SINGLE-TASKING)

Weliveinamultitaskingworld.You’reworkingontwoprojectsatoncewhenyourbossplacestwonewdemandsonyourdesk.You’reonthephonewhenthreenewe-mailscomein.You’retryingtogetoutthedoorontimesoyoucanpickupafewgroceriesfordinneronthewayhome.YourBlackBerryisgoingoffandsoisyourcellphone.YourcoworkerstopsbywitharequestforinfoandyourGoogleReaderisfilledwithmorethanahundredarticlestoread.

You’velearnedtojuggletasksathighspeed,worthyofthisageoftheInternet.

Inthesedaysofinstanttechnology,wearebombardedwithanoverloadofinformationanddemandsofourtime.Butwe’renotdesignedtohandlethiskindofoverload:Soonwearesooverwhelmedwiththingstodothatoursystembeginstofallapart.

Instead,Iadvocatesingle-tasking,focusingononetaskatatimeandworkingassimplyaspossibletopreserveyourmentalhealthandtoimproveyoureffectiveness.Hereareafewquickreasonsnottomultitask:

1. Multitaskingislessefficient,duetotheneedtoswitchgearsforeachnewtaskandthenswitchbackagain.

2. Multitaskingismorecomplicated,andthusleavesyoumorepronetostressanderrors.

3. Multitaskingcanbecrazy-making,andinthisalreadychaoticworld,weneedtoreinintheterrorandfindalittleoasisofsanityandcalm.

Here’showtosingle-taskinstead:

1. Firstthinginthemorning,workonyourMostImportantTask.Don’tdoanythingelseuntilthisisdone.Giveyourselfashortbreak,thenstartonyournextMostImportantTask.Ifyoucangettwotothreeofthesedoneinthemorning,therestofthedayisgravy.

2. Whenyouareworkingonataskinatimeblock,turnoffallotherdistractions.Shutoffe-mailandtheentireInternetif

possible.Shutoffyourcellphone.Trynottoansweryourphone,ifpossible.Focusonthatonetask,andtrytogetitdonewithoutworryingaboutotherstuff.

3. Ifyoufeeltheurgetocheckyoure-mailorswitchtoanothertask,stopyourself.Breathedeeply.Refocusyourself.Getbacktothetaskathand.

4. Ifotherthingscomeinwhileyou’reworking,puttheminyourin-box,ortakenoteoftheminasmallnotebookoronatextfileonyourcomputer.Getbacktothetaskathand.

5. Everynowandthen,whenyou’vecompletedthetaskathand,processyournotesandin-box,addingthetaskstoyourto-dolistsandrefiguringyourscheduleifnecessary.Processyoure-mailandotherin-boxesatregularandpredeterminedintervals.

6. Therearetimeswhenaninterruptionissourgentthatyoucannotputitoffuntilyou’redonewiththetaskathand.Inthatcase,trytomakeanoteofwhereyouare(writingdownnotesifyouhavetime)withthetaskathand,andputallthedocumentsornotesforthattasktogetherandaside(perhapsinan“action”folderorprojectfolder).Then,whenyoucomebacktothattask,youcanpulloutyourfolderandlookatyournotestoseewhereyouleftoff.

7. Takedeepbreaths,stretch,andtakebreaksnowandthen.Enjoylife.Gooutside,andappreciatenature.Keepyourselfsane.

HOWTOFOCUSONTHEPRESENT

Similartosingle-tasking,youcanlearntofocusonthepresent,insteadofthepastorfuture,inordertostaycalm,productive,effective,andsane.

Theonlywaytolearntofocusonthepresentistopractice.Thismightbehardtodoatfirst.Yourmindwillwander,oryou’lldoalotof“meta-thinking,”whichisjustthinkingaboutwhatyou’rethinking,andwhetheryou’rethinkingittherightway,andwhetherthereisarightway…andsoon,untilyou’renolongerinthepresent.That’snormal.Wealldothat.

Don’tbeatyourselfupaboutthat.Don’tgetdiscouraged.Justpractice.

Practiceinthemorning.Practicewhileeatinglunch.Practiceduringyoureveningjogorwalk.Practicewhilewashingdishesafterdinner.Everyopportunityyouget,practice.Andyou’llgetbetter.Ipromise.

Herearesomeofthebestwaystopracticefocusingonthepresent:

1.Whenyoueat,justeat.Thebestwaytothinkaboutbeingpresentisthis:Dojustonethingatatime.Whenyouareeating,don’treadorthinkaboutsomethingelseorironyourclothes(especiallyifyou’reeatingsomethingthatmightsplatterontheclothes).Justeat.Payattentiontowhatyou’reeating.Reallyexperienceit—thetaste,thetexture.Doitslowly.Samethingwithanythingelse:washingdishes,takingashower,driving,working,playing.Don’tdomultiplethingsatonce—justdowhatyou’redoingnow,andnothingelse.

2.Beaware.Anotherimportantstepistobecomemoreawareofyourthoughts.Youwillinevitablythinkaboutthepastandfuture.That’sOK.Justbecomeawareofthosethoughts.Awarenesswillbringchange.

3.Begentle.Ifyouthinkaboutthepastorfuture,donotbeatyourselfupaboutit!Don’ttrytoforcethosethoughtsoutofyourhead.Justbeawareofthemandgentlyallowthemtoleave.Thenbringyourselfbacktothepresent.

4.Exercise.Exerciseismymeditation.Irun,andtrytoonlyrun.Ifocusonmyrunning,onmybreathing,onmybody,onnothingbutthepresent.It’sgreatpractice.

5.Dailyroutines.Anythingcanbeyourmeditation.Whenyouwashdishes,thisispractice.Thisisyourmeditation.Whenyouwalk,focusonwalking.Makeanythingyoudobecomepractice.

6.Putupreminders.Areminderonyourfridgeorcomputerdesktop,oronyourwall,isagoodthing.Oruseareminderservicetosendyouadailye-mail.

Whateverittakestokeepyourfocusonpracticingbeingpresent.

7.Thereisnofailure.Youwillmessup,butthat’sOK,becauseitisimpossibletomessup.Theonlythingthatmattersisthatyoupractice,andovertime,ifyoukeepdoingit,youwilllearntofocusonthepresentmoreoftenthanyoudonow.Youcannotfail,evenifyoustopdoingitforawhile.Doingitatallissuccess.Celebrateeverylittlesuccess.

8.Keeppracticing.Whenyougetfrustrated,justtakeadeepbreath.Whenyouaskyourself,“WhatshouldIdonow,Self?”,theansweris“Keeppracticing.”

five

CreateNewHabits,andthePowerofLessChallenge

PRINCIPLE5,CreateNewHabits,isthesecrettomakinglastingchangesthatwillactuallyimproveyourlife.Thereisaseriesofhabitchangesrecommendedineverychapterofthisbook,butifyouattempttomasterallofthematonce,you’llbeoverwhelmedandyourfocuswillbespreadouttoothin.Andinamatterofweeks,thechangesyouattemptwillbefornaught.

Principle5:Createnewhabitstomakelong-lastingimprovements.

Instead,theonlywayyou’llformlong-lastinghabitsisbyapplyingthePowerofLess:Focusononehabitatatime,onemonthatatime,sothatyou’llbeabletofocusallyourenergyoncreatingthatonehabit.

Thetoolthatyou’llusetoformeachhabitisanextremelypowerfulone:thePowerofLessChallenge,athirty-daychallengethathasprovenveryeffectiveinforminghabitsforthousandsofreadersofmyZenHabitsblog.

Here’showitworks:

1.SelectonehabitfortheChallenge.Onlyonehabitpermonth.Youcanchooseanyhabit—whateveryouthinkwillhavethebiggestimpactonyourlife.

2.Writedownyourplan.Youwillneedtospecificallystatewhatyourgoalwillbeeachday,whenyou’lldoit,whatyour“trigger”willbe(theeventthatwillimmediatelyprecedethehabitthat’salreadyapartofyourroutine—suchasexercisingrightafteryoubrushyourteeth),andwhoyouwillreportto(seebelow).

3.Postyourgoalpublicly.Tellasmanypeopleaspossiblethatyouaretryingtoformyournewhabit.Isuggestanonlineforum,butyoucoulde-mailittocoworkersandfamilyandfriendsorotherwisegetthewordouttoalargegroup.

4.Reportonyourprogressdaily.Eachday,tellthesamegroupofpeoplewhetherornotyousucceededatyourgoal.

5.Celebrateyournewhabit!Afterthirtydays,youwillhaveanewhabit.Youwillstillneedtomakesureyoudothehabiteachday,butit’llbefairlywellentrenchedifyouwereconsistentallmonth.

WHYITWORKS

Thisthirty-dayChallengeisoneofthebestwaystoformahabit,andithasworkedrepeatedlyforseveralreasons:

Commitment.JusttheactofcommittingtotheChallenge,andsettingameasurablegoal,anddeclaringittoabunchofothers,isahugesteptowardmakingthehabitchangeasuccess.

Accountability.Thedailycheck-inmakesyouwanttodoyourdailyhabit,soyoucanreportyoursuccesstoothers.Thereisaverypositivefeeling(reward)yougetwhenyoureportthatyoudidyourhabittoday.

Encouragement.Thereisalsovalueinreportingyourstruggles.Forexample,duringonechallenge,whenIgotsickforafewdays,Iaskedmygrouptomotivateme.Theywereextremelyencouraging,andIgotbackintomyhabit.

Inspiration.Whenyouseeeveryoneelsedoingsogreat,it’sinspiring.Iftheycandoit,socanyou!Andtherearealwayssomereallyinspiringpeopleineachgroupofchallengers.

Now,youdon’tneedtojointheMonthlyChallengeontheZenHabitsforumstoachieveapositivehabitchange,butIhighlyrecommendyoufindagroup—onlineoroff—tohelpyousticktoyourhabitchange.Thereareplentyofonlineforumsandcommunitygroupstohelpwiththesekindsofthings—thepowerofagroupcanhelpleverageyourpowertochangeahabit.

THERULES

ThereareonlyafewrulesyouneedtofollowtomakethisChallengeasuccess.Ifyoufollowtheserules,itwouldbehardforyounottoformanewhabitbytheendofthethirtydays.

Doonlyonehabitatatime.Donotbreakthisrule,becauseIassureyouthatifyoudomultiplehabitsatonce,youwillbemuchlesslikelytosucceed.Trustme—I’vetriedbothwaysmanytimes,andinmyexperiencethereisa100percentrateoffailureforformingmultiplehabitsatonce,anda50to80percentrateofsuccessifyoudojustonehabitatatime—dependingonwhetheryoufollowtherestoftheserules.

Chooseaneasygoal.Don’tdecidetodosomethingreallyhard,atleastfornow.Later,whenyou’regoodathabitchanges,youcanchoosesomethingharder.Butfornow,dosomethingyouknowyoucandoeveryday.Infact,choosesomethingeasierthanyouthinkyoucandoeveryday.Ifyouthinkyoucanexerciseforthirtyminutesaday,choosetenminutes—makingitsupereasyisoneofthebestwaystoensureyou’llsucceed.

Choosesomethingmeasurable.Youshouldbeabletosay,

definitively,whetheryouweresuccessfulornottoday.Ifyouchooseexercise,setanumberofminutesorsomethingsimilar(twentyminutesofexercisedaily,forexample).Whateveryourgoal,haveameasurement.

Beconsistent.Youwanttodoyourhabitchangeatthesametimeeveryday,ifpossible.Ifyou’regoingtoexercise,doitat7a.m.(or6p.m.)everyday,forexample.Thismakesitmorelikelytobecomeahabit.

Reportdaily.Youcouldcheckineverytwoorthreedays,butyou’llbemorelikelytosucceedifyoureportdaily.ThishasbeenprovenoverandoveragainintheChallenges.

Keepapositiveattitude!Expectsetbacksnowandthen,butjustnotethemandmoveon.Noembarrassmentinthischallenge.

12KEYHABITSTOSTARTWITH

Youcanchooseanyhabitsinthisbookthatyouthinkwillhelpyoumost,atworkandintherestofyourlife.ButifIhadtorecommendtwelvehabitstostartwith(oneeachmonthforayear),thesearethetwelveIthinkcouldmakethemostdifferenceinthelivesoftheaverageperson(moreoneachhabitinlaterchapters):

1. Setyour3MITs(MostImportantTasks)eachmorning.

2. Single-task.Whenyouworkonatask,don’tswitchtoothertasks.

3. Processyourin-boxtoempty.

4. Checke-mailjusttwiceaday.

5. Exercisefivetotenminutesaday.

6. Workwhiledisconnected,withnodistractions.

7. Followamorningroutine.

8. Eatmorefruitsandveggieseveryday.

9. Keepyourdeskdecluttered.

10. Saynotocommitmentsandrequeststhataren’tonyourShortList(seeChapter13,SimpleCommitments).

11. Declutteryourhouseforfifteenminutesaday.

12. Sticktoafive-sentencelimitfore-mails.

six

StartSmall

WHILEYOUWOULDdojustfineifyouonlyfollowedthefirstfiveprinciplesofthisbook,Principle6,StartSmall,issimplyawaytoensurethegreatestlikelihoodofsuccessfortherestofthechanges.

Principle6:Startnewhabitsinsmallincrementstoensuresuccess.

Oftentimespeopleareenthusiasticaboutmakingchanges—whetherit’saboutimplementinganewproductivitysystemorstartinganewexerciseprogram—sotheystartoutwithbigambitions.

Theproblemisthatthatenthusiasmoftenrunsoutofsteamafteraweekortwo,andthegoalcomestofailure.That’swhathappenswithalmosteveryNewYear’sresolution—peoplestartoutwithalotofenthusiasmbutitdiesdownbytheendofJanuary.

ThesolutionisPrinciple6:StartSmall.Followthisprinciplewitheverythingyoudo:withanygoal,withanyhabitchange,withanychangeinyourlife.

I’veproventhisprincipleoverandoveragaininmylifechanges.WhenI

startanexerciseprogram,Iwillstartwithonethat’saseasyaspossible,evenifIknowIcandomore.WhenIstartwithanewhabit,Istartwithjustatinyhabitchange,evenwhenIthinkIcanhandlemore.WhenIdecidedtostartwakingearlier,Istartedbywakingonlyfifteenminutesearlier.

WHYSTARTINGSMALLWORKS

PeopleoftenskipPrinciple6,becausetheydon’treallyunderstandwhyit’ssoimportant.HerearesomeofthemainreasonsthatStartingSmallworkssowell:

Itnarrowsyourfocus.Focus,aswediscussedinthesectiononPrinciple4,isincrediblyimportantingettinganythingdone.Ifyoustartanenterpriseorlifechangetryingtotacklealotatonce,youspreadyourfocusanddecreaseyoureffectiveness.Butbystartingsmall,youkeepyourfocusnarrowed,andthereforeincreaseyourpower.

Itkeepsyourenergyandenthusiasmgoingforlonger.Bystartingoutdoinglessthanyoucanactuallyhandle,youbuildupenergyandenthusiasm,kindoflikewaterbuildingupbehindadam.Thatbuilt-upenergyandenthusiasmensuresthatyoudon’trunoutofsteamearlyon,butcankeepgoingformuchlonger.

It’seasiertohandle.Easierisbetter,especiallyinthebeginning.Ifthechangeyou’remakingishardtostickto,youaremakingitmorelikelythatyou’llfail.

Youensuresuccess.Choosesomethingsosmallthatsuccessisalmostguaranteed.Sure,asmallsuccessisnotassatisfyingasabigsuccess,butit’sonlysmallintheshortterm.Ifyoustartoutwithasmallsuccess,youcanbuilduponit,getanothersmallsuccess,andbuilduponthat,andsoon—untilyouhaveaseriesofsmallsuccessesthatadduptoaverylargesuccess.Andthat’smuchbetterthanalargefailure.

Gradualchangeislonger-lasting.Thinkofdieting—whenyougoonasevere,drasticdietandyoulosefortypoundsintwomonths,itfeelsprettygreat,butmoreoftenthannotthosefortypoundswillcomeback,andthensome.Butifyoudo

smallchanges—perhapsonetotwopoundsaweek—thosepoundsaremuchmorelikelytostayoff.Thishasbeenprovenrepeatedlyinweightlossstudiesanditworkswithanykindofchange.Makegradualchanges,inaseriesofsmallstepsovertime,andyou’remorelikelytosticktothosechangesthanifyouattemptabigchangeallatonce.

HOWTOAPPLYSTARTINGSMALL

Sowhenandwithwhatdoyoustartsmall?Always,andwithanything.Anyhabitchangeyouundertake,anyexerciseorproductivityorlifechange,anygoalorprojectortask—startsmall.

Herearebutafewexamples:

Exercise:Startwithfivetotenminutesaday,insteadofthirty.

Wakingearly:Startbywakingfifteenminutesearlier,insteadofanhourortwo.

Productivity:Startbytryingtofocusonthetaskathandforfivetotenminutesatatime.

E-maileffectiveness:Startbylimitingyourselftocheckinge-mailjustacouplefewertimesaday.

Healthyeating:Startbymakingjustonechangetoyourdiet,insteadofdoingamajordietoverhaul.

Amajorproject:Startwithjustonesmalltaskfromtheproject,insteadoftryingtotackleeverythingatonce.Thengotothenextsmalltask,andsoon.

Decluttering:Startwithjustonedrawer,insteadoftryingtodeclutteryourentireofficeorhome.

partIIinPRACTICE

seven

SimpleGoalsandProjects

I’MASAMBITIOUSinsettinggoalsasanyoneIknow—IoftenhaveseveralgoalsI’dliketoachieveatwork,alongwithself-improvementgoalsthatcanrangefromlearninganewlanguagetorunningamarathon.AndwhileI’vealwaysbeenenthusiasticaboutsettingandstartingnewgoals,mylistofthingsIwanttoachieveseemstogrowfasterthanIprogressonanyofthosegoals.

It’seasytosetgoals,butextremelydifficulttoachievethemifthey’regoalsworthachieving.

Tacklingagoaltakesenergyandfocusandmotivation,threethingsthatareinlimitedsupplyinanyperson,nomatterhowdriven.Takingonmanygoalsatoncespreadsoutyouravailableenergyandfocusandmotivation,sothatyouoftenrunoutofsteamaftertheinitialcoupleweeksofenthusiasm.Thenthegoalssitthereonyourlist,gatheringdust,whileyoufeelguiltyaboutnotachievinganyofthem.

ThePowerofLessisperfectforachievinggoals:Limityourselftofewergoals,andyou’llachievemore.

Atthesametime,we’lllookatwaystonarrowyourfocusonyourprojects,sothatyoucancompletethemmoreeffectivelyandmoveforwardonyourgoals.We’llapplylimitationstoourprojectstoincreaseoureffectiveness.

THEONEGOALSYSTEM

TheOneGoalSystemissimple—youfocusononegoalatatimetoincreaseyoureffectivenesswiththatgoal.Tobreakthegoalintoconcretesteps,youwillfocusononesub-goalatatime.

1.Chooseagoal.Makealistofthingsyou’dliketoaccomplishoverthenextfewyears.Thislistmighthavetenthingsonit,ormaybetwenty.Now,youcouldtrytotackleallthosegoalsatonce,ortakeonasmanyaspossible.Butthatwilldiluteyoureffectiveness.Instead,choosejustone,andfocuscompletelyonthatgoaluntilyoucancheckitoffthelist.

I’drecommendthatyouchooseagoalthatyoureallywanttoaccomplish—thestrongeryourdesire,themorelikelyyouaretoactuallystickwiththatgoaluntilyou’refinished.It’snotenoughtosay,“Itwouldbenicetoachievethisgoal.”Youneedtowantitsodeeplythatyou’llmakeityourtoppriorityformonthstocome.

Ialsorecommendthatyouchooseagoalthatwilltakeaboutsixmonthstoayeartocomplete.Anylongerthanayear,andyouwillhaveproblemsmaintainingyourfocus,andmightbecomeoverwhelmed.Ifit’smuchshorterthansixmonths,itmightnotbesomethingworthyofyourefforts.

Whatifyoureallywanttoachieveit,butit’lltaketwoyearsormore?Breakitdownintosub-goals,sothatyourfirstsub-goalwilltakeaboutayear.Forexample,ifyouwanttobecomealawyer,youhavetogetintolawschool,andthencompletethreeyearsofschool,andthenpassthebarexam.Makeyourfirstgoalsimplytobeacceptedintoadecentlawschool—that’lltakesixmonthstoayear.

2.Breakitdowntoasub-goal.Onceyou’vedecidedonyourOneGoal,thenextstepistofocusonasmallersub-goalthatyoucanaccomplishinthenextmonthortwo.Inthelawschoolexampleabove,youmightdecidethatyoursub-goalwillbetodoresearchintosomeofthetoplawschoolsintheareasyouprefer,tochoosefiveschools,andtogathertheessentialinformationabouteachschool.Toshortenthat,youmightcallthissub-goalsomethinglike,“CompleteresearchonTop5schools.”

Thereasonforasub-goalistocreateshorterstepsthataremoreimmediatelyachievablethanalarger,yearlonggoalmightbe.Ifyoudon’tbreakagoalintosmallersteps,youcanbecomeoverwhelmedbysuchalargeandvaguegoal.Youcan’tsitdowntoday,forexample,andgetacceptedintoalawschool.It’snotsomethingthat’sdoable.Soyouhavetobreakitintomoredoablesteps.

3.Weeklygoal.Eachweek,createaweeklygoalthatwillmoveyouclosertoyoursub-goal.Sothisweek,usingtheexampleabove,youmightjustwanttofindallthedecentlawschoolsintheareasyouprefer,findtheirWebsites,andstartreadingaboutthem.Thatwouldbeyourweeklygoal.

4.Dailyaction.Theneachday,chooseoneactionthatwillmoveyouclosertoyourweeklygoal.Makethisactionyourmostimportanttaskfortheday.Doitfirst,beforeyoudoanythingelse.ThiswillhelpkeepyoufocusedonyourOneGoal,insteadofpushingitbackwhenother,morepressingthingscomeup.

Thismightsoundcomplicated,butinaction,it’sfairlysimple.YousetaOneGoalfortheyear(itcanbesetatanytime—youdon’thavetowaitforJanuary).Yousetasub-goalthatwilltakeamonthortwotocomplete.Eachweekyousetaweeklygoal.Eachdayyouchooseataskthatwillmoveyoutothatweeklygoal,andmakethatyourmostimportanttaskoftheday.

ThisOneGoalsystemwillkeepyoufocusedonachievingyourgoal,movingclosertoiteachday.Itwillkeepyoufromspreadingyourselftoothin,andwillallowyoutofocusallyourenergyoncompletingthisgoal.

THESIMPLEPROJECTSLIST

Ifyoudon’talreadyhaveaprojectslist,Isuggestyoumakeaquick-and-dirtyonerightnow.Listalltheprojectsyouhavegoingoninyourlife,includingallyourworkprojects,anypersonalandhomeprojects,projectswithcivicorganizations,andsoon.Anythingthatwouldtakeadayormoretocomplete,tousearoughguideline.Ifyoucandoitinanhourortwo,youcanstilllistitifyoulike—aprojectisusuallysomethingthattakesseveraltaskstocomplete.

Howmanyitemsareonthislist?Ifyou’relikemostpeople,youprobably

havetentotwentyprojectsonthislist.Ifyou’reanoverachieverorextremelybusy,youmightevenhavemore.Thisisn’tagoodthing.Toomanyprojectsleadstoineffectiveness.

NowI’mgoingtoaskyoutodosomethingthatmightbeabitdifficultforsomeofyou:Choosejustthetopthreeprojectsonyourlist.Don’tchoosethreefromeachareaofyourlife—justchoosethreealtogether.

ThislistofthreeprojectsisyourSimpleProjectsList.Everythingelsegoesonasecondlist,whichwe’llcallthe“OnDeckList.”You’llprobablystillgettotheseprojectsonyourOnDeckList,butyouwon’tbeworkingonthemrightnow.They’reonholduntilyoucompletethethreeprojectsonyourSimpleProjectsList.

Letmemakethispointclear:InthissystemI’mrecommending,youdon’tmoveaprojectfromtheOnDeckListtotheSimpleProjectsListuntilyoufinishallthreeprojectsonyourSimpleProjectsList.Notjustone,butallthree.Why?Becausethiswillensurethatyoudon’tleaveoneofthetopthreeprojectssittinguncompletedwhileyoukeepmovingnewprojectsontoyouractivelist.Itwillensurethatyoufocusoncompletionofallofyourtopthreeprojects,notjustoneortwo.

ThetopthreeprojectsonyourSimpleProjectsListwillbeyourentirefocusuntilyoufinishallthree,andthenthenextthreeprojectsyoumoveontothisactivelistwillbeyourfocus.Thisensuresthatyouaren’tspreadingyourfocustoothin,andthatyou’recompletingyourprojects.

Irecommendthat,atalltimes,youhaveatleastoneofyourtopthreeprojectsberelatedtoyourOneGoalsothatyouarealwaysmovingthatgoalforward.Oftheothertwoprojectsonyouractivelist,youcanchooseanotherwork-relatedgoalandapersonalgoal(ifyoulike).Whateverworksbestforyoursituation.

Whynothavejustoneproject?Iflimitingyourselftothreeprojectsmakesyoumoreeffective,whynotlimityourselftooneprojecttomakeyourselfevenmoreeffective?You’dthinkthiswouldbelogical,especiallyasIrecommendedhavingjustOneGoal.However,therealityisthatalmosteveryprojectisheldupasyouwaitforinformation,forotherpeopletogetbacktoyou,forotherstocompletetasks,forvendorsorclientstodosomething.It’srarethatyoucanstart

aprojectandworkonituntilit’sfinished,withoutanywaiting.Ifthisispossible,Isuggestyoudoexactlythat:Startaprojectanddon’tworkonanythingelseuntiltheprojectiscompleted.

Unfortunately,that’softennotthecase:Wemustwaitfortasksorinformationorotherthingstobecompletedbeforewecanmoveontothenextstep.Andsowemultitask,butnotonthetasklevel—wemultitaskonlyontheprojectlevel.Whileoneprojectisonholdforanhouroradayorafewdays,wecanbeworkingonanother.I’vefoundthatthreeprojectsworksbestforthistypeofproject-levelmultitasking—anymorethanthree,andyoubegintoloseeffectiveness.

Forthissystemtowork,aprojectshouldtakenomorethanamonthtocomplete,andpreferablyonlyaweekortwo.Ifaprojecttakesayeartocomplete(forexample),thenyouwillnotbeabletoworkonanyotherprojectsforayear.That’stoolongtoputtherestofyourlifeonhold.Instead,breaklong-termprojectsintosmallerprojectsthatcanbecompletedinamonthorless.Ifyouwanttolaunchamagazine,forexample,focusfirstontheprojectofcomingupwithadesign,thenonputtingtogetherateam,thenonfindingfinancialbacking,andsoon.

FOCUSONCOMPLETION

Manyofuslosefocusofwhat’simportantwhenitcomestoprojectmanagement.Wemightgetcaughtupinorganizingtheproject,inlayingoutatasklistandtimeline,andassigningtaskstodifferentteammembers.Wemightgetcaughtupinmeetingsaboutourprojects,insendinge-mails,andininstant-messagingpeopleabouttheproject.Wemightgetcaughtupinthetechnologyofit.

Buttherealfocusofanyprojectshouldbeingettingitdone.Completion.Eachday,putyourfocusonmovingyourprojectforwardtocompletion.Putasidedistractions,andputallofyourenergyintooneprojectatatime—youcanswitchtoanotherofyourthreeactiveprojectswhennecessary,butatanygivenmoment,justfocusononeproject.Andmoveitclosertocompletion,untilyou’redone.

Hereareafewmoretipstohelpyougettocompletion:

Haveanoutcomeinmind.Howwillyouknowwhenyourprojectiscomplete?Youshouldhaveaclearlydefinedoutcome.Visualizewhattheprojectwilllooklikewhenyou’redone.Thenwritethisdowninasentenceortwo,nexttotheprojecttitleonyourSimpleProjectsList.Thisiswhatyou’reworkingtoward.

Movefromprojectstotasks.Youcan’tactuallydoprojects.Youcanonlydotasks.Oneofthefirststepsinanyproject,afterwritingoutyourdesiredoutcome,istolistthetasksrequiredtogettheprojecttothedesiredoutcome.Thenyoutakethistasklist,choosetheverynexttaskthatneedstobedone,andfocusoncompletingthattask.Oncethat’sdone,focusonthenexttask,andsoon,untilyou’redone.Onetaskatatime.

Eachday,chooseatasktomoveyoutocompletion.Whenyoustartyourday,choosethreeMostImportantTasks(alsoknownasMITs—moreonthisinlaterchapters)tocompletethatday.Whateverelseyoucomplete,ifyoucompletethesethreeMITs,youwillhavehadagoodday.AtleastoneofthoseMITsshouldberelatedtooneofyourprojects,andpreferablyallthreeshouldbeproject-related.Thismethodwillhelpyoumoveyourprojectsclosertocompletioneachday.

Reassessyourprogress.It’seasytogetsidetrackedwithaproject,tofocustoomuchonorganizingorcommunicatingortechnologyorpeople.Tokeepyourselfontrack,onceaweek,reviewyourprojectsandseehowmuchcloseryouaretocompletion,andwhatstillneedstobedone.Ifyounoticethatyou’refocusingonsomethingthat’snotgettingyouclosertocompletion,refocusyourself.

WHATIFIDON’TCONTROLMYPROJECTSLIST?

Ifyou’relucky,youhavecompletecontroloveryourprojectslist—youchoosewhatprojectstoworkonandthenumberofprojectsyou’reworkingonatanygiventime.Unfortunately,we’renotallthatlucky.Iknowthefrustrationsof

workingunderaboss,whereyourbossdictates(sometimestoamicroscopiclevel)whatyou’resupposedtobeworkingon.Sometimesbossescanberealcontrolfreaks,whichmighthelpthemcompleteprojectsbutisn’tidealforyou.

Andwhileyoumightwanttolimityourprojectstojustyourtopthreeprojectsinordertoincreaseeffectiveness,that’snotalwaysuptoyou.Youmightchoosethreeprojects,andthenyourbossmightpileafewmoreofthemonyourplateanddemandthattheygetdonerightaway.

Fortunately,thereareafewstrategiesyoucanusetolimitthenumberofprojectsyou’reworkingon,evenifyoudon’thavecompletecontroloveryourprojectslist.Notallofthesestrategieswillworkforyou,butchoosetheonethatyouthinkwillworkbestandgiveitatry:

1.Makeyourownprojectslist.Sometimesit’sbettertoaskforforgivenessthantoaskforpermission.Thatmeansjustdowhatyouthinkisright,andletyourbossknowaboutitlater,afteryou’vemadeitasuccess.Thisstrategyworksbestifyourbossisn’tasupercontrolfreak,anddoesn’tdemandconstantprogressupdates.Ifyoucanworkonyourownforatleastafewdays,andpreferablyaweek,thisstrategymightwork.Justchooseyourtopthreeprojectsandfocusonthemcompletely.Whenyou’veknockedthemoutandcompletedthem,youcanshowyourbossyoursystemandpointtoitasyourreasonforsuccess.Ordon’tevenmentionit,butkeepdoingit.Yourbossmightnotcarehowyou’recompletingtheprojects,butwillprobablyjustbehappythatthey’regettingdone.

2.Delay.Ifyourbossinsiststhatyouworkonmorethanthreeprojectsatonce,andisconstantlyaskingforprogressupdates,youmightbesuccessfulwithdelaytactics.Thatmeansthatyoustillfocusonyourtopthreeprojects,andtrytocompletethemasquicklyaspossible—butforanyothersthatheinsistsyoustillworkonatthesametime,youjustdelayuntilyoucancompleteyourtopthreeprojects.Askforextensions,putcertaintasksinotherpeople’slapssothattheprojectisdelayedforadayortwo,orjustsay(truthfully)thatyoudidn’tgettotheprojecttodaybecauseyouwereworkingonyourotherprojects.I’mnotsuggestingdishonesty,butjusthonestdelays.

3.Talktoyourbossaboutyoursystem.Thisisactuallythebeststrategyonthislist,inmyopinion,andifyoucanpullitoff,Ihighlyrecommendit.Howitworks:Sitdownwithyourbossandtellhim(orher)aboutyoursystem—theSimpleProjectsList.Tellhimthatitwillmakeyoumoreeffective,andthatyouwillbebetteratcompletingprojectsbecauseofthissystemoflimitations.Besurethatyoufollowthroughwiththispromise,however—yourbosswon’tbehappyifyoulimityourselftothreeprojectsandthensitonthem.Ifnecessary,showyourbossthisbookandlethimreadit.Ifthat’snotenough,showhimmyWebsite(zenhabits.net)andgivehimmye-mailaddress(it’sontheAboutpageofmysite).I’lltalktohim.

4.Askyourbosstochoose.Ifnoneoftheabovestrategieswork,andyourbossinsistsonaddingprojectstoyourlistandinsiststhatyouworkonallofthem,allthetime,thenyouneedtobehonestandup-frontwithyourboss—youonlyhavealimitedamountoftime,andyoucan’tdoeverythingatonce.Talktoyourbossaboutthis,andtellhimthatifhedoesn’twantyoutochoosewhatprojectstoworkon,thenlethimchooseforyou.Showhimtheprojectshe’sgiventoyou,andalltheitemsonyourprojectslistandto-dolist,andtellhimyouonlyhavetimetoworkonthreeprojectsatthemoment.Lethimchoosewhichprojectsthosewillbe,andtellhimyouwillputallofyourfocusoncompletingthosethreeprojects,andthatwhenyou’redone,you’lllethimchoosethenextthree,andsoon.Ifyourbossdoesn’tacknowledgethatyouhavelimitedtime,andthatyoucanonlyworkonsomanyprojectsatonce,thenyoumightconsiderlookingintootherjoboptions—yourbossisdemandingmorethanishumanlypossiblefromyou.

eight

SimpleTasks

IFYOU’VESIMPLIFIEDyourgoalsandprojects(inthepreviouschapter),you’vemadegreatheadwaytowarddoinglessbutbecomingmoreeffectiveandmorepowerful.However,it’snotuntilyougettotheleveloftasksthatyoucanactuallyaccomplishanything.You’renotdoinganythinguntilyou’redoingtasks.

Onapracticallevel,simplifyingyourtaskscanbethemostimportantstepyoutake.Asalways,inthischapterwe’llfocusondoingless,butdoingitmoreeffectivelyand,ineffect,accomplishingmorewhilereducingstress.

Wedothatwithlimitations,byfocusingononethingatatime,andbyfocusingonsmallthingsratherthanlargeones.

MOSTIMPORTANTTASKS(MITS)

ThepoweroflimitationsworksonthetasklevelbychoosingonlythreeMostImportantTasks(MITs)thatwillbecomethefocusofyourday.

It’sverysimple:YourMITsarethetasksyoumostwantorneedtogetdonetoday.Inmycase,IchoosethreeMITseachday,butyoumightfindthatonlytwoMITsworkbetter,orperhapsfour.Isuggeststartingwiththreeandseeingifthatworksforyou.

DoIgetalotmoredonethanthreethings?Ofcourse.ButtheideaisthatnomatterwhatelseIdotoday,thesearethethingsIwanttobesureofdoing.So,theMITisthefirstthingIdoeachday,rightafterIhaveaglassofwatertowakemeup.

WhatabouttheotherthingsIneedtodotoday?They’reusuallysmallerthings,notasimportant,buttasksorerrandsthatneedtogetdoneanyway.Here’sthebeautyofMITs:Usually,thesmall,unimportanttasksthatweneedtogetdoneeveryday(e-mail,phonecalls,paperwork,errands,meetings,Internetbrowsing,etc.)willgetinthewayofourimportant,longer-termtasks—butifyoumakeyourMITsyourfirstpriorityeachday,theimportantstuffwillgetdoneinsteadoftheunimportant.

OnceI’mdonewithmyMITs,Iwilldothesmallertasksinbatches(Icallthem“batchtasks”—moreonthisinthenextchapter).

ThekeytotheMITsforme:AtleastoneoftheMITsshouldberelatedtooneofmygoals.Whiletheothertwocanbeworkstuff(andusuallyare),onemustbeagoalaction.ThisensuresthatIamdoingsomethingtomovemygoalsforwardthatday.

Thatmakesallthedifferenceintheworld.Eachday,I’vedonesomethingtomakemydreamscometrue.It’sbuiltintomymorningroutine:Setatasktoaccomplishforoneofmygoals.Andsoithappenseachday,automatically.

Anotherkey:DoyourMITsfirstthinginthemorning,eitherathomeorwhenyoufirstgettowork.Ifyouputthemofftilllater,youwillgetbusyandrunoutoftimetodothem.Getthemoutoftheway,andtherestoftheday,anythingyouaccomplishisextra.

It’ssuchasmallthingtoimplement,andyetformostpeopleit’sahugerevelation.Sometimessmallthingscanmakebigdifferences.

ThekeystomakingMITsworkforyou:

Setthemfirstthinginthemorning.

Limityourselftothree.

EnsurethatoneMITisgoal-related,orrelatedtooneofyour

topthreeprojects.

Focusonaccomplishingthesetasksaboveallothers.

DoyourMITsearlyintheday,beforeyoudoanythingelse.

WhenyoudooneofyourMITs,besuretosingle-task—focusonthattaskonly(seePrinciple4).

SMALLTASKS

Focusingonfewerbutmorecriticaltasksisimportant,buttoreallysimplifyourtaskswemusttalkaboutthesizeofthetasksaswell.Wecanfocusonjustonetasktoday,butifit’sahugeandintimidatingtask,wecanbecomeoverwhelmedandnotactuallydothetask.Limitingourtasksdoesn’tgetanythingdoneifthosetasksaretoobig.

Instead,breakthingsdownintosmalltasksthatcanbeaccomplishedinanhourorless—evenbetterwouldbetwentytothirtyminutes,orevententofifteenminutes.Thesmaller,thebetter,becausethenwe’remorelikelytoactuallygetthemdone.

Let’ssaywehaveahugetaskstaringusintheface:“WriteAnnualReport.”Welookatthattask,andwestareatit,andweknowweshoulddoit,butwestareatitsomemore.Thenwechecke-mail,orcheckourbankaccount(“Mybalanceisstillnegative?”),orlogontoaforumorsiteweenjoy,orcallafriendorcoworker.Thelargetaskdoesn’tgetdone.

Instead,beatthatprocrastinationhurdlebymakingthetasksmaller.“Outlinereport”or“brainstormreporttopics”or“writefirstsectionofreport”aremuchbetter,becausethey’rethingswecandoinashorteramountoftime.They’relessintimidating.Wecangetstartedonthemandgetthemdoneintentotwentyminutes.

Anytimeyoufindyourselfprocrastinatingonanimportanttask,seeifyoucanbreakitintosomethingsmaller.Thenjustgetstarted.Don’tprocrastinate,butjustgetstarted.Onceyou’vegottenstarted,youwillgainmomentum,andwillhavebrokenthroughtheinitialresistancebarrier,andyou’llbemuchmorelikelytocontinuetothenextsmalltaskandthenextoneuntilthelargetaskiscompleted.

Smalltasksarealwaysbetterthanlargeones.

nine

SimpleTimeManagement

THEREARETHEsuper-organizedamongus—thosewhoscheduleeveryminuteandsticktotheplantotheletter—andthenthere’stherestofus.Weplanourschedules,butourdaysdon’tusuallyresembletheplanverymuch.

Ofcourse,that’sbecausethingschange,andwehavetobeabletogowiththeflow.Timemanagement,especiallyforthemorefluidworkarrangementsofmanypeoplethesedays,doesn’thavetobearigidortime-consumingprocess.

Keeptimemanagementsimpleandavoidrigidityorcomplicatedschedules.

ANOPENAPPROACH

Forthosewhoareoverwhelmedbyaschedule,andwouldliketotakeamoreopenapproach,Isuggestminimalisttimemanagement.Insteadofallowingyourlifetoberuledbyyourcalendar,letyourlifeberuledbythemoment.

Howcanyoudothat?First,don’tscheduleappointments.Thiswillbearadicaldepartureformanypeople,butit’snotanewideaandit’sworkedforothers.Ifsomeonerequestsanappointment,tellthemthatyoudon’tscheduleappointments.Instead,askthemtocallyoualittlebeforethey’dliketomeettoseeifyoucanmakeit.Ifyou’refree,takethemeeting.Isuggestkeepingyourmeetingstoabareminimumifyouwanttogetalotofworkdone.Now,there

willbesomethingsyou’llwanttonoteonacalendar(IuseGoogleCalendar,accessiblefromanywhere).Theseareeventsthatyou’dliketohaveonyourcalendar,butyoudon’tnecessarilyhavetogotothem.Thecalendar,then,servesasawayforyoutoseewhatyouroptionsare,butnotasatooltoruleyourlife.Isuggestnotkeepingtoomuchonthecalendar,though.

Whatdoyoudoinsteadofkeepingaschedule?Knowyourpriorities(seethenextsection)andfrommomenttomoment,decidewhatyoushouldbedoingbasedonyourpriorities,howmuchtimeyouhaveavailable,andyourenergylevel.

Learntobeinthemoment,focusingononetaskatatime,andimmersingyourselfcompletelyinthattask.Ifyouaren’tfindingyourselfpassionateaboutacertaintask,allowyourselftomoveontosomethingyou’remorepassionateabout.Themorepassionateyouareaboutataskorproject,themoreenergyyou’llputintoit,andthebetteryou’lldowithit.

Immersingyourselfinatask,completely,isaphenomenoncalled“flow.”Flowhasgottenalotofattentionrecently,inboththescientificworldandtheworldofproductivity,becausepeoplehavediscoveredthatthestateofflowcanleadtoincreasedproductivityandhappiness.Basically,flowisastateofmindthatoccurswhenyouloseyourselfinatask,andtheworldaroundyoudisappears.Youlosetrackoftime.We’veallexperiencedthisfromtimetotime—thetrickislearninghowtopurposefullygetyourselfintoflow.

Thewaytogetintoflow:

1. Chooseataskyou’repassionateabout.Ifit’ssomethingyoudon’tcareabout,youwon’tfindflow.

2. Chooseataskthat’schallenging.Butnottoochallenging—ifit’stoodifficult,you’llhaveahardtimegettingintoflow.Ifit’stooeasy,you’llgetbored.

3. Eliminatedistractions.Thelessyouthinkaboutotherthings,thebetter.Youwanttofocuscompletelyonthistask.Getridofdistractionssuchasphones,e-mailnotifications,instant-messaging,clutteronyourdeskorcomputerdesktop,etc.

4. Immerseyourselfinthetask.Juststartonthetask,andfocus

completelyonit.Forgetabouteverythingelse,andlettheworldmeltaway.Getexcitedaboutthetaskandhavefun.Warning:Youmaylosetrackoftimeandbelateforyournextappointment—whichiswhyit’sabadideatoscheduletoomanyappointments.

KNOWYOURPRIORITIES

Ifyouhaveanopenschedule,howdoyouknowwhatyoushouldbeworkingonatanygivenmoment?Priorities.SeethelastchapteronMostImportantTasks(MITs)—basically,youshoulddecidefirstthinginthemorningwhatyouwanttoaccomplisheachday.Makeashortlistofthreethingsyou’dreallyliketoaccomplish.Yourthreemostimportantthings.Youcanhaveashortlistofothersmalltasksyou’dliketodoinabatch(savethemforlaterintheday),butthefocusofyourdayshouldbethelistofthreeimportantthings.Letthislist,andnotyourschedule,betherulerofyourday.

Onceyou’vesetyourpriorities,thetrickisfindingfocus.Ihighlyrecommendthatyoufocusononethingatatime.Togetyourshortlistofthreeimportanttaskscompleted,you’llneedtofocusoneachoneofthosetasksinturn,andtrytofocusonthemtocompletion.Thiswillalsobearadicaldepartureforthemultitaskerinallofus.Butsingle-taskingisnotonlymoreproductive,it’smorerelaxingaswell.

Itwilltakealittlewhileforyoutogetusedtosingle-tasking,ifyouareusedtojumpingfromonethingtoanotherandback.That’sOK.Justgentlybringyourselfbacktoyourtaskeverytimeyoufeelyourselfbeingpulledaway.Keepatitandyou’llsoonbeknockingoffyourmostimportanttaskseasily.

Whileyou’reworkingonyourtask,you’llthinkofotherthingsyouneedtodo,orbeinterruptedbyacoworkerwitharequest,oranideawillpopintoyourhead.Youcan’tletthoseideasandrequestsruleyourlife.Insteadofswitchingtasks,justmakeanoteofothertasksorideasastheycomeup,toconsiderforlater.Haveasheetofpaperorasmallnotebookoratextfileonyourcomputer(orwhereveryouwriteyourlistofthreeimportanttasks),andgetbacktothetaskyouwereworkingon.Whenyou’redonewiththattask,youcantakealookatyourlisttoseewhatyoushouldbeworkingonnext.

REDUCEYOURTASKS

Thefewertasksyouhave,thelessyouhavetodotoorganizethem.Ifyoufocusonlyonthosetasksthatgiveyouthemostreturnonyourtimeinvestment,thenyouwillbecomemoreproductiveandhavelesstodo.Youwillneedonlythesimplesttoolsandsystem,andyouwillbemuchlessstressed.Ithinkthat’sawinningcombination.

Withtaskmanagement,aswithanytypeoforganization,myphilosophyistoreducebeforeyouorganize.Ifyouonlyhavethreethingstoorganize,insteadoftwenty,youactuallydon’tneedtoorganize.Withtimemanagement,thatmeansyoushouldreducewhatyouneedtodo.Youcaneliminatetasks,delegatethem,postponethem,getoutofcommitments.Focusalwaysonsimplifying,reducing,eliminating.Andkeepyourfocusonwhat’simportant.Everythingelseiseasy.

BATCHPROCESSING

AsidefromyourthreeMostImportantTasks,therearealwayssmallertasksyouneedtocompleteeachday.Thetrickis1)nottoletthesesmallertaskstakepriorityoveryourMostImportantTasks,and2)todotheminbatchesasmuchaspossibletosavetime.Computerprogrammerscallthislasttrick“batchprocessing”or“batching”—yousavesimilartasksandthendothemallatonce.Itsavesthetimeitcoststoswitchbetweentasks,becauseinsteadofswitchingfromimportanttaskstophonecallstoe-mailstomeetingstoprojectstophonecallsagain,youdoalltheimportanttasksfirst,thenphonecallsatonce,allthee-mailsatonce,etc.Lessswitchingmeansfewercomplications,lesstimewasted,andasimplerschedule.

Makeanoteofthesetypesof“batchtasks”onyourto-dolist,belowyourlistofthreeMITs.Youcangroupthebatchtasksintodifferentcategories(“calls”,“e-mails”,etc.)orjusthavealistof“batchtasks.”Ihighlyrecommendthatyouwaituntillaterinthedaytoprocessthesebatchtasks,insteadofdoingthemearlyintheday.Savethemorningsforyourimportanttasks,getthemoutoftheway,thenfocusonknockingoutyourbatchtasksasquicklyaspossible.

Whatkindsoftasksworkwellforbatching?Herearesomeideas:

Phonecalls.Insteadofmakingcallsthroughouttheday,justmakeanoteofthecallsyouneedtomake,anddothemallatonce.Ioftenreserveaboutthirtyminutesforcalls,butyourneedsmayvary.Youmightalsoconsideronlyreceivingphonecallsduringacertaintime—routeeverythingtovoicemailduringthetimesyou’reunavailable.Thiswillallowyoutoconcentrateontheimportanttasks,ratherthanbeinginterruptedeverytimesomeonefeelslikecallingyou.

E-mails.Thisisahugeissueformostofusthesedays—e-mailhasbecomesoimportantthatitcanruleourlivesifweletit.I’llexpandonthistopicinthenextchapter,butbasically,tobatchyoure-mails,justcheckandprocesse-mailsatcertainpredeterminedtimesthroughouttheday.Isuggesttwiceaday—perhapsat10a.m.and4p.m.,orwhateverworksbestforyou.Avoiddoingitfirstthinginthemorning,oryou’llgetsocaughtupinyoure-mailthatyou’llpushbackyourimportanttasks.

Errands.Doallyourerrandsatoncetosavethetimeittakesforyoutogooutofthehomeoroffice.Youmightdothemattheendoftheday,orsaveonedayasyourErrandsDay.

Paperwork.Idon’thavealotofpaperworkthesedays(I’vegonepaperless),butthat’snotaluxuryformostoffices.Ifyouhavealotofpaperworkyouhavetoprocessorfilloutorreview,dothatallatonceratherthanthroughouttheday.

In-boxprocessing.Similartoe-mailprocessingonceortwiceaday,in-boxprocessingisgoingthroughthepapersinyourphysicalin-boxtodeterminewhataction,ifany,isrequiredforeachdocument.Ifyoudothisaspaperscomeintoyourin-box,you’llberuledbythat,insteadofbeingincontrolofyourschedule.Instead,setacertaintimetoprocessyourentirein-boxtoempty.

Meetings.Youmightnotbeincontrolofmeetings,butifyouare,Irecommendthatyoudothemallatonce,atacertaintime,andsetaverydefinedpurposeandtimelimitforeachmeeting.Ithelpstobatchmeetingsbecausethenyouhavealargerpartofyourworkdayopenforimportanttasks.If

possible,avoidmeetingsaltogether—they’remostoftenawasteoftime.

DifferentWebsites.Ifyou’relikeme,therearecertainWebsitesthatyoucheckregularly.Insteadoflettingthesesitesinterruptyourimportanttasks,setacertaintimetocheckthemanddothemallatonce.

Research.Somejobsrequirethatyoudoresearchorreadinginpreparationforwriting.Dothisallatonceifpossible.

Maintenance.Therearelittletasksthatwemustdoasmaintenanceforourjobs—forbloggerslikeme,thosearethingslikecheckingreadercomments,checkingortweakingouradsystems,doingHTMLcodetweaks,andsoon.Forotherjobs,thereareothermaintenancetasks—notyourimportantprojectsortasks,butlittlethingsthatstillneedtobedone.Batchtheseattheendofyourday,ifpossible.

SIMPLETIMEMANAGEMENTTOOLS

Timemanagementwouldn’tbesimpleifyouhadtoomanytools,ortoolsthatweretoocomplicated,tomanagethesystem.Ifyou’vefollowedthesimpletimemanagementphilosophyoutlinedabove,youwon’tneedalotoftools.

Herearesomesimpletoolsyoumightuse:

Calendar.Insteadofusingaheftyorganizer,oracomplicatedcomputerprogram,Irecommendthatyoukeepitassimpleaspossible.Ifyouhavefewappointments,youmighttryasimplepaperwallcalendar—basicallyjustboxeswhereyoucannoteoneortwoappointmentsoreventseachday.Ifyouhaveotherthingsthatneedtobenoted,suchasyourkids’soccerschedulesandparent-teacherorganizationmeetings,youmightuseanonlinecalendar—IhighlyrecommendGoogleCalendar,asitissimple,quick,andeasy,andaccessiblefromanycomputerwithanInternetconnection.ThepapercalendarorGoogleCalendarcanalsobeusedasa“ticklerfile”tomarkremindersforthingsyouwantto

rememberlater.

Papernotebookortextfile.Irecommendasimplepocketnotebook,andthat’sall.Youcanusethisnotebooktocaptureeverythingasyouthinkofit,towritedownyourMITsandbatchprocesstasksfortoday,andtowritedownyourOneGoal.Ifyouonlyhaveonetool,youdon’tneedtoworryaboutittoomuch.Ifyou’dprefertousethecomputertowritedownyourtasks,Irecommendjustusingasimpletextfile.That’smycurrentsetup:Ihaveato-dotextfile,andpopitopenwhenIneedtowritedownataskoridea.AtthetopofthetextfilearemyMITsfortheday,andbelowthataremybatchtasks,andbelowthatareothernotesorideasthatmightcomeup.Iprocessitonceaday.

ten

SimpleE-mail

FORMANYOFus,e-mailhasbecomeoneofourstandardmodesofworking.Weliveinoure-mailin-box,doingeverythingfrompersonalcommunicationwithfamilyandfriendstocarryingoutcompleteprojectsthroughe-mail.

Unfortunately,e-mailhasalsocometooverwhelmus,takingusawayfrommoreimportanttasks,threateningtotakeoverourlives.

There’sabetterwaythanlivinginyoure-mailin-box.Minimizeyourtimespentdoinge-mail,transformyoure-maileffectivenessbysettinglimitations,andbecomeane-mailmasterbygettingyourin-boxtoempty.

It’spossibletodoallthesethings,bysettinglimitsandbylearningtoprocesse-mailquicklywithsimplerulesandhabits.Youcangetoutofe-mailandbacktodoingthingsthatareimportant—yourOneGoal,forexample,oryourtopthreeprojects,oryourMostImportantTasks.

Thewaytoe-mailnirvanaisbyapplyingthePowerofLess—simplify,setlimits,andfindyourselfbecomingmorepowerfulwithe-mail.

LIMITYOURIN-BOXES

Howmanydifferentwaysdoyougetinformation?Somepeoplemighthavesix

differentkindsofcommunicationstoanswer—textmessages,voicemails,paperdocuments,regularmail,blogposts,messagesondifferentonlineservices(MySpace,Face-book,AOL,etal).Eachoftheseisatypeofin-box,andeachmustbeprocessedonacontinuousbasis.It’sanendlessprocess,butitdoesn’thavetobeexhaustingorstressful.

Gettingyourinformationmanagementdowntoamoremanageablelevelandintoaproductivezonestartsbyminimizingthenumberofin-boxesyouhave.Everyplaceyouhavetogotocheckyourmessagesortoreadyourincominginformationisanin-box,andthemoreyouhave,theharderitistomanageeverything.Cutthenumberofin-boxesyouhavedowntothesmallestnumberpossibleforyoustilltofunctioninthewaysyouneedto.

Here’show:

1.Listallthewaysyoureceiveinformation.Youmightforgetafewatfirst,butasyouremembernewways,addthemtothelist.Thelistshouldincludedigitalandanaloginformation—paperandcomputer.

2.Evaluateeachtoseeifitgivesyouvalue.Sometimeswecontinuetocheckcertainin-boxes,evenifit’snotaddinganythingtoourlives.It’sjustmorestufftocheck.Haveapagerwhenyoualsohaveacellphone?Maybethepagerisn’tanyusetoyouanymore.

3.Findwaystocombineoreliminatein-boxes.Ifsomething’snotgivingyouvalue,considereliminatingitfromyourlife.Seeifyoucangoaweekwithoutmissingit.Foralltherest,seeifyoucancombinemultipleinformationstreamsintoonein-box.Forexample,howmanyplacesinyourhomedoincomingpapersgetplaced?Haveonein-boxathomeforallmail,papersfromwork,schoolpapers,phonenotes,computerprintouts,schedules,andmore.Havefoure-mailservices?Seeifyoucanforwardthemalltooneservice.Getvoicemailsfromacoupleofdifferentservices?Tryforwardingthemtooneservice,oruseanInternetservicetodeliverthemtoyoure-mailin-box.Atwork,haveonein-boxforallincomingpaperwork.Readalotofblogs?Putthemallintoafeed-reader,inasinglestreamofposts,insteadofhavingtocheck

twenty-fivedifferentin-boxes.Thefewerin-boxesyouhave,thebetter.Aimforfourtosevenin-boxesifpossible;oneortwowouldbeideal.

LIMITYOURTIMEINE-MAIL

Ifyouspendallofyourdayine-mail,orgoingbacktoe-mailandcheckingfornewmessages,you’llnevergetmuchelsedone.Instead,makethedecisiontoonlychecke-mailatpredeterminedtimes,andleaveitalonefortherestoftheday—thatwillallowyoutoworkonmoreimportantstuff.

Irecommendthatyoudecide,inadvance,howmanytimesyou’llchecke-mail,andatwhattimes.Herearesometips:

Numberoftimesperday.Howmanytimesyouchecke-mailperdayisafunctionofthekindofworkyoudo.Ifyoucangetawaywithcheckinge-mailjustonceperday,thatwouldbeideal—you’dhaveveryfewe-mailinterruptionsandyoure-mailhabitswouldbemostefficient.However,formanypeople,twiceadayisprobablymorerealistic.Others,whoneedtobeabletogete-mailmoreoftenbecausetheirjobordersaresentthroughe-mail(customerservice,forexample),mightwanttolimittheire-mailcheckingtoonceperhour(perhapstenminutesatthetopofthehour).Stillothersmightbeabletogetawaywithcheckinge-maillessthanonceaday—everyotherday,twiceaweek,orevenonceaweek.Ifyoucancountyourselfamongthesepeople,takeadvantageofthisandlimityourselftothebareminimum.

Thebesttimes.I’vefoundthatifyouchecktwiceaday—10a.m.and4p.m.aregoodtimes—thatletsyougetamid-morningfeelforwhaturgente-mailsyouhaveandthenallowsyoutofinishupyoure-mailbeforeyouleavefortheday.However,eachperson’sworkdayisdifferent—youshouldtakealookatyourworkhabits,yourusualschedule,andyourneeds,anddecidewhattimesarebestforyou.Thensticktothosetimes.

Notfirstthinginthemorning.Acommonproductivitytipisnottochecke-mailfirstthinginthemorning,andit’sgood

advice.Bycheckinge-mailinthemorning,you’reallowinge-mailtodictatetherestofyourday,insteadofdecidingforyourselfwhatyourMostImportantTaskswillbeforthatday.You’reputtingyourselfindangerofgettingstuckinyoure-mailandnotgettingoutofit.Manypeople,however,haveahardtimestickingwiththisruleofnotcheckinge-mailfirstthinginthemorning,becausethey’readdictedtoe-mail.Whilethisisacommonproblem,itcanbebeat.Thefirststepistobemoreawareofyoure-mailusage—pauseandgivesomethoughtbeforeactuallyopeningupe-mail.Thenextstepistomakeitamoreconsciousdecision—thinkaboutwhetheryouwouldrathercheckyoure-mail,orachieveyourgoals.Ifyoucanfocusongettingyourimportantprojectsdone,andadvancingyourOneGoal,insteadofcheckinge-mail,youwillbethatmuchclosertoachievingyourdreams.

Turnoffe-mailnotifications.Moste-mailprogramshaveawaytogiveyouanalert(throughasoundorapop-upmessageorablinkingicon)thatletsyouknowyou’vereceivedanewe-mail.Ifyouusesuchanalert,Ihighlyrecommendthatyouturnitoff.Itinterruptswhateveryou’reworkingon,anddrawsyoubacktoe-mailbasedonthescheduleofanyonewhochoosestoe-mailyou,notatatimeyoudetermine.Instead,turnoffalertsandonlychecke-mailatpredeterminedtimes.You’llgetalotmoredonethisway.

Howtosticktothishabit.It’seasytosaythatyoushouldonlychecke-mailtwiceaday,butmuchhardertostickwithitwhenconstantlycheckinge-mailisaningrainedhabit.Howdoyousticktothehabitofcheckinge-mailless?Youmakeitapriorityforaweekortwo.Putupasignwiththerule:NOE-MAILEXCEPTFOR10A.M.AND4P.M.!(orwhateverscheduleyouchoose).Everytimeyoufindyourselfhabituallyswitchingtoe-mail,stopyourself.Breathe.Andthenfocusonyourworkinstead.Yourreward:You’llgetalotmoredone.

REDUCEYOURINCOMINGSTREAM

Oneofthemostimportantpartsofanye-mailstrategyistostopanyunnecessary

e-mailfromgettingintoyourin-boxinthefirstplace.AlthoughIgethundredsofe-mailsaday,mostofthosee-mailsnevermakeittothein-box.Theygostraighttothespamfolderorthetrash.Youonlywanttheessentiale-mailsinyourin-box,oryou’llbeoverwhelmed.

Herearesomeessentialwaystoreduceyourincomingstreamofe-mails:

1.Junk.IrecommendusingGmail,asithasthebestspamfilterpossible.Igetzerospaminmyin-box.That’sahugeimprovementovermypreviousaccountsatYahoo,Outlook,andHotmail,whereI’dhavetotediouslymarkdozensofe-mailsasspam.

2.Notifications.IoftengetnotificationsfromthemanyonlineservicesIuse,fromAmazontoWordPresstoPayPalandmanymore.AssoonasInoticethosetypesofnotificationsfillingupmyin-box,Icreateafilter(or“rule”ifyouuseMail.apporOutlook)thatwillautomaticallyputtheseintoafolderandmarkthemasread,ortrashthem,asappropriate.SoformyPayPalnotifications,Icanalwaysgoandcheckontheminmy“payments”folderifIlike,buttheynevercluttermyin-box.

3.Batchwork.Igetcertaine-mailsthroughoutthedaythatrequirequickaction(liketentofifteensecondseach).AsIknowthesee-mailsprettywell,Icreatedfiltersthatsendthemintoa“batch”foldertobeprocessedonceaday.Ittakesacoupleminutestoprocessthewholefolder,andIdon’thavetoseetheminmyin-box.

4.Stupidjokee-mails.Ifyouhavefriendsandfamilywhosendyouchaine-mailsandjokee-mailsandthelike,e-mailthemandletthemknowthatyouaretryingtolessenthehugeamountofe-mailyouhavetodealwith,andwhileyouappreciatethemthinkingofyou,you’drathernotreceivethosekindsofmessages.Somepeoplewillbehurt.They’llgetoverit.Otherswillcontinuetosendthee-mails.Icreateafilterforthemthatsendsthemstraightintothetrash.Basically,they’reonmykill-file.Iftheyeversendanimportante-mail(whichisrare),they’llcallmeeventuallyandaskwhyIhaven’tresponded.Itellthemthat

theire-mailmustbeinmyspamfolder.

5.Setexpectationsandpublishpolicies.Agreatstrategyforreducinge-mailsistopre-emptthembylettingpeopleknownottosendyoucertaintypesofe-mails,andtellingthemwheretogoforcommonlyrequestedinformation.Asmostpeoplewhoe-mailmegetmycontactinfofrommyWebsite,I’vecreatedasetofpoliciespublishedonmysitethataredesignedtopre-emptthemostcommone-mails.Ifpeoplefollowmypolicies,Iwillgetverylittlee-mail.Forexample,insteadofe-mailingmetoaskforalink,theycansavethelinkformeinapopularbookmarkingservice.Forsuggestionsorcommentsorquestions,theycanpostthemonacoupleofpagesthatIcreatedforthatpurpose.I’malsoplanningoncreatingaFrequentlyAskedQuestionspageformorecommonquestionsandissues.Thesepoliciesremovetheburdenonmetorespondtoeveryrequest—Istillreadthecommentsandquestions,butIonlyrespondifIhavetime.Myin-boxhasbeenunderamuchlighterburdenthesedays.Forpeoplewhodon’thaveWebsites,theycanstillestablishpoliciesandaFrequentlyAskedQuestionspagebye-mailingthemtootherpeople,publishingthemontheWeb,orsendingoutamemotocoworkers.

PROCESSTOEMPTY

Sonowthatonlytheessentiale-mailscomeintoyourin-box,thequestionishowtogetitemptyintheleastamountoftimenecessary.I’musuallyabletoemptymyin-boxinabouttwentyminutes,althoughyourprocessingtimemaydiffer,dependingonhowpracticedyouareatthefollowingmethods,andhowmuche-mailyouget,andhowfocusedyoukeepyourself.However,inanycase,youshouldbeabletogetyourin-boxemptyinaminimalamountoftimeusingthesemethods.

1.Temporaryfolder.Ifyouhaveaveryfullin-box(hundredsorthousandsofmessages),youshouldcreateatemporaryfolder(“tobefiled”)andgettothemlater,processingthemperhapsthirtyminutesatatimeuntilthey’veallbeentakencareof.Startwithanemptyin-box,andusethefollowingtechniquestokeepitempty,inaslittletimeaspossible.

2.Haveanexternalto-dosystem.Manytimesthereasonane-mailislingeringinourin-boxisbecausethereisanactionrequiredinordertoprocessit.Insteadofleavingitinyourin-box,andusingthein-boxasadefactoto-dolist,makeanoteofthetaskrequiredbythee-mailinyourto-dosystem…anotebook,anonlineto-doprogram,aplanner,whatever.Getthetaskoutofyourin-box.Makeareferencetothee-mailifnecessary.Thenarchivethee-mailandbedonewithit.Thiswillgetridofalotofthee-mailinyourin-boxveryquickly.Youstillhavetodothetask,butatleastit’snowonalegitimateto-dolistandnotkeepingyourin-boxfull.

3.Processquickly.Workyourwayfromtoptobottom,onee-mailatatime.Openeache-mailanddisposeofitimmediately.Yourchoices:delete,archive(forlaterreference),replyquickly(andarchiveordeletethemessage),putonyourto-dolist(andarchiveordelete),dothetaskimmediately(ifitrequirestwominutesorless—thenarchiveordelete),orforward(andarchiveordelete).Noticethatforeachoption,thee-mailisultimatelyarchivedordeleted.Getitoutofthein-box.Neverleaveitsittingthere.Anddothisquickly,movingontothenexte-mail.Ifyoupracticethisenough,youcanplowthroughacoupledozenmessagesveryquickly.

4.Beliberalwiththedeletekey.Toooftenwefeellikeweneedtoreplytoeverye-mail.Butwedon’t.Askyourself,“What’stheworstthatwillhappenifIdeletethis?”Iftheanswerisn’ttoobad,justdeleteitandmoveon.Youcan’treplytoeverything.Justchoosethemostimportantonesandreplytothem.Ifyoulimitthee-mailsyouactuallyreplytoortakeactionon,yougetthemostimportantstuffdoneintheleastamountoftime.Theeighty-twentyruleatwork.

5.Processtodone.Whenyouopenyourin-box,processituntilyou’redone.Don’tjustlookatane-mailandleaveitsittinginyourin-box.Getitoutofthere,andemptythatin-box.Makeitarule:Don’tleavethein-boxwithe-mailshangingaround.Nowyourin-boxshouldbeemptyandclean.Ahhh!

WRITELESS

Anotherkeytospendinglesstimeine-mailbutmakingthemostofeverye-mailyousendistowriteshortbutpowerfule-mails.Soafterallthescreeningandspamfilters,you’vechosenthefewe-mailsyou’reactuallygoingtorespondto…nowdon’tblowitbywritinganovel-lengthresponsetoeachone.Ilimitmyselftofivesentencesforeachreply(atthemaximum—manyrepliesareevenshorter).ThatforcesmetobeconciseandtochooseonlytheessentialsofwhatIwanttosay,andlimitsthetimeIspendreplyingtoe-mail.

Yourlimitmightbedifferent—perhapsaseven-sentencelimitworksbetterforyou.Experimentwithyourlimitforafewdaystofindyourideallength,andthendoyourbesttosticktothelimit.Thekeyisinlimitations:Theyforceyoutoconveyonlythekeyconceptswhilelimitingtheamountoftimeyouspendwritinge-mails.

eleven

SimpleInternet

THEINTERNET:it’snotonlywherewegetourinformationthesedays,it’swheremanyofuslive.It’swherewebuythings,wherewemeetpeople,wherewecommunicate,whereweplayandwork,wherewegotowastetime,wherewegotodoresearch.

Withsomanyfunctions,it’snowonderwecangoontheInternettodoaworktaskandgetcaughtupinadozenothersites,oftenwastinganhourortwobeforerealizingit.TheInternetcanbeablackholeofproductivity,andifweletit,itcantakeoverourlives.ApplythePowerofLesstoyourInternetusage:SetlimitationsandusetheInternetmorepowerfully.Withlimitationsandsimplicity,youcangetmoredonebothonandofftheInternet.

AWARENESS:TRACKYOURUSAGE

Trythischallenge:TrackyourInternetusageforthreedays.UseatoollikeToggl(www.toggl.com/),yaTimer(www.nbdtech.com/yaTimer/)orTick(www.tickspot.com/)totrackyourInternetusagetime,andyou’llgetagoodpictureofhowyouactuallyspendyourtime.

Thisfirststephelpsyouincreaseyourawareness,andthat’sanimportantpartoftheprocessofgettingyourInternetusageundercontrol.Tosimplify

anything,youmustfirstbecomemoreawareofit.Andsometimesitcanbeaneye-openingprocess—wemightspendalotmoretimeine-mail,oratacertainsite,orontheInternetingeneral,thanwethinkwedo.

Onceyou’vetrackedyourInternetusage,youcantakealookatwhichsitesaretime-wastersforyou—youspendalotoftimethere,butthey’renothelpingyougettoyourgoals.Thesearethesitesyouneedtolimit.

CONSCIOUSNESS:MAKEAPLAN

Afterawarenesscomesconsciousness.YouwanttoconsciouslyplanyouruseoftheInternet,insteadofjumpingonanytimeyoufeellikeitandgettingcarriedawaywithoutthinking.Conscioususemeanssettinglimitsandhavingapurposetoyouruse.Thatdoesn’tmeanyoucan’teverusetheInternetforfun,orforbrowsing,butyoushouldbedoingthisconsciously—whenyouneedtowork,work,andwhenyouhavetimetoplay,allowyourselftoplay.

YourInternetplanwillbedifferentfrommine,asitreallydependsonyourneeds,butherearesomethingstoconsider:

Whatareyourrealneeds?WhatInternetusesarecriticaltoyourwork?Whendoyouneedtousethesesitesandhowoften?

Whatareyourfunsites?Youcanstillusethem,butlimityourtimeonthesesites.Usethemasrewardsfordoingyourwork.

Whendoyouneedtodoserious,uninterruptedwork,andwhencanyouaffordtobrowsetheInternetandgetdistracted?

Isuggestthatyousetblocksofyourdayfordoinguninterruptedwork(withouttheInternet),fordoingcommunicationlikee-mailorinstantmessaging,fordoingresearchandotherwork-relatedInternetactivities,andfordoingfunstufforjustbrowsing.ThiswillallowyoutobemoreconsciousandsmarterabouthowyouusetheInternet,andwillallowyoutogetmoreworkdone.

FOCUS:LEARNINGTOWORKWHILEDISCONNECTED

OneofthebestthingsI’veeverdonetoincreasemyproductivityistodisconnectfromtheInternetwhenIwanttogetfocused,uninterrupted,seriousworkdone.WhileI’mwritingthisbook,forexample,myInternetisdisconnected.Whilethismightsoundabitdrastictomanyofyouwhoareusedtobeingconnectedallthetime,it’sactuallyquiterelaxingandenjoyabletobedisconnectedforgoodchunksoftime,onceyou’reusedtoit.

Let’ssayyousetyourthreeMostImportantTasks(MITs)fortheday,andthefirstoneiswritingareportorapaperoranarticle.YoumightfirstneedtodosomeresearchontheInternet,soyougoonwithaspecifictimeframe(let’ssaythirtyminutes)andaspecificpurpose(retrievealltherelevantinfoonrainforests).Afteryoudotheresearch,youdisconnectfromtheInternettowriteyourpaperorreport.

ManyofushavetaskslikethisthatrequireresearchorcommunicationontheInternet,butdon’trequiretheInternetforthemainpartofthetask,suchaswritingordrawingoreditingorevenreading.IfyoudothesetaskswhileconnectedtotheInternet,distractionswillcropupeveryfewminutes—youthinkofane-mailyouneedtosend,orabookyouwanttolookup,orasongyouwanttodownload.Temptationstogocheckonyourfavoritesitesareconstant.It’shardtostayfocusedonyourtaskwhenthelureoftheInternetisthereallthetime.

Disconnectingallowsyoutoputthesedistractionsinthebackground.Itmeansyouhaveonetasktodoandonetaskonly,anditmeansthatyou’llgetalotmoreworkdone.Sometipsonworkingwhiledisconnected:

DoyourInternetresearchfirst,soyoudon’tneedtoreconnectonceyougetstarted.

ClearallotherdistractionsanddisconnectfromtheInternetsoyoucanfocusonyourtask.

Setatimerandtrytoreallyfocusonthetaskforacertainamountoftime.

WhenyouthinkofsomethingyouneedtodoontheInternet,writeitdown.Youcandoitlater.Itwillwait.

Considerhavingan“offlinehour”eachdaywhenyouregularlyworkwhiledisconnected.Orevenan“offlineday”ifyouthinkyoucandoit.

Ifnecessary,actuallyunplugtheInternetsothatyoucan’tjustreconnectwithacoupleclicksofthemouse.

Ifreallynecessary,givethecordthatconnectsyoutotheInternettosomeoneelsetoholdforanhourorso.Orgosomewherequietwithyourlaptopthatdoesn’thavewirelessInternet.

Rewardyourselfforfinishingyourtaskbyallowingyourselftogotosomesiteyouenjoy,butonlywhenyou’redone.

You’llbeamazedathowmuchworkyou’llgetdone.

DISCIPLINE:HOWTOSTAYAWAYFROMDISTRACTIONS

TheInternet,formanypeople,isanaddictionlikeanyother,evenifwedon’trealizeit.Thatmeansthatifyoutrytoworkwhiledisconnected,youmighthaveareallytoughtime—tougherthanyouthink.Infact,youmightnotevenwanttoconsiderworkingwithoutaconnection,ifyou’readdicted.

Likeanyaddiction,theurgetogoontheInternetcanbebeaten.Ittakesfocusandenergy,butitcanbedone.Here’show:

Focusonbreakingtheaddictionforatleastoneweek.Amonthwouldbebetter,butIknowyouhaveotherthingstodo.Duringthisweek,makeityourgoaltobreakfreefromtheInternetandbeabletoworkindisconnectedmodewhenneeded.

SetrulesforusingtheInternetandsticktothem.Rulescouldinclude“Noe-mailexceptat10and4”or“NoInternetfrom9to10a.m.”or“NoInternetinthemornings.”Makeuptherulesbasedonwhatwillbeoptimalforyourworkingsituation,butsticktothem.

WhenyougetanurgetogoontheInternet,letitpass.Every

urgeislikeawave—itbuildsup,thenitgoesaway.Anotherwavewillcome,butjustridethatoneouttoo.Everyurgewillpassifyoujustwaitafewminutes.

Applypositivepublicpressuretoyourself.Askfamily,friends,andcoworkerstoencourageyoutostayawayfromtheInternetduringthetimesyoudesignate—tohelpyoufollowyourownrules.Tellthemtokeepaneyeonyou,andreporttothemeachday.Thispositivepublicpressurewillhelpyoubreakyouraddiction.

Rewardyourself.IfyousuccessfullystayawayfromtheInternetforthetimeyouset,giveyourselfalittlereward—atreat,orsometimecheckinge-mail,orwhateverwillhelpmotivateyou.

Usedelaystrategiesthatworkforanyaddiction,suchasdeepbreathing,drinkingwater,self-massage,andwalkingaround.Dothesethingsandtheurgewillpass.

Giveitsometime.Ittakesgettingusedto.Butthemoreyoupracticebeingdisconnected,thebetteryou’llget.It’sagreatfeeling.

twelve

SimpleFiling

I’VEWORKEDINseveralofficeswherepeople’sdeskswerestackedwithpapers—onepileafteranother.I’vehadcoworkersclaimthatthestacksaretheirformoforganization,andyetI’veseenthemsiftingthroughthepilestofindadocumenttheyweresurewasthere.Infact,theyspendsomuchtimegoingthroughstacksthatIwonderwhytheydon’tcomeupwithabetterway.

Stackingmightworkforsomepeople,butforothers,it’sjustadisorganizedmessthatstressesusoutandcreatesheadachesandwastedtime.Whatisstacking,atitsmostbasiclevel?It’sthefailureonourpartstodotwothings:

1. Createasimplesystemfororganizingpaperwork;and

2. Getintothehabitofusingthatsystem,immediatelyandroutinely.

Todaymydeskiscleanandclear,simpleandZen-like—there’snothingonmydeskbutaphone,myiMac,andasmallnotebook—becauseI’velearnedtodothesetwobasicthings.Let’stakealookateachoneinturn.

CREATINGASIMPLEFILINGSYSTEM

Thekeytohavingausablefilingsystemistokeepitsimple.Ifthesystemiscomplicatedorhardtouse,you’llresistusingitafterawhile.Here’showtosetupyoursystem:

1.Reducebeforeorganizing.Thefirstruletoorganizingisthatyoushouldeliminatetheunnecessarybeforeorganizingatall.Ifyou’vegotafilingdrawerthat’soverflowing,orstacksofpaperthatneedfiling,it’lltakeforevertoorganize—andeventhen,it’llbehardtofindthings.Tosimplify:

Puteverythinginonebigpile.Ifitcan’tallgoinonepile,makemorethanone,butlookatthemascontinuationsofthefirstpile.Ifyouhavefoldersthatareamess,takethemoutandaddthemtothestack.Irecentlydidthiswithmyhomefilingsystemandreducedthefilesbytwothirds.Ittookaboutanhour.

Gothroughthem,oneatatime.Pickupeachdocumentorfolderanddecidewhatneedstobedonewithit.Ifyoucan’tseeyourselfneedingitinacoupleofmonths,tossit.Defaulttotoss(orshred,orrecycle).Getridofasmuchasyoucan.I’veneverregrettedtossingadocument.

Route.Ifyoucan’ttosssomething,anditwouldbebettertohavethatitemdoneorreadbysomeoneelse,routeittothatpersontogetitoffyourdesk.

File.Ifadocumentisabsolutelycritical,andyou’resureyou’llneeditagain,thenitneedstobefiled.Let’stakealookathowtosetupasimplesystemfordoingthat.

2.Simplefiling.Allyouneedisasimple,alphabeticalfilingsystem.Justuseplainmanilafolderswithlabels(youcanbuyalabelmakerifyoulike),creatingafileforeachclient,vendor,and/orproject.Ibelievethatmostpeopleonlyneedonedrawerforfiling.Therearesomejobsthatrequiremuchmorethanthis,butfortheaverageemployee(orself-employedperson),onedrawerisallyouneed.Andifyoulimityourselftoonedrawer,youforceyourselftotossoutunnecessaryfileswhenthedrawergetsfull.Don’toverthinkthis.Justcreateafile,andfileitalphabetically.Keepitsimple.

3.Fileimmediately.Thekeytokeepingyourfilingsystemuptodateistofilethingsrightaway.Whenyou’reprocessingyourin-boxandyourunacrosssomethingthatdoesn’trequireactionbutthatyoumightneedtofilelater,don’tputitinapiletobefiledlater.Don’tputitinafolderlabeledTOFILEorMISCELLANEOUS.

Justopenyourfilingdrawer(itshouldbecloseathand),pullouttheappropriatefolder,putthedocumentinit,andfileit.Thattakesaboutfiveseconds,andthenyou’redone.Ifyoudon’tdoitnow,itwillstarttopileup,andstackingjustdoesn’twork.

Whystackingdoesn’twork:Itjustpilesup,andthenthepilegetsalittleintimidating,andthenbeforeyouknowityou’vegotahugepilethatyouneverwanttogothrough.Thenyoucan’tfindanythingwhenyouneedit,andnowyounolongerhaveafilingsystem.Iknowsomepeoplethinkthattheirpilesareorganizedintoakindofsystem,butpilesareinefficientbecauseyouconstantlyhavetore-factorwhatpileisforwhatandwhichdocumentsareineachpile,andwhenyouneedadocument,ittakestoolongtofindit.Plus,itcluttersupyourdesk,distractingyoufromyourwork.

4.Havematerialsonhand.Alwayshaveabigsupplyofmanilafoldersandlabelsonhand.Ifyouhaveadocumentthatneedstobefiledforfuturereferencebutnofileexistsforityet,youwillputthefilingoffuntillaterifyoudon’thavethematerialsathand.Youdon’tfeellikegettinguptogetamanilafolderorlabeleverytimeyouneedtofilesomething,soyou’llputitoff.Andthatwillcreatepiles.

Soinstead,justhavethematerialsinadrawer,foreasyaccess.Whenyouneedtomakeanewfile,justputalabelon,stickthedocumentin,andfileitalphabetically.

5.Reduceyourneedsovertime.Overthelastyearorso,I’veconsciouslybeenreducingmyfilingneedssothatInowbarelyusemyfilingdrawer.Sure,atleastonceaweekI’llpullopenthedrawertolookatafile,butIfilemanyfewerdocumentsthanIusedto.Irecommendthatyoudothesame,slowlyand

consciouslyreducingyourfilingneeds.Hereareafewtipsfordoingthat:

Storereferenceinformationonline.NowwhenIneedtolooksomethingup,Ipressahot-keycombination(IuseAutoHotkeytoopenWebsitesanddocuments)andtheappropriatedocumentopensupwithalltheinfoIneed.Contacts,budgetinformation,ideas,logs,andmuchmoreareallonline,soInolongerneedhardcopiesofthemanddon’tneedtofilethem.

Reduceincomingpaper.Askpeopletoe-mailyouinsteadoffaxingorsendingadocumentbypost.Inthisage,everythingiscreatedonacomputer,andsendinghardcopiesisoutdated.Insistondigital.Alsotakestepstostoppaperversionsofnewsletters,magazines,andothersuchregulardocuments.

Stopprintingstuff.Lotsofpeoplestillprintoute-mailordocumentstheyreceive,orevendocumentstheycreatethemselves.Butthenyouhavetwocopiesofit,you’rekillingtrees,andyounowhavetofilethepaperversionaswellasthedigital.Andit’smucheasiertosearchfordigitalinformationwhenyouneedit.

Analyzeotherincomingdocs.Everytimeyoufilesomething,askyourselfifyoureallyneedahardcopyversionofit.Isitavailableonline?Doesitreallyneedtobesenttoyou?Isitbettertoscanitandstoreitdigitally?Isthereanywaytoeliminatetheneedforthisdocument?Andslowly,onebyone,reduceyourneedforalltheincomingstuff.

HOMEPAPERWORKTIPS

Thefivestepsabovecanapplytobothanofficeworkplaceandyourpaperworkathome,butherearehome-specifictipsfororganizingallthepapersinyourpersonallife:

1.Createone“mailcenter”inyourhomefordealingwithyourmailandincomingpaperwork.Thisshouldincludeanin-boxforallincomingpapers,a

wastebasket(thesimplifier’smostimportanttool!),asmallfilingsystem(justsomemanilafoldersinadrawerorfilecaseisfine),andsomethingtoholdenvelopes,stamps,yourcheckbook,pens,andotherneededtools.

2.Homein-box.Allincomingmail,schoolpapers,andotherpaperworkgoesstraightintoyourin-box.Don’ttossthemonacounterorthekitchentableoradesk.Puttheminoneplaceonly:thein-box.It’sbestifyouremovethemailfromtheenveloperightaway,tosstheenvelopesandanyjunkflyers,andtossjunkmailandcatalogsrightaway—butevenifyoudon’t,atleasttosseverythinginthein-box.

3.Paybillsimmediately.Whileyou’reprocessingyourmailandpaperwork,youcanputallbillsinafoldertobepaidatacertaindate(youmighthavetwodatesamonthwhenyoupaybills,forexample,ormaybeyouneedonedayeachweek).Butanotheralternativeistojustpaythebillonthespot,assoonasyou’redoneprocessingyourin-box.Eitherwriteacheckandputthebillandcheckinanenvelopetobedroppedinthemailboxtomorrow,orgotoyourcomputerandpaythebillsonline.Eitherway,thebillistakencareofandoffyourmind.

4.Enterstuffintoyourto-dolistsorcalendar.Forpapersthatcontaintasksorappointmentsorschedules,you’llwanttoenterthetasksonyourto-dolistimmediately,andenteranydatesintoyourcalendarimmediately(IuseGcal).Ievenenterallmykids’soccergames,schoolevents,andotheractivitiesinGcal,andthenjustfiletheschoolpapersorschedulesina“schoolpapers”foldersoIcanrefertoitlaterifnecessary.

5.Fileimmediately.Onceyou’vepaidabillortakenactiononapieceofpaper,youshouldfileitimmediately(unlessyoucantossit).Don’tletitsitonyourcounter,orpileupina“tobefiled”pileorfolder,orgobackintoyourin-box.Fileitrightaway.Setupasimplefilingsystemwithmanilaenvelopes,labeledwiththenameofthebillingcompanyorutility,alongwithfoldersforotherimportantdocumentsinyourlife,anduseasimplealphabeticalfilingsystemsoyoucanfindthingsimmediately.Alwayshaveastackofmanila

foldersandlabelsonhand(somepeopleevenrecommendahandyBrotherlabel-maker)soyoucancreateanewfolderquicklyifyouneedit.Thetricktofilingistodoitrightawayandnotletitpileup.

That’sit.Nopapersshouldeverbeanywhereexceptthein-boxorinyourfilingsystem.It’ssimpleandefficient.Thetrickistomakethisahabit,andsticktoitlikearoutine.Havesettimesofthedayorweekwhenyouprocessyourin-boxandpayyourbills.Createasimplesystemlikethis,andyoueliminatetheclutterandtheworry.

thirteen

SimpleCommitments

IFTHERE’SONEchangethatyoucouldmaketodaythatwouldhavethebiggestimpactonyourlifeintermsofproductivity,effectiveness,andbeingabletodothethingsyouwanttodo,itwouldbetoreducethecommitmentsinyourlife.

Withthatonechange,youcouldfreeupthetimeyouneedtofocusontheimportantworkandtoachievethethingsyouwanttoachieve.Withthatsimplechange,youcouldfreeuptimetopursuethingsyou’repassionateabout,toexercise,toread,tofindquiettime,ortospendtimewithlovedones.

I’mnotgoingtolietoyou:Reducingyourcommitmentsisn’teasy.Ittakesdetermination,ittakesawillingnesstosay“no,”anditcantaketime.Butitwillpayoffinsomanyways,fortherestofyourlife.

THEDEMANDSOFCOMMITMENTS

Mostofushavelivesthatareoverloadedwithcommitments.Wehavemultiplecommitmentsatwork—besidesthecoredutiesofourjob,whichisalreadyamultitudeofcommitments,wemightalsoserveondifferentcommittees,havetogotodifferentmeetings,havecommitmentstovariousprojects,havetogotoconferencesandclinics,haveregularmeetingswithclients,orserveonboardsinourindustry.

Thenthereareciviccommitments,familycommitments,hobbies,stuffwehavetodoathome,onlinecommitments,religiouscommitments,extrajobs,sports,exercise,othersocialgroups,andmore.

It’spossibletohavemultiplecommitmentsinalloftheseareas,untilwehavenosparetimeinourlivesandweareworndownbythetimeandenergydemandsofeachofthesecommitments.

Eachtimesomeonemakesarequestofyouandyouagreetothatrequest,you’remakingacommitmentthatwilltakeupapartofyourlife.

Thecuriousthingisthatwedon’teverdecidetodothemallatonce.Theyareaddedtoourlives,oneatatime—andviewedindividually,noneofthemeverseemsliketoomuchwork.Butcumulatively,thesecommitmentsaddup,sothateventuallytheycanconsumeyourentirelife,andyourlifenolongerbelongstoyou.

Cutbackonthosecommitments,oneatatime,leavingyourselfwiththetimeyouneedforthethingsthatareimportanttoyou.

TAKEINVENTORYOFYOURCOMMITMENTS

Inordertogetahandleonyourcommitments,youfirsthavetotakeinventory,soyouknowwhatyouhaveonyourplate.Takeaninventoryofthecommitmentsinyourliferightnow.Herearesomecommonones(thoughyoumayhavemore):

Work:Wehavemultiplecommitmentsatourjobs.Listthemall.

Sidework:Someofusdofreelanceworkordooddjobstotakeinmoney.

Family:Wemayplayaroleashusband,wife,father,mother,son,daughter.Theserolescomewithmanycommitments.

Kids:Mykidshavehadsoccer,choir,AcademicChallengeBowl,NationalJuniorHonorSociety,basketball,spellingbee,sciencefair,guitarlessons,andmore.Eachofyourkids’commitmentsisyourstoo.

Civic:Wemayvolunteerfordifferentorganizations,orbeaboardmemberorofficeronanonprofitorganization.

Religious:Manyofusareveryinvolvedwithourchurches,orarepartofachurchorganization.Orperhapswearecommittedtogoingtoserviceonceaweek.

Hobbies:Perhapsyouarearunneroracyclist,oryoubuildmodels,orarepartofasecretundergroundcomicbookorganization.Thesecomewithcommitments.

Home:Asidefromregularfamilystuff,there’sthestuffyouhavetodoathome.

Online:WemaybearegularonaforumormailinglistorGooglegroup.Theseareonlinecommunitiesthatcomewithcommitmentstoo.

Youmighthaveothercategories.Listeverything.Themorehonestandcompleteyourlist,thebetter.

MAKEASHORTLIST

Nowtakeacloselookateachthingonthelistandaskyourself:Howdoesthisgivemylifevalue?Howimportantisittome?Isitinlinewithmylifeprioritiesandvalues?HowwoulditaffectmylifeifIdroppedout?Doesthisfurthermylifegoals?

Thenmakea“ShortList”ofyourfourtofivemostimportantcommitments.Whatarethethingsyoulovetodomost,thethingsthataremostimportanttoyou?Yourlistcanincludewhateveryoulike,buthere’smine:

1. Spendingtimewithmywifeandkids

2. Writing

3. Running

4. Reading

That’smyentirelist.Itmighttakesomesoul-searchingtocutyourlistdowntofourtofivethings.Onceyou’vecreatedyourShortList,IsuggestyougooveryourlistofcommitmentsanddecidewhichofthosecommitmentsfitonyourShortListandwhichdon’t.ThecommitmentsthatalignwithyourShortListaretheessentialcommitments.Forexample,writingpostsformyblog,ZenHabits,isoneofmycommitments.ItfallsunderoneofmyShortListpriorities—writing—soitisanessentialcommitmentinmymind.

Whatareyouressentialcommitments?

BEGINELIMINATINGTHENONESSENTIAL

Everythingonyourcommitmentlistthatisn’tessentialis,bydefinition,nonessential.They’reallonthechoppingblock.

Eliminatingthenonessentialcommitmentsiscrucial,asitwillfreeupalotofyourtime,leaveyouwithlessstress,andallowyoutofocusontheessential.Neverhaveenoughtimeforthetrulyimportantprojects,oryourfamily,oryourpassioninlife?Nowyouwill,ifyoueliminatethenonessentialsandusethefreed-uptimefortheessentialsonyourShortList.Here’showtoeliminatethenonessentialcommitmentsonyourlist:

1.Startwithsomethingsmall.Don’ttrytoeliminateeverythingatonce.Maybefindsomethingonthelistthatwillbeeasytoeliminate.That’syourfirsttarget.Lookforthethingthatgivesyoutheleastreturnforyourinvestedtimeandeffort.Thethingthat’sleastinlinewithyourlifevaluesandprioritiesandgoals.Cutitout,atleastforacoupleofweeks,andseeifyoucangetalongwithoutit.

2.Callore-mailtosendyourregrets.Explainthatyouhavetoomuchonyourplaterightnowandyousimplydon’thavethetimetofulfillthecommitment.Apologize,butbefirm,anddon’tleaveanyroomfornegotiation.

3.Eliminatethecommitmentfromyourappointment,andinsteadfillthattimewithsomethingfromyourShortList.Don’tjustusethattimetowatchTV

—useitwisely.

4.Repeatthisprocesswiththeothernonessentialcommitments,oneatatime,untilyou’redone.Strivetoeliminateallnonessentialcommitmentsfromyourlist.Thismighttakeawhile,especiallywithsomecommitmentswhereyou’llneedtofindareplacementorsomeothersolution.Butdon’tstopuntilyou’veeliminatedallofthem.

Eachtimeyoucutacommitment,itmaygiveyouafeelingofguilt,becauseotherswantyoutokeepthatcommitment.Butit’salsoahugerelief,nothavingtokeepthatcommitmenteachdayorweekormonth.Itfreesupalotofyourtime,andwhileothersmaybedisappointed,youhavetokeepwhat’simportanttoyouinmind,notwhat’simportanttoeveryoneelse.Ifwecommittedtowhateveryoneelsewantedallthetime,wewouldneverhaveanytimeleftforourselves.

LEARNTOSAY“NO”

Yourlistofcommitmentsdidn’tbecomeoverloadedbyitself.Thosecommitmentswereaddedtoyourlife,onebyone,becauseyouacceptedthem.Someonemadearequestandyousaid“yes,”onecommitmentatatime.

Nowthatyou’reintheprocessofeliminatingyournonessentialcommitmentsandfreeinguptimeforyourShortList,keepyourlistshortbynotaddingnewcommitments,ifatallpossible.Sometimes,addingacommitmentisagoodthing,ifit’ssomethingyoulove,andifyoumaketimeforitbydroppingsomethingyoudon’tloveasmuch.Butmostofthetime,newcommitmentsjustaddtoyourloadandtaketimeandenergyawayfrommoreimportantorenjoyablepursuits.

Soavoidnewcommitmentsbylearningtosay“no”tonewrequests.Theserequestscomeinallthetime,athomeandwork,viaphoneore-mail,whenyourunintosomeoneatthesupermarket.Learntorecognizethemasrequestsfornewcommitments,andlearntoturnthemdown.

Thisisverydifficultformanypeople,whofeelasenseofobligationtosay“yes,”whoareuncomfortableturningpeopledown,whothinkthattheyhaveno

goodreasontosaynotoasimplerequestbyafriendorcoworkerorlovedoneinneed.

Butyoudohaveagoodreasontosay“no”—agreatreason,infact:Yourtimeislimitedandprecious.

Youmightthinkyouhaveallthetimeintheworld,andthataone-hourcommitmentwon’tmattermuch.Butmostpeopleonlyhaveacouplehoursoffreetimeeachday,whenyoufactorinsleepandgettingreadyandeatingtimeandcommutingtimeandworkandchores.Protectyourtime—it’syourmostvaluablecommodity.Guarditwithyourlife.

Ifyouhavedifficultysaying“no”torequests,herearesometips:

First,beaware.Learntorecognizerequestsforwhattheyare—demandsonyourtime.Andbeawarethatyourtimeisextremelylimited,andthatyouwanttofillthatlimitedtimewiththethingsthatareimportanttoyou.

ConsideryourShortList.IstherequestinlinewiththefourtofiveprioritiesyouwroteoutinyourShortList?Ifnot,thecommitmentisnonessential.Don’tallowittocomeintoyourlife.

Behonest.Tellthepersonthatyou’retryingtocutbackonyourcommitmentsbecauseyou’vebeenoverloaded.Tellthepersonthatyouaretryingtofocusandcan’tcommittoanythingnewrightnow.Mostlikely,they’llunderstand.Ifnot,beassuredthatatleastyouaredoingwhatisrightforyou.

Befirm.Say,“Ijustcan’trightnow”andmakeitclearthatyou’renotopentonegotiationorpersuasion.Ifyoudon’tmakethatclear,theymightpesteryouuntilyougivein.

IwishIcould.OftenIwillhonestlytelltheperson,“IreallywishIcould.Itsoundsgreat.ButIjustdon’thavethetimerightnow.”Itvalidatestheperson’srequestbutmakesitclearthatyouareunabletofulfillthecommitment.

Don’tbesorry.Evenifthepersonisinsistentthatyou’re

neededforthisproject,don’tworry—they’llfindanotherpersontofilltheneed.Nothinginthisworldhasfailedbecauseonepersonsaid“no”toarequest—iftheneedwasgreatenough,anotherpersonfilledit.Sowhilethere’satemptationtofeelguiltythatyou’reruiningsomethinggoodforsomeoneyoucareabout,don’t.Thatpersonwillstillgetitdonewithoutyou.

MAKINGTHETIMEFORWHATWELOVE

Thesameconceptsthatyouusetoreducecommitmentsinyourworklifecanbeusedtomaketimeforwhatyouloveinyourpersonallife.

Howcanwecreatealifewherewehavetimetodoallthethingswewishwecoulddo?Whereweliveamoreenjoyable,relaxedlifeawayfromwork?It’sfairlysimple,thoughittakesanefforttoimplementsuchaplan:

1. First,makealistofthethingsyoutrulywanttodo.Thethingsyoulovetodo.Thethingsyouwanttospendyourprecioustimedoing.Shortenittofourtofivethings,ifpossible—thisisyourShortList,thethingsthataremostimportant.

2. Eliminateasmuchoftherestofthestuffaspossiblefromyourprivatelife.

3. Scheduleyourfreetimesothatyou’redoingthethingsonyourShortList.

Itreallyisthatsimple.WhenIdecidedIwantedtospendmoretimewithmyfamily,itwassimplyamatterofmakingthattimeapriority.Iwouldturndowninvitationstosocialengagements,saynotofriendswhowantedtogoout,andcancelpreviouscommitments—justbecausetheyweren’tashighapriorityasspendingtimewithmyfamily.WhenIdecidedtorunamarathon,thatmeantIhadtogetupearlytorunbeforeIhadtogetthekidsreadyforschoolandmyselfreadyforwork.Wakingearliermeantgoingtosleepearlier,whichmeantcuttingbackontelevision.Noproblem—runningwasmoreimportanttomethantelevision.IcanceledmycableTV.

WhenIdecidedtowritethisbook,Ihadtocutbackonotherworkprojects,becausetheyweren’tasimportant.Imadethetime,anddedicatedthattimetowriting.Ifyoumakethecommitmenttomaketimeforthethingsyoulovebycuttingoutthethingsthatareoflowerpriority,youcancreatethelifeyouwanttolive.ItjusttakesacommitmenttoyourShortList.

TIPSFORSIMPLIFYINGYOURPERSONALLIFE

WhilecreatingthesimplelifeisassimpleasthethreestepsIoutlinedabove,you’llgetuseoutofthetipsbelow.Isuggestyoutakeaweekendoutofyourlifetoexaminetheseissues,toplanhowyou’regoingtosimplifyyourlife,andtostartmakingchangestoyourschedule.

What’simportant.First,takeastepbackandthinkaboutwhat’simportanttoyou.Whatdoyoureallywanttobedoing?Whodoyouwanttospendyourtimewith?Whatdoyouwanttoaccomplishwithyourwork?MakeaShortListoffourtofivethingsyoulovedoing.

Examineyourcommitments.Abigpartoftheproblemisthatourlivesarewaytoofull.Wecan’tpossiblydoeverythingwehavecommittedtodoing,andwecertainlycan’tenjoyitifwe’retryingtodoeverything.Acceptthatyoucan’tdoeverything,knowthatyouwanttodowhat’simportanttoyou,andtrytoeliminatethecommitmentsthataren’tasimportant.

Dolessduringyourdays.Don’tfillyourdayupwiththingstodo.Youwillenduprushingtodothemall.Ifyounormallytry(andfail)todoseventotenthings,dothreeimportantonesinstead(withthreemoresmalleritemstodoifyougetthosethreedone).Thiswillgiveyoutimetodowhatyouneedtodo,andnotrush.

Leavespacebetweentasksorappointments.Anothermistakeistryingtoschedulethingsback-to-back.Thisleavesnocushionincasethingstakelongerthanweplanned(whichtheyalwaysdo),anditalsogivesusafeelingofbeingrushedandstressedthroughouttheday.Instead,leaveagood-sized

gapbetweenyourappointmentsortasks,allowingyoutofocusmoreoneachone,andhaveatransitiontimebetweenthem.

Eliminateasmuchaspossiblefromyourto-dolist.Youcan’tdoeverythingonyourto-dolist.Evenifyoucould,morethingswillcomeup.Simplifyyourto-dolistdowntotheessentialsasmuchasyoucan.Thisallowsyoutorushlessandfocusmoreonwhat’simportant.

Now,slowdownandenjoyeverytask.Thisisthemostimportanttipinthischapter.Readittwice.Whateveryou’redoing,whetherit’saworktaskortakingashowerorbrushingyourteethorcookingdinnerordrivingtowork,slowdown.Trytoenjoywhateveryou’redoing.Trytopayattention,insteadofthinkingaboutotherthings.Beinthemoment.Thisisn’teasy,asyouwilloftenforget.Butfindawaytoremindyourself.Unlessthetaskinvolvesactualpain,thereisn’tanythingthatcan’tbeenjoyableifyougiveittheproperattention.

Single-task.Thisiskindofamantraofmine.Doonethingatatime,anddoitwell.

Eliminatestress.Findthestressorsinyourlife,andfindwaystoeliminatethem.

Createtimeforsolitude.Inadditiontoslowingdownandenjoyingthetaskswedo,anddoinglessofthem,it’salsoimportanttojusthavesometimetoyourself.

Donothing.Sometimes,it’sgoodtoforgetaboutdoingthings,anddonothing.Don’tbeafraidtobelazysometimes.

Sprinklesimplepleasuresthroughoutyourday.Knowingwhatyoursimplepleasuresare,andputtingafewofthemineachday,cangoalongwaytomakinglifemoreenjoyable.

Practicebeingpresent.Youcanpracticebeinginthemomentatanytimeduringtheday.Simplyfocusonwhatyou’redoingrightnow,notonthepastorthefuture.

Freeuptime.Simplifyingyourlifeingeneralisawaytofreeuptimetodothestuffyouwanttodo.Unfortunately,itcan

behardtofindtimetoeventhinkabouthowtosimplifyyourlife.Ifthat’sthecase,freeupatleastthirtyminutesadayforthinkingaboutsimplifying.Oralternatively,freeupaweekendandthinkaboutitthen.Howcanyoufreeupthirtyminutesaday?Justafewideas:Wakeearlier,watchlessTV,eatlunchatyourdesk,takeawalkforlunch,disconnectfromtheInternet,doe-mailonlyoncetoday,shutoffyourphones,doonefewerthingeachday.

fourteen

SimpleDailyRoutine

OVERTHELASTcoupleofyearsI’vediscoveredthepowerofhavingsimpleroutines,especiallyinthemorningandevening.Havingtheseroutinescansuperchargeyourdaywhilesimultaneouslycreatingasenseofcalmandsanityinyourlife.

Ihighlyrecommendthatyouthinkaboutyourmorningsandevenings,astheyaretwokeytimesinyourday,andtheycandosomuchtochangeyourlife.Youcanskipthischapterandstillgetalotoutofthisbook,butexaminingyourdailyroutinesisworthconsidering.

THEPOWEROFAMORNINGROUTINE

Oneofthemostrewardingchangesinmylifehasbeenfindingpeacewithamorningroutine.I’vemadeitahabittowakebeforemostothers,atabout4:30a.m.,andjustenjoythequietandsolitude.

Ithasmadeallthedifferenceintheworld.

Isitquietlywithacupofcoffee,andenjoythesilence.Igoforamorningrun,whichrelievesstressandisperfectforcontemplation.Iusethequiettimebeforemyfamilyawakestowritesomethingeachmorning.AndIread,becauseagoodnovelisoneofmyfavoritecompanions.

Now,noteveryoneisamorningperson,ofcourse.Butthatdoesn’tmeanyoucan’tcreateyourownroutine,onethatincorporatessomethingthatgivesyousolitude,quiet,orstressrelease.

Ifyouhaven’tyet,Irecommendthatyoucreateyourowncalmingroutine.Giveitacoupleofweekstobecomeahabit,focusondoingiteveryday,andsoonyouwillnotwanttomissit.

Withawell-plannedmorningroutine:

Youcanprepareforyourdayandsetyourgoals;

Youcangetinexercise,reading,writing,orotherthingsyounormallydon’thavetimefor;

Youcandosomethingenjoyable,calming,andrelaxing.

Thereareotherthingsyoucandowithamorningroutine,butthosethreethingsalonemakethemorningroutineaverypowerfultoolintransformingyourlife.

MORNINGROUTINEIDEAS

Choosefourtosixofthefollowingideasforyourmorningroutine—oraddactivitiesofyourown.Thesearejustideastohelpgetyoustarted.Remembertokeepyourroutinesimple.Morethansixthingswillprobablybetoorushed,oryouwon’thaveenoughtimeforallofthem.Testoutyournewroutineforafewdays,andmakeadjustmentsasneeded.Sometimestheroutinewon’tgoasyouhoped,oritwilltakelongerthanyouexpected.That’sOK—justmakeadjustments.

Someideasforyourmorningroutine:

Havecoffeeortea.

Watchthesunrise.

Exercise.

Shower.

Takeabath.

Read.

Eatbreakfast.

Doyoga.

Meditate.

Takeawalkinnature.

Preparelunchorlunches.

Write.

Journal.

ChooseyourthreeMostImportantTasksfortheday.

Reviewyourgoals.

Haveagratitudesession(saythanksforallthatyou’rethankfulfor).

Noticethat“checke-mail”andotherwork-relatedactivitiesaren’tonthislist.Isuggestyouwaituntilafteryourmorningroutinetogetstartedonthesetypesofthings,otherwiseyoumightgetsocaughtupine-mailthatyourunoutoftimefortherest.

SUPERCHARGETOMORROWWITHANEVENINGROUTINE

Ifthemorningsareagreattimeforme,theeveningsarejustaswonderful.Planningacalmingeveningroutine,especiallyonewhereyouprepareforthenextday,canmakeahugedifferencetoyourmornings.

Aneveningroutinecantakeaslittleastentothirtyminutes,oraslongasafewhours,dependingonyourgoals.Somecommongoalsofaneveningroutineinclude:

Prepareforthenextday.

Unwindfromalongday.

Reviewyourday.

Keepyourhouseclean.

Calmyourselfbeforebed.

Spendqualitytimewithlovedones.

Log,journal,write,orexercise.

EVENINGROUTINEIDEAS

Pickfourtosixofthefollowingactivitiesforyoureveningroutine,oraddideasofyourown.Andagain,remembertokeeptheroutinesimple,tryitoutforafewdays,andadjustasneeded.

Someideasforyoureveningroutine:

Cookdinner.

Eatdinner.

Shower/takeabath.

Brushyourteeth/floss.

Journal.

Write.

Read.

Exercise.

Prepareclothes/lunchfortomorrow.

Meditate.

Doyourlog.

Reviewyourday.

Giveyourselfafacialtreatment.

Readtoyourkids.

Cleanup.

Haveaconversationwithyourpartner.

Noticethere’sno“checke-mail”orwork-relatedactivitieshereeither.Usetheeveningtorelaxandprepareforthenextday,ifpossible.

HOWTOESTABLISHROUTINES

Itmightsoundeasytoestablishsimpleroutines,butit’sjustaseasytofalloutofthem.Youwanttomakethemahabitthatwillstick.

Thekeystepstoestablishingroutinesareto:

1.Focusonthem.Keepyourroutineasyourforemostgoalforonemonth,focusingonnothingelse.Havingtoomanyhabitsatoncespreadsyourfocustoothin,andmakessuccesslesslikely.

2.Makethemrewarding.Ifyouestablishacalmingroutine,theroutineitselfisyourreward.Includeenjoyableactivitiesinthemorningtostartyourdayoffright,sothatyou’renotrushedwhenyoubeginwork.Intheevening,quietlyprepareforthenextday,reviewyourday,andhavesomequiettime.Satisfyingroutineslikethatwillmakeyoulookforwardtodoingthem.

3.Logyourprogress.Reportingyourprogresseverydayonanonlineforumisagreatwaytologprogress,butyoucouldalsodoitinajournalorsomeothertypeoflog,orputabig“X”onawallcalendar.Thekeyistokeeptrackofitandseehowwellyou’vedoneoverthecourseofamonth.

fifteen

DeclutterYourWorkSpace

ACLEANDESKALLOWSyoutofocusonthetaskathand,whichisthekeytobeingeffectiveinwhateveryou’retryingtodo.

Welookedatasimplesystemthatwillkeepallyourpapersinplace.Butwhatifyourdeskisalreadypiledwithpapers—andnotonlypapers,butknickknacks,littlestickynotes,photos,mementos,tools,equipment,andmore?Howdoyouclearyourdeskfromunderthechaos?Wheredoyoubegin?

Inthischapter,we’lltakealookathowtobegindeclutteringyourmainworkspace,whichismostlikelyyourdesk.We’llthenlookathowtousethesametechniquetodeclutterotherareasofyourlife,includingyourhome.

THEBENEFITSOFACLEANDESK

What’ssogreataboutadecluttereddesk?Inmyexperienceacleananddecluttereddeskhastwoextremelyimportantbenefits:

1.Itallowsyoutofocus.I’vementionedanumberoftimestheimportanceofbeingabletofocus,ofclearingyourdeskandyourmindsothatyoucanfocusonthetaskathand.Ifyoucan’tdothat,you’relosingeffectiveness.Andifyou

areworkingwithdecreasedefficiency,you’rewastingprecioustime.Acluttereddeskisfullofvisualdistractions—ifyou’retryingtofocusononetask,butglanceatapileorfolderornotethatremindsyouofsomethingelse,you’llswitchfocus,atleastforafewseconds.Butifyouclearyourdeskofdistractions,thenyourmindhasnochoicebuttofocusonwhatyou’resupposedtobedoing.

2.ItgivesyouaZen-likesenseofcalm.Mycleardeskhelpsgetmeintoamoreserenestateofmind.Toomuchvisualcluttercanbestressful,evenifyoudon’trealizeit.Butonceyouclearyourdeskandsurroundingsfromclutter,thatstressleveldrops.

Giventhatcalmandfocusaretwokeystothisbook,Ithinkanychancetoimprovethemisworththeeffort.Andifyoufindthatyoudon’tlikethisstyleofworking,youcanalwaysgobacktoyouroldsystem.

HOWTOGETSTARTED

Gettingstartedisthehardestpartformostpeople—iftherearehugepilesofthingsalloveryourdesk(nottomentioninthedarkrecessesofallyourdrawers),it’sextremelyintimidating.Sointimidatingthatyouneverwanttostart.

Andonceyougetstarted,you’llprobablydiscoverthatit’snotthathard,andforsomeofyouitmayevenbefun.(Itwasforme.)Thefirststepisthehardest—everythingelseiseasy.

Here’showtogetstarted:

1.Setasidealittletime.Youdon’tneedtoblockoffthewholeday(thoughyoucanifyoulike).Anhourisagoodstart,ifyoucanmanageit,orthirtyminuteswillalsosufficeifyourdayisbusy.Putitonyourcalendarfortodayanddon’tpushitback.

2.Takeallthepaperworkoffthetopofyourdeskandputitinabig

pile.You’lltacklethatsoon.

3.Cleareverythingoffyourdeskexceptyourcomputer,phone,in-box,andotheressentialequipment.Everythingelsegoes,atleastfornow.Putitnexttothepileofpapers.

4.Startwiththepileofpapers—takeachunkandstartprocessingitfromthetopdown.Neverre-sort,neverskipasinglepieceofpaper,neverputapieceofpaperbackonthepile.Dowhatneedstobedonewiththatpaper,andthenmoveontothenextinthepile.Theoptions:Trashit,delegateit,fileit,doit,orputitonalisttodolater.Inthatorderofpreference.Ifyoucan’ttrash,delegate,orfileit,thenputitonalistofto-dos.

5.Workforaslongasyoucan,thenscheduleanotherblockoftimewhenyoucandoanotherchunkofpapersorotheritems(orwhenyoucanfinishthepiles,ifpossible).

GETTINGDOWNTOTHEESSENTIALS

Onceyou’vegottenthroughthepilesofpapersandotheritemsthatwereonyourdesktop,it’stimetoaskyourself:What’sessential?Whatdoyoureallyneedtodoyourjob?Whatdoyouuseoften,andwhatisjustclutteringyourworkspaceanddrawers?

Startwiththetopofyourdesk:Whatdoyoureallyneedthereontopofthedesk?Ideally,thisisjustyourworkingspace—thestuffyouneedtodothetaskathand,rightnow,notthingsyouneedlater.Formostpeople,therealessentialsareacomputer,aphone,anin-box(forincomingpapersonly),andperhapsanotebookandpenifyou’relikemeandliketonotethingsthatneedtobedonelater.Otherthanthat,onlythepapersorfoldersyou’reusingforthetaskathandshouldbeonthedesktop—andwhenyou’redonewiththem,theygobackinafolderinadrawer.

Herearesomeothertipsforgettingyourworkspacedowntotheessentials:

Ifyou’vegotfoldersorstacksofpaperonoraroundyourdesk,processthemandputthemawayasintheprevioussection—listingthemonyourprojectsoractionslists,andfilingthemoutofsight.

Getridofdistractingknickknacks,posters,pictures,etc.Afewphotosofyourfamilyisfine,butifyou’vegotalotofotherstuff,it’sprobablydistracting.

Takeeverythingoutofashelfordraweratonce.Focusononedrawerorshelfatatime,andemptyitcompletely.Thencleanthatshelfordrawer.Then,takethepileandsortit(seenexttip),andputbackjustwhatyouwanttokeep.Thentacklethenextshelfordrawer.

Sortthroughyourpile,oneitematatime,andmakequickdecisions.Haveatrashbagandagiveawayboxhandy.Whenyoupulleverythingoutofashelfordrawer,sortthroughthepileoneitematatime.Pickupanitem,andmakeadecision:Trash,giveaway,orkeep.Don’tputitbackinthepile.Dothiswiththeentirepile,andsoonyou’llbedone.Ifyoukeepsortingthroughthepile,andre-sorting,it’lltakeforever.Putbackonlywhatyouwanttokeep,andarrangeitnicely.

Papers?Beruthless,unlessit’simportant.Magazines,catalogs,junkmail,billsmorethanayearold,notestoyourself,notesfromothers,oldworkstuff…tossit!Theonlyexceptioniswithtax-relatedstuffandotherimportantdocumentslikewarranties,birthanddeathandmarriagecertificates,insurance,wills,andsoon.Butyou’llknowthosewhenyouseethem.Otherwise,toss.

Ifyouareonthefencewithalotofthings,createa“maybe”box.Ifyoucan’tbeartotosssomethingbecauseyoumightneeditlater,putitinthebox,thenclosethebox,labelit,andputitinstorage(garage,attic,closet),outofsight.Mostlikely,you’llneveropenthatboxagain.Ifthat’sthecase,pullitoutaftersixmonthsorayearandtossitorgiveitaway.

Celebratewhenyou’redone!Alwayscelebrateyouraccomplishments,nomatterhowsmall.Evenifyoujustdeclutteredonedrawer,that’sgreat.Treatyourselftosomethingdelicious.Openthatdrawer(orcloset,orwhatever),andadmireitssimplicity.Breathedeeplyandknowthatyouhavedoneagoodthing.Baskinyourpeacefulness.

ASYSTEMTOKEEPTHINGSDECLUTTERED

Onceyou’vegottenyourwork-spacecluttertoaminimum,andhavecreatedadistraction-freezone,thechallengeistokeepitthatway.Ifyougobacktoyouroldhabits,itwon’tbelongbeforeyourdeskisclutteredagain(usuallyonlytakesafewdays).

Socreateasimplesystemanddevelopjustacouplekeyhabitstokeepthesysteminplace.Here’swhatIsuggest:

1.Keepanin-boxforincomingpapers.Don’tletanythinggetputonyourdesk—alwaysputpapersinthein-box,includingnotesandphonemessages.

2.Onceaday,processthein-boxtoemptyusingthesystemdescribedinthesectionabove—trash,forward,file,ormakeanoteonyouractionlistforlater.Alwaysprocesstoempty.

3.Haveaplaceforeachitemandtypeofpaper.Don’tallowthingstopileonthedeskorrandomlyindrawers.Whenyou’redonewithsomething,putitinitsplaceimmediately.

Justfocusonthosethreehabitsforaweek—puttingstuffinthein-box,processingtoempty,andputtingthingsimmediatelywheretheybelong—andyournew,cleandeskwillremainthatwayformonthstocome.Ittakestimetolearnthesehabits.You’llslip.Justremindyourself,andthendoit.Soonyou’llhavehabitsthatwillbehardtobreak.Andtrustme,onceyou’reusedtoyourdeskbeingclear,youwon’twanttogoback.

Oneofthethingsthatgivesmethemostpeaceinmylifeishavingaclean,simplehome.WhenIwakeinthemorningandwalkoutintoalivingroomthathasbeendecluttered,thathasaminimalistlook,andwherethereisn’tjunklyingaround,Istartmydaywithcalmandjoy.When,ontheotherhand,Iwalkoutintoalivingroomclutteredwithtoysandbooksandextrathingsallovertheplace,mymindischaos.

I’vebeenasimplifierandadecluttererforyearsnow,andI’vediscoveredthataclean,simplehomewithoutalotofcluttermakesabigdifferencewhenitcomestoyourstateofmind,yourproductivity,andyourhappiness.Ifyou’vegotacluttered,disorganizedhome,we’lllookatsomewaysforyoutoconquerthatclutterandkeepthingsassimpleaspossible,whetheryou’vegotjustafewproblemareasorahuge,intimidatingpileofjunk.

ASIMPLEHOME

Onceyou’vedeclutteredyourdesk,youmightwanttodeclutteryourhomeaswell.Youcanusethesametechniquesasabovetodeclutteryourlivingspace.Justafewbenefitsofasimplehome:

1.Lessstressful.Clutterisaformofvisualdistraction,andeverythinginourvisionpullsatourattention.Thelessclutter,thelessvisualstresswehave.Asimplehomeiscalming.

2.Moreappealing.Thinkaboutphotosofhomesthatareclutteredandphotosofsimplehomes.Theoneswithalmostnothinginthemexceptsomebeautifulfurniture,someniceartwork,andaveryfewprettydecorationsaretheonesthatappealtomostofus.Youcanmakeyourhomemoreappealingbydecluttering.

3.Easiertoclean.It’shardtocleanawholebunchofobjects,ortosweeporvacuumaroundabunchoffurniture.Themorethingsyouhave,themoreyouhavetokeepclean,andthemorecomplicateditistoclean.Thinkabouthoweasyitistocleananemptyroomcomparedtoonewithfiftyobjectsinit.That’s

anextremeexample,ofcourse,asIwouldn’trecommendyouhaveanemptyroom,butit’sjusttoillustratethedifference.

Todeclutteryourhome,usethesamestepsyouusedabovetodeclutteryourdesk,butfocusononeroomatatime,andwithinthatroom,focusononedrawerorshelforotherspaceatatime.Takeeverythingoutoftheshelfordrawer,sortthroughitmercilessly,andjustkeeptheessentialstuff.Getridoftherest.Thendesignateahomefortheessentialstuffyou’rekeeping.

Setasidesometimefordeclutteringeachday—evententotwentyminuteswilldo—andduringthattimejustdeclutteronesmallarea.Alternatively,youcouldscheduleaweekendanddotheentirehouse.

HOWTOKEEPYOURHOMESIMPLE

Onceyou’vegottenyourhousefairlydecluttered,you’llwanttocreateasystemtostopclutterfromaccumulating.There’sareasonyouhavetallstacksofpapersallovertheplace,andbigpilesoftoysandbooksandclothes.It’sbecauseyoudon’thavearegularsystemtokeepthingsintheirplace,andtogetridofstuffyoudon’tneed.You’llnevergettoperfect,butifyouthinkmoreintelligentlyabouthowyourhousegotcluttered,perhapsyoucanfindwaystostopitfromhappeningagain.

Herearesomesuggestionsforkeepingtheclutterfromaccumulatingagain:

Designateahomeforeverything,andbefanatic.Whenyoufindstuffonflatsurfaces,ordrapedoverachair,itmightbebecauseyoudon’thaveadesignatedspotforthatkindofthing.Ifyoudon’t,designateaspotforitimmediately.Ifstuffdoesn’thaveahomeinyourhome,youneedtogetridofit,oritwillforeverwanderaroundthehouse.Theotherproblemmightbethatyouhavealreadydesignatedaspotforit,butyou’rejustnotgoodatputtingitaway.Inthatcase,takeamonthtobuildupthehabitofputtingthingswheretheybelongimmediately.It’llmakeahugedifference.

Scheduleregulardeclutteringsessions.Puttheminyourcalendar.Eventhebestofusneedtodeclutterregularly.If

you’vedeclutteredyourhome,thingsmightbegreatnow,butyou’llneedtodocluttermaintenance.Putitinyourcalendar:perhapsonceamonth,onceaweek,oronceeveryfewmonths.Experimenttoseewhatintervalworksforyourlife.

Reduceyourdesiresformore.Ifclutteriscomingintoyourlifeataratethat’stoogreatforyoutohandle,youmightneedtolookatyourbuyinghabits.Doyougoshoppingforclothesorgadgetsorshoesorbookseveryweek(ormore)?Areyoualwaysbuyingstuffonline?Ifso,isitoutofrealnecessity,ordoyoujustliketobuystuff?It’simportantthatyoutakealookatthesedesires,andseeifyoucanaddressthem.Reducingyourdesireswillgoalongwaytoreducingyourneedtofightclutter.

Thirty-daylist.Thisisreallyawaytocontrolthedesiresmentionedabove.Makealist:Anytimeyouwanttobuysomething(otherthanabsolutenecessities),putitonthelistwiththedateyouaddedit.Then,don’tallowyourselftobuytheitemuntilit’sbeenonthelistforthirtydays.Bythen,yourdesireforthatitemmighthavepassed.It’sagreatwaytocontrolthatimpulsetobuy.

Changeyourhabits.Clutterdidn’tcreateitself.It’stherebecauseyouputitthere.Whathabitsdoyouhavethatcreatedtheclutter?Theremaybemanyofthem,someofthemalreadymentionedabove:Youbuyalot,youdon’tdesignateahomeforthings,youdon’tputthingsaway,youbuybutdon’tremovethings…Youmayhaveotherhabitsthatcreateclutter.Changethosehabits,oneatatime.Takethirtydaysandfocusontheclutterhabit,andseeifyoucancreateanewhabitthatwillreduceyourclutter.

sixteen

SlowDown

THESEDAYSWEconsumeinformation,food,andmediaatabreakneckpacethatwasunimaginedeventwohundredyearsago.Wehaveeveryminuteofourschedulespackedwitherrandsandtasksandchores,werushfromoneplacetoanother,werushtogetreadyinthemorning,andthencollapseintobedattheendofalong,rushedday.

Theproblemisthatwewerenotmadetofunctionthisway.Ourbodiesandmindsweremadeforaslower-pacedlife—perhapswecanhandlethehugestressofbeingchasedbyapredator,butwecan’thandlethestressesofconstantoverload,andaconstanthecticpaceforeverywakingmoment.Asaresult,webecomestressedout,burnedout,andunhappy.Learntomoveataslowerpaceandyouwillbehappier,andjustasimportantly,youwillbecomemoreeffectiveandproductive.

Youwon’tlearntodomoreinlesstime,butyou’lllearntodothingsbetter,andtodotherightthings.Thissimplecombinationcanhaveawondrousimpactonyoureffectiveness,andhowmuchyouaccomplish.Inthemeantime,nomatterwhatyouaccomplish,youwillbebetteroff.

SLOWATTENTION

Ourattentionisoneofourmostimportantassets.Whatwefocusourattentiononbecomesourreality.Theprojectswefocusonaretheprojectsthatgetcompleted.

Unfortunately,withthehecticpaceofourlives,ourattentionispulledinamilliondifferentdirectionsallthetime.Weswitchourattentionfromonethingtothenextandbackagain,andthenbacktoanotherthing,thentoanewthing.Asaresult,nothinggetsenoughattention.

Learn,instead,tofocusyourattention,tomoveitfromonethingtothenextmorereluctantly,moreslowly,atamorerelaxedpace.Asaresult,thingswillstartgettingdone.You’llstarttonoticethingsmore.You’llbelessstressed.

Here’showtodoit:

Pickasimpletasktostartwith.Trytokeepyourattentiononthistaskwithoutswitching.Thiscouldbesomethinglikeeating,gardening,washingdishes,ironing,orcooking.Everytimeyouswitchyourattention,takenoteofit.Afteryoubecomemoreawareofyourattention,learntostopyourselfwhenyoubegintoswitchyourattention.

Practicethismethodthroughoutyourday,nomatterwhatyou’redoing.Ifyou’reshowering,focusonyourshowering.Ifyou’reeating,focusonyoureating(seebelowformore).Stopyourselfwhenyourattentionwanders.

Ifyou’dliketotryaveryrestfulmorningpractice,tryasimplemeditationtechnique(nochantingoranythinglikethat).Simplysitsomewherecomfortable,earlyinthemorning,andcloseyoureyes(don’tfallasleep!).Thenfocusyourattentiononyourbreathing.Ifyourattentionwanders,simplybecomeawareofit,acknowledgethethoughtsthatcomeintoyourhead,andreturnyourattentiontoyourbreathing.Feelyourbreathasitcomesintoyourbody,andthenasitexits.Keepyourattentiononyourbreathingforaslongaspossible.Ittakespractice,butyou’llgetbetteratit.

SLOWWORKING

Alongthesamelines,workingataslowerpacecanbemoreproductive,ascontradictoryasthatmightsound.Ifyoucanfocusontheimportanttasksandprojects,andkeepyourfocusonthosetasks,youwillaccomplishimportantthings.

Incontrast,someonecanworkfranticallyfortwelvehoursaday,doingasmanytasksaspossible,andyetnotaccomplishanythingimportant.That’snotjusttheory—manypeopledoitallthetime.Theyworkhardatafastpace,andyetwonderwhytheydon’tgetanywhere,andnothingseemstogetdone.Theymultitaskandworkasquicklyaspossible,gettingstressedoutthewholetime.It’snotthemosteffectivewaytowork.

Instead,trythismethod:

1.Chooseworkyoulove.Ifyoudreadatask,you’llhaveahardtimelosingyourselfinit.Ifyourjobismadeupofstuffyouhate,youmightwanttoconsiderfindinganotherjob.Orconsiderseekingprojectsyoulovetodowithinyourcurrentjob.Atanyrate,besurethatwhatevertaskyouchooseissomethingyoucanbepassionateabout.

2.Chooseanimportanttask.There’sworkyoulovethat’seasyandunimportant,andthenthere’sworkyoulovethatwillmakealong-termimpactonyourcareerandlife.Choosethelatter,asitwillbeamuchbetteruseofyourtime.

3.Makesureit’schallenging,butnottoohard.Ifataskistooeasy,youwillbeabletocompleteitwithoutmuchthoughtoreffort.Ataskshouldbechallengingenoughtorequireyourfullconcentration.However,ifitistoohard,youwillfinditdifficulttoloseyourselfinit,asyouwillspendmostofyourconcentrationjusttryingtofigureouthowtodoit—eitherthatoryou’llendupdiscouraged.Itmaytakesometrialanderrortofindtasksoftheappropriatelevelofdifficulty.

4.Findyourquiet,peaktime.Thisisactuallytwostepsgroupedintoone.

First,you’llwanttofindatimethat’squiet,oryou’llneverbeabletofocus.Forme,that’smornings,beforethehustleofeverydaylifebuildstoadullroar.Thatmightbeearlymorning,whenyoujustwake,orearlyintheworkday,whenmostpeoplehaven’tarrivedyetorarestillgettingtheircoffeeandsettlingdown.Oryoumighttrythelunchhour,whenpeopleareusuallyoutoftheoffice.Eveningsalsoworkwellformanypeople.Or,ifyou’relucky,youcandoitatanytimeofthedayifyoucanfindaquietspottoworkin.Whatevertimeyouchoose,itshouldalsobeapeakenergytimeforyou.Somepeoplegettiredafterlunch—that’snotagoodtimeforthismethod.Findatimewhenyouhavelotsofenergyandcanconcentrate.

5.Clearawaydistractions,andfocus.Asidefromfindingaquiettimeandplacetowork,you’llwanttoclearawayallotherdistractions.Thatmeansturningoffdistractingmusic(unlessyoufindmusicthathelpsyoufocus),turningoffphones,e-mail,andIMnotifications,andanythingelsethatmightpopupormakenoisetointerruptyourthoughts.Thenlearntofocusonthattaskforaslongaspossible.

6.Enjoyyourself.Losingyourselfinataskisanamazingthing,inmyexperience.Itfeelsgreattobeabletoreallypouryourselfintosomethingworthwhile,tomakegreatprogressonaprojectorimportanttask,todosomethingyou’repassionateabout.Takethetimetoappreciatethisfeeling.

7.Keeppracticing.Again,thistakespractice.Eachstepwilltakesomepractice,fromfindingaquiet,peaktimeforyourself,toclearingdistractions,tochoosingtherighttask.Andespeciallykeepingyourfocusonataskforalongtime.Buteachtimeyoufail,trytolearnfromit.Eachtimeyousucceed,youshouldalsolearnfromit—whatdidyoudoright?Andthemoreyoupractice,thebetteryou’llget.

8.Reaptherewards.Asidefromthepleasureofimmersingyourselfinatask,you’llalsobehappierwithyourworkingeneral.You’llgetimportantprojectsdone.You’llcompletetasksmoreoften,ratherthanstartingandstoppingfrequently.Allofthisishugelysatisfyingandrewarding.Takethetime

toappreciatethis,andtocontinuetopracticeiteveryday.

SLOWEATING

Manyofusrushthroughtheday,withnotimeforanything…andwhenwehavetimetogetabitetoeat,wegobbleitdown.Thatleadstostressful,unhealthyliving.

Withthesimplebutpowerfulactofeatingmoreslowly,wecanbegintoreversethatlifestyleimmediately.Howhardisit?Youtakesmallerbites,youcheweachbiteslowerandlonger,andyouenjoyyourmeallonger.Ittakesonlyafewextraminuteseachmeal,andyetitcanhaveprofoundeffects.

Somegoodreasonsyoushouldconsiderthesimpleactofeatingmoreslowly:

1.Loseweight.Agrowingnumberofstudiesconfirmthatjustbyeatingmoreslowly,you’llconsumefewercalories—infact,enoughtolosetwentypoundsayearwithoutdoinganythingdifferentoreatinganythingdifferent.Thereasonisthatittakesabouttwentyminutesforourbrainstoregisterthatwe’refull.Ifweeatquickly,wecancontinueeatingpastthepointwherewe’refull.Ifweeatslowly,wehavetimetorealizewe’refull,andstopontime.Now,Istillrecommendthatyoueathealthierfoods,butifyou’relookingtoloseweight,eatingslowlyshouldalsobeapartofyournewlifestyle.

2.Enjoyyourfood.Thisreasonisjustaspowerful.It’shardtoenjoyyourfoodifitgoesbytooquickly.Infact,Ithinkit’sfinetoeatsinfulfoods,ifyoueatasmallamountslowly.Thinkaboutit:Youwanttoeatsinfulfoods(desserts,friedfoods,pizza,etc.)becausetheytastegood.Butifyoueatthemfast,what’sthepoint?Ifyoueatthemslowly,youcangetthesameamountofgreattaste,butwithlessgoingstraightintoyourstomach.That’smaththatworksforme.Andthatargumentaside,Ithinkyouarejusthappierbytastinggreatfoodandenjoyingitfully—byeatingslowly.Makeyourmealsagastronomicpleasure,notathingyoudoinarushedway,betweenstressfulevents.

3.Betterdigestion.Ifyoueatslowly,you’llchewyourfoodbetter,whichleadstobetterdigestion.Digestionactuallystartsinthemouth,sothemoreworkyoudoupthere,thelessyou’llhavetodoinyourstomach.Thiscanhelpleadtofewerdigestiveproblems.

4.Lessstress.Eatingslowly,andpayingattentiontooureating,canbeagreatformofmindfulnessexercise.Beinthemoment,ratherthanrushingthroughamealthinkingaboutwhatyouneedtodonext.Whenyoueat,youshouldeat.Thiskindofmindfulnesswillleadtoalessstressfullife,andlong-termhappiness.Giveitatry.

5.Rebelagainstfastfoodandfastlife.Ourhectic,fast-paced,stressful,chaoticlives—thefastlife—leadstoeatingfastfood,andeatingitquickly.Thisisalifestylethatisdehumanizingus,makingusunhealthy,stressedout,andunhappy.Werushthroughourday,doingonemindlesstaskafteranother,withouttakingthetimetolivelife,toenjoylife,torelatetoeachother,tobehuman.That’snotagoodthinginmybook.Instead,rebelagainstthatentirelifestyleandphilosophy…withthesmallactofeatingslowly.Don’teatfastfood.Eatatagoodrestaurant,orbetteryet,cookyourownfoodandenjoyitfully.Tastelifeitself.

SLOWDRIVING

Idrivemoreslowlythesedays.WhileIusedtobeabitofadrivingmaniac(askmywife),passingeverybodyandsteppinghardonmyaccelerator,Iwouldalsogetincreasinglyfrustratedwhenpeoplewoulddriveslowlyandkeepmefromdrivingfast,orcutmeoff.Drivingwasastressfulexperience.

Notanymore.Thesedays,drivingisamuchmorecalm,sereneexperience,andIenjoyitmuchmore.

Ilookaroundatotherdriversandwonderwhethertheyreallyneedtogettowherethey’regoingsofast,andwhetherthey’llslowdownwhentheygetthere.Iwonderifit’sreallyworthburningallthatgasandgettingsoangryandriskingsomanylives.AndthenIthinkaboutotherthings,becausedrivingformehasbecomeatimeofcontemplation.Iheartilyrecommenddrivingmoreslowly—

formanyreasons,butoneofthebestreasonsisthatithasmademeamuchhappierperson.It’ssuchasimplesteptotake,butitmakesanincrediblybigdifference.

Herearejustfivereasonstodriveslower:

1.Savegas.Thebestwaystosavegas(besidesdrivinglessordrivingafuel-efficientvehicle)aretoavoidexcessiveidling,todomoregradualacceleratinganddecelerating,andtodrivemoreslowly.Withgaspricessohighthesedays,wastinggasbydrivingunnecessarilyfastissomethingwecan’tafford.

2.Savelives.Drivingfastcankillpeople(includingthedriver).Twostats:Trafficaccidentsarethebiggestsinglekilleroftwelve-tosixteen-year-olds.Surprisingly,atthirty-fivemilesperhouryouaretwiceaslikelytokillsomeoneyouhitasatthirtymilesperhour.Fasterdrivinggivesyouashorteramountoftimetorespondtosomethinginyourpath,andevenafractionofasecondcanmeanthedifferencebetweenlifeanddeath.Drivemoreslowlyforyoursafetyandthatofthosearoundyou…andespeciallydriveslowlyaroundrunners,cyclists,schools,andneighborhoodswithkidsonthestreets.

3.Savetime?Whileyouthinkyou’resavingtimebydrivingfaster,it’snotalotoftime.Andthatsmallamountoftimeyou’resavingisn’tworthitwhenyouconsidertheotherfactorsonthislist.Betteryet,startoutafewminutesearlyandyou’llarriveatthesametimeassomeonewhodrovefasterbutstartedlater—andyou’llarrivemuchhappierthanthatperson,toboot.

4.Saveyoursanity.Theabovethreereasonsareveryimportantones,butformethemostnoticeabledifferencehasbeenthehugedropinmystresslevelwhenIdrive.Farfrombeingacrazyexperience,drivingisnowactuallyarelaxingandpleasantexperience.Inolongergetroadrage,becauseIsimplydon’tcarewhetherotherdriversaregoingslowlyorcuttingmeoff.

5.Simplifyyourlife.Thisisrelatedtothepointabove,butexpanded.Inadditiontoimprovingyourstresslevels,drivingmoreslowlycanreducemanyothercomplications—theheadacheofaccidentsandspeedingtickets,forone;goingtothegasstationtoooften,foranother.Itcanalsoimprovethehecticpaceoflife.Whymustwerushthroughlife?Slowdownandenjoyitmore.Ifwe’realwaysinahurrytogetplaces,whenwillwegettoourdestinationandfinallybehappy?Lifeisajourney—makeitapleasantone.

Herearesomeoftheslow-drivingtipsthathaveworkedforme:

Playrelaxingmusic.Anythingthatrelaxesyouisgood.

Ignoreotherdrivers.Thiswasmyproblembefore.Icaredsomuchaboutwhattheotherdriversweredoingthatitwouldstressmeout.Attimes,itwouldcausemetodrivefastertospiteotherdrivers(awful,Iknow).NowIjustignorethem.

Leaveearly.Ifyouspeedbecauseyou’rerunninglate,makeitahabitofgettingreadyearlyandleavingearly.Thiswayyoudon’thavetoworryaboutbeinglate,andyoucanenjoytheride.

Brainstorm.Iliketousemydrivingtimeforcontemplation.Icomeupwithideasforthingstowriteabout,Ithinkaboutmyday(eitherthedaytocomeorthedayinreview),IthinkaboutmylifeasawholeandwhereIwanttogo.

Keeptotheright.Ifyoudriveslowerthantheothercrazydriversoutthere,it’swisetokeepoutoftheirwayifpossibleandkeeptotheright.WhileItendtoignoreotherdriverswhomightgetmadatmefordrivingslow(Idon’tcareaboutthemanymore),it’sgoodtobepolite.

Enjoythedrive.Mostofall,makeyourdriveapleasantexperience—whetherthat’sthroughmusicorcontemplationorhoweveryouwanttoenjoytheride,rememberthattherideisjustasimportantasthedestination.

seventeen

SimpleHealthandFitness

THEBENEFITSOFexerciseandbetterfitnessandhealtharemany,butamongthebestofthesebenefitsisgreaterenergyandproductivity.Agoodworkout,forexample,canleaveyoufeelingenergeticallday,andputyouinagreatframeofmindforachievingalotatwork.Butwhilesomanyofuswanttogetinshapeandtolivehealthierlifestyles,it’ssuchanuphillstruggleforsomanypeoplethattheyoftengiveupindisappointmentandfrustration,ordon’teventryinthefirstplace.

Therecipeforgettingleanandfitandhealthyissimple,ofcourse,andeveryoneknowsit:Eathealthilyandexerciseregularly.Butwhilethosebasicsarewellknown,howtoactuallyaccomplishthem,withallthedifficultieswefaceinoureverydaylives,ismuchmorecomplicated.

Oratleastitseemscomplicatedifyouhaven’talreadyfigureditout.Itdoesn’thavetobe.Inthischapterwe’llfirsttakeaquicklookatsomeofthedifficultiesweallfacewithfitness,thenlookatasimplefitnessplan,andhowtostaymotivatedtosticktothatplan.Andashealthyeatingisinextricablylinkedtofitness,we’lllookatsomegoodwaystoeathealthieraswell.

THEDIFFICULTIESOFFITNESS

Let’sstartwithwhyit’ssohardtoeathealthyformostpeople,andwhytheyoftenfailafteraweekortwo.Fromthesereasons,we’llbeabletocomeupwithsomesimplesolutions.

Someofthemorecommonreasons:

Theirdietsaretoorestrictiveandtheyfindittoohardtostayonsuchastrictdietforlong.

Theystarvethemselvesandthengetsohungrytheygoonbinges.

Theythinkthey’reeatinghealthilybutofteneatordrinklotsof“hidden”emptycalories,suchasthoseinsodasorotherdrinks,high-fatdressingsortoppings,andsoon.

Thelureofjunkfoodandfastfoodistootempting,especiallywhenthey’reontheroad,busyatwork,orotherwiseinahurry.

Socialsituations,suchasofficeparties,familyget-togethers,nightsoutwithfriends,anniversarydinners,andthelikeoftensabotageanotherwisehealthydiet.

Thosefivereasonsalonewillcausealmostanyonetostrayfromhealthyeatingiftheydon’tproperlypreparethemselvesandcomeupwithaplanthatcansurviveeverydaylifeforlongerthanamonthortwo.

Stickingtoanexerciseprogramcanbejustasdifficult,andagoodprogramwilltakeintoaccountthesedifficulties.Herearesomeofthemorecommonreasonspeoplehavetroublewithexercise:

Theystartoutwithaverychallengingprogramorincreasethedifficultyoftheirworkoutsrapidly,andthenburnoutquicklyorgetinjured.

Theydon’tseeresultsafteraweekortwoandlosemotivation.

Lifegetsintheway,andtheydon’tfindtimetoworkoutforafewdays,andfalloutofthehabit.

Nowlet’susethesedifficultiestocreateoursimplefitnessplan.

ASIMPLEFITNESSPLAN

Whatwewantisaplanthatisn’tdifficulttoadopt,andevenmoreimportantly,issomethingyoucanstickwithforyears.Itmightnotgetyouinstantresults,butthosearen’ttheresultsyouwantanyway.Anyplanthatgetsyoudramaticresultswithinashorttimeisabadplan,becauseitistoodrastic,andnoonecanstickwithadrasticplanforverylong.Soon,youfalloffsuchadrasticplan,andthosedramaticresultsyouachievedarereversedinjustasdramaticafashion.

Realhealthandfitnesscomeoveraperiodofmonthsandyears.Lastingchangeismadegradually,insmallincrements,inawaythatyoucansustainforlife.Andsoourplanwillbesomethingthatwillstartoutslowly,butwillbesustainableformuchlongerthanmoredrasticplans.

Conventionalwisdomsaysthatdietisabout80percentofweightloss,andtoalargeextentthat’strue,becauseyoucanloseweightwithagooddietandnoexercise,butit’sreallyhardtoloseweightonabaddietwithexercise.Butwe’regoingtoturnthatonitsheadfortworeasons:1)We’renotjustlookingtoloseweight,buttogetfitandingoodshape,andforthatyouneedbothexerciseanddiet;and2)Ifyoustartoutwithexercise,thedietwilleventuallyfollow.It’shardtoexercisewithoutatleastwantingtoeatright,sowe’regoingtostartwithexercise.

Sooursimplefitnessplanisthis:

1. Usethefirstmonthtofocusexclusivelyonformingtheexercisehabit.Don’tworryaboutthedietatthispoint,althoughyoucanstarteatinghealthierfoodsifyoulike.Butthehabitofexerciseisourfocus:Wewanttomakeitasregularandasimportantasbrushingourteeth.Wewillstartsmallandfocusonmakingitaregularthing,ratherthangoingalloutthisfirstmonth.

2. Thesecondmonth,whilecontinuingtheexercisehabit,we’llfocusonmakinggradual,healthychangestoourdiet.

3. Everymonththereafter,wewillsetshort-termgoalsforgradualimprovementsinourexerciseanddietplans.Wewillreward

ourselveseachmonthforourprogress,andstayaccountabletoothersforourfitnessplan.

STEP1:FORMINGTHEEXERCISEHABIT

Formingtheexercisehabitdoesn’thavetobeamonumentaltask.It’slikeforminganyotherhabit—youjustneedtobeconsistentaboutit.TheSpanishhaveaproverb,thathabitsstartoutascobwebsandgrowtobecables.Sowewillstartoutbylayingthinstrings,andgraduallyaddtothosestringsuntilwehavecables.

Ofcourse,ifyouhaveanyhealthrisks,suchasheartorlungproblemsorseriousillnessorpregnancy,pleasecheckwithadoctorbeforestartinganyexerciseprogram.

Here’stheplan:

1.Startlight.Startyourworkoutplanaseasyaspossibleuntilyou’velearnedtosticktoit.Youcangraduallyincreaseyourexerciselater,butatfirstitisvitallyimportantthatyouholdyourselfback.Thefirstweek,justdofivetotenminutesofcardio—fastwalking,running,cycling,orswimming.Onlyfivetotenminutes,andnomore.Youwillwanttodomore,mostlikely,butdon’t.Thenextweek,increaseyourtimebyfiveminutes,anddothateveryweekforthefirstmonth,sothatbytheendofthemonthyou’redoingtwentytotwenty-fiveminuteseachworkout.Ifthisseemsliketoolittletoyou,don’tworry;afteritbecomesahabityoucandomore.Focusonformingthehabitfirst.

2.Scheduleyourworkouttime.Thisiscrucial—figureoutatimewhenyouwillbeabletoexercise,whennothingwillinterfere.Formostpeople,morningisthebesttime,becauseeveningworkoutsareoftencanceledduetosocialengagementsorotherobligations.Butforsomepeople,workingoutrightafterworkisbest,andforothers,alunchtimeworkoutworkswell.Choosethetimethatworksbestforyou,andcreatespaceinyourscheduleforyourworkouts.Thefirstweek,youjustneedtoschedulethreeworkouts—giveyourselfthirtyminutes,astheworkoutappointmentalwaystakeslongerthantheworkoutitself.Thesecondandthirdweeks,schedulefourworkouts,andthe

fourthweek,schedulefiveworkouts.Trytostaywithfiveworkoutsaweekfromthenon,asthisisthebestwaytogetingoodshape.Thisisimportant:Treattheseworkoutappointmentsasyourmostimportantappointmentsoftheday.Don’tletanythinggetinthewayofthem.

3.Don’tallowyourselftomissaday.Justabouttheonlygoodreasonstomissaworkoutaresicknessorinjury.Otherwise,don’tletyourselfskipaworkout.Theseworkoutsaresolight,inthebeginning,thattheyshouldn’tbetiringyououttoomuch.Ifyou’retiredfromalongday’swork,juststarttheworkout—you’llbegladyoudid.Ifyoustartskippingworkouts,youwillsoonmakeahabitofnotexercising,insteadoftheotherwayaround.Whenformingahabit,it’sveryimportantthatyoubeconsistent.Remember,it’sjustlikebrushingyourteeth—doitforyourhealth,doitregularly,andjustdoit.

4.Don’tgiveup.Evenmoreimportantthannotmissingadayisstickingwiththeprogram.Ifforsomereasonyoudomissadayortwo,don’tstop.Getbackontheprogram.Ifyoumissmorethanacoupleofdays,backuptheprogramaweekortwoandstartworkingonformingthehabitagain.Ifyougetdiscouragedandstop,motivateyourselfandstartagain.Failureisnotasimportantasstartingagainafteryoufail,andstickingwithitforthelongterm.

5.Getapartnerifyoucan.Thisisn’tmandatory,butifyoucanfindareliablepartner,itmakesitabiteasier.First,havingsomeonetotalktowhileyouexercisemakesthetimegobymuchmorequickly.Second,ifyoumakeanappointmenttomeetthatpersonforyourworkout,you’remorelikelytosticktotheappointmentratherthanwimpout.

6.Beaccountabletoothers.Thisishowyoumotivateyourselftostickwiththeprogram—noonewantstolookbadinfrontofothers.Commitpublicly,toyourfriendsortotheentireworldviaablog,tostickwiththeprogram.Keepastrictworkoutandeatinglog,andmakeitpublic.Shareitwithasmanypeopleaspossible.Letthelightshinewhereoncetherewasdarkness,andthataccountabilitywillmotivateyou.

7.Enjoyyourself.Verymandatory.Ifyoudon’tenjoyyourself,you’llneverstickwithit.Sotrytohaveasmuchfunaspossible.Enjoygettingfitandhealthy!Enjoyburningoffyourfat!Enjoythesweat!Enjoytherelaxationofburningoffstress!Exerciseshouldbefun,nottorture.

That’stheplantoformtheexercisehabit.It’sprettysimpleactually—createthetimetoworkout,starteasy,andstickwithitwithoutfail.Soon,exercisewillbecomesucharegularpartofyourlifeyou’llneverwanttogobacktobeingsedentaryagain.

STEP2:MAKINGGRADUALHEALTHYDIETCHANGES

Afteryourmonthofformingtheexercisehabit,it’stimetostartfocusingonyoureatinghabits.Ifyoualreadyeatfairlyhealthily,youcanmodifythistosuityourneeds,andtrytomakefurtherimprovementsinyourdietgradually.Ifyoudon’teattoohealthilynow,youdon’twanttomakedrasticchanges—small,gradualchangesovertimearebetterandmoresustainable.

Here’syourplan:

1.Eatwhenyou’relightlyhungry.Notwhenyou’reravenous.Thatmeanseatingeverythreetofourhoursandpayingmoreattentiontoyourhunger.Ifyou’regettinghungry,eat.Actionsteps:Planmealseverythreetofourhours,bemoreawareofyourhunger,packsnacksormealsforontheroad.Thisisyourplanforthefirstweek—don’tworryaboutthenextstepsuntilafterthefirstweek.

2.Eatlightfoods.Nothingtooheavy,exceptcheatmeals(schedulethisonceaweek).Lotsoffruitsandveggies,wholegrains,beans,andnuts.Freshfoodmuchbetterthanprocessed.Actionsteps:Makealistofhealthymealsandsnackswithreal,wholefoods—thingsyoulikethatarehealthy.Turnthemintomealplans—severaldays’worthofmealsandsnacks.You’llstartonthisthesecondweek,butdon’tchangeyourentiredietovernight.Thisweek,justtryeatingmorefruitsandveggies,orcutoutsodasandothersweetdrinks.Thenext

week,makeanotherchange,perhapseliminatingsomejunkfoodyoueatregularly,orcookingahealthierdinner.Aimtograduallyhaveadietthatconsistsofverylittlejunkfoodorfastfood,andmostlycombinationsofthefollowing:fruitsandveggies,beans,nuts,wholegrains,low-fatdairyorsoymilkproducts,andleanprotein(leanmeat,chicken,fish,tofu,orothervegetableprotein).Besuretofindfoodsyouenjoyeating,oryou’llhaveadifficulttime—thisisveryimportant.

3.Eatslowly.Savorthefood.Don’tcramitdown.Eatingslowlywillhelpyounottogetoverfull,andwillhelpyouenjoyyourfoodmore.Focusonthisstepinthethirdweekwhilecontinuingthefirsttwosteps.

4.Eatuntilyou’relightlyfull.Notstuffed.Stopbeforeyou’rereallyfull,andwaittenminutestoseeifyou’rereallystillhungry.Thisisacrucialstep,andyou’llfocusonitinthefourthweekwhilecontinuingtheprogressyou’vemadeinthefirstfewweeks.

Nodieting,norestrictedfoods,allgoodstuff.Thisplanisreallyaboutlearninghowtoeathealthier,andtofeellighterallthetime.Remembertotakeitonestepatatime!

STEP3:CONTINUATION,SHORT-TERMGOALSANDACCOUNTABILITY

Nowthatyou’vegottenstartedwiththehabitsofexerciseandhealthyeating,you’llwanttocontinuetheprogramandgraduallyimprovebothareas.Thiscanbeadangeroustimeformanypeople,astheylosemotivationiftheydon’tseebigresults.Sotokeepyoufromlosingmotivation,andtokeepyoustickingtotheprogramtoseethelong-termresults,we’lldothefollowing:

1.Continuetograduallyincreaseexercise,addingvariety.Crankitup,butonlyslowly.Onceyou’vegottenusedtoexercise,you’llwanttofirstlengthenyourworkoutstothirtytofortyminutes,andthendosomehigherintensityonesforbetterfitnessandfat-burning.Forexample,insteadofrunningslowlyandsteadily,foralongtime,trydoingshorterburstsoffastrunning,with

periodsofrestinbetween.Youcandothisforanyexercise.Higherintensityincreasesthecalorieburn,andimprovesperformance.Butyoucan’tdoitaslong,andyoushouldn’tdoiteveryworkout.Mixitinwithenduranceworkouts.Alsotrysigningupfora5Korothertypeofshortrace—itaddsmotivationandfun.

2.Continuetoeathealthier,alsoaddingvarietyandflavor.Eachweek,makeonehealthychangetoyourdiet.Tryoutanewhealthyrecipe.Packhealthysnacksforwork.Packhealthylunchesforwork.Eatahealthierbreakfast.Eatoutlessandcookmore.Packhealthysnackswhenyougooutontheroad.Drinkmorewater.Cutoutsometypeofunhealthyfood.Onebyone,changeyoureatinghabitstohealthierones.Doingitgraduallylikethismakesitmucheasierandmuchmorelikelytostick.Toaddvariety,besuretotryoutnewrecipesandnewfruitsandveggiesandsnacks,andwhenyoufindonesyoulike,addthemtoyourregularrotation.Neverstoptryingnewhealthyfoodsandrecipes!

3.Setshort-termgoals.Real,lastingchangeonlyhappensoveralongperiodoftime—monthsandyears.Butit’shardtostaymotivatedforsomethingthatlong.Instead,setashort-termgoalortwoeachmonth.Maybesetagoaleachweekifthathelps.Someexamplesofshort-termgoals:Increaseyourworkoutsbyfiveminuteseachdaythisweek.Loseapoundaweek.Loseaninchoffyourwaist.Runa5K.Getyourtotalworkouttimetotwo-and-a-halfhoursthisweek.DoalongrunoffivemilesonSaturday.Asyoucansee,thepossibilitiesforshort-termgoalsarealmostendless.Setoneeveryweekortwotokeepyourselfmotivated.Shareyourgoalswithothers.

4.Holdyourselfaccountable.Logyoureatingandexercisedaily.Thisisthekeyhabit.Ifyoucanlogyourworkout,youwillstarttoseeyourprogress,anditwillmotivateyoutokeepgoing.Andyouhavetomakeitahabittologitrightaway.Don’tputitoffandsayyou’lldoitbeforeyougotobed.Assoonasyou’redoneworkingout,logit.Noexceptions.Anddon’tmakethelogcomplicated—thatwillonlymakeyouresistdoingthelog.Justthedate,time,andwhatyoudid.Thisisalsoimportant:Putyourlogonline,onablogorthroughoneofmanyonlinelogsavailable,sothatotherscanseewhatyou’ve

beendoing.Givetheaddressofyourlogtoasmanypeopleasyoucan,andencouragethemtocheckonitandleavecomments.Theaccountabilitywillkeepyoumotivatedtokeepgoing.

5.Rewardyourself.Rewardsarebestiftheyarefrequentinthebeginning.Beself-indulgent!Evensweetsaregoodrewards—getintothehabitofexercise,andweightlosswillcomeeventually.Celebrateeverylittlesuccess.

30EXERCISEMOTIVATIONS

Thereareamillionwaystomotivateyourselftoexercise,actually,buttheseareafewthatseemtoworkverywell.

1.Howyoufeelafteraworkout.Agoodworkoutisanamazingfeeling.Rememberthatfeelingandletitmotivateyoubeforeyournextworkout.

2.Timeforyou.Whilemanypeoplemaketimetotakecareofothers(kids,spouse,otherfamily,coworkers,boss),theydon’toftenmaketimetotakecareofthemselves.Instead,makeyour“you”timeapriority,anddon’tmissthatexerciseappointment.

3.Caloriesburned.Ifyoucountcalories(andit’sreallyoneofthemosteffectivewaystoloseweight),youknowthatthemoreyouexercise,themorecaloriesyouburn—andthebiggeryourcaloriedeficit.

4.Havingfun.Exerciseshouldbefun.Ifitisn’t,tryadifferentkindofactivitythatyouenjoy.Aslongasyou’removing,it’sgoodforyou.

5.Howyou’regoingtolook.Imagineaslimmer,fitteryou.Nowletthatvisualizationdriveyou.

6.Magazines.It’sverymotivationaltoreadfitnessmagazines.Whenyoureadaboutsomething,youwanttodoit.

7.Covermodels.Sure,they’regeneticallyfreaky,andprobablyPhotoshoppedtolookperfect.Butforsomereason,lookingathowgoodacovermodellookshelpsmotivatepeopletoworkharder.

8.Blogs.It’sfuntoreadblogsaboutpeoplewhoareintoexercising,orlosingweight.Itcanshowtheupsanddownstheygothrough,andyoucanlearnfromtheirexperiences.

9.Successstories.Thesuccessstoriesofothersareincrediblyinspirational.IfafitnessWebsitehassuccessstories,makeitapointtoreadthem.

10.Forums.DothemonthlychallengeontheZenHabitsforums(http://zenhabits.net/forums/),orjoinanotherforumfulloflike-mindedpeopled.Checkindaily.Itreallyhelps.

11.Fittingintonewclothes.Wanttolookgoodinasmallersize?Workout!

12.Beingattractive.That’salwaysagoodmotivator,asweallknow.

13.Adrenalinerush.Thereisarushwhenyouexercise.Ridethatrushtocompletetheworkout.

14.Stressrelief.Woundupafteralongdayattheoffice?Getoutandworkoffthatstress.Itmakesaworldofdifference.

15.Timeforcontemplation.Thequiettimeofexerciseisperfectforthinkingaboutanythinggoingoninyourlife.

16.Aworkoutpartner.Oneofthebestmotivatorsever.

17.Anexerciseclass.Signupforaclass,perhapswithafriend,andyou’llbemotivatedtogetthereandworkout.

18.Acoachortrainer.Worththemoney,justforthemotivation.

19.Anexerciselog/graph.Forsomereason,writingitdownisextremelyimportant.Doitforaweekandyou’llseethepowerofthelog.

20.Yourbeforepicture.Youoftendon’trealizehowfaryou’vecome.Takepictures.

21.A5Kraceortriathlon.Justsignupforoneandyou’llbemotivatedtotrain.

22.Thedreadoffeeling“yuck”fromnotexercising.IhatehowIfeelafternotexercising.SoIremindmyselfofthatwhenIfeeltired.

23.Livinglongenoughtoseeyourgrandkids…andplaywiththem.

24.Thescale.It’snotmotivatingtoweighyourselfeveryday,asyourweightfluctuates.Butifyouweighyourselfonceaweek,you’llbemotivatedtohaveitkeepgoingdown,insteadofup.Combinethescalewiththemeasuringtape,andmeasureyourwaist.

25.Reachingagoal.Setagoalforweight,oryourwaistmeasurement,oranumberofdaystoworkout,oranumberofmilestorunthisweek.Settingandtrackingagoalhelpsmotivateyoutocompletethatgoal.Makeiteasilyachievable.

26.Postingitonyourblog.Tellpeopleyou’regoingtoloseweightorexercisedaily,andreporttothem.You’llmakeithappen.

27.Motivationalquotes.Printoutyourfavoritemotivationalquotesorputthemonyourcomputerdesktop.

28.Books.Buyfitnessorhealthycookbooksasareward.You’llgetarenewedsenseofpurpose.

29.Otherscommentingonhowgoodyoulook.Whensomeonenoticesthechangesinyourbody,itfeelsgood.Anditmakesyouwanttoworkoutmore.

30.Anupcomingdayatthebeach,orareunion.Youcan’thelpbutwanttolookgood.

eighteen

OnMotivation

ONEOFTHEbiggestchallengesinmeetinganygoal,whetheritberelatedtoproductivity,wakingearly,changingahabit,exercising,orjustbecominghappier,isfindingthemotivationtostickwithit.Thischapterisdesignedtohelpyoumeetthegoalsandbuildthehabitsoftherestofthisbook—lookatitasakeystonetoalltheotherprinciplespresentedhere.

Ifyoucanstickwithagoallongenough,you’llgetthere.Itjusttakespatienceandmotivation.

Motivationisthekey,butit’snotalwayseasy,dayinanddayout,tofindthatmotivation.Whatfollowsisaguidetomotivationforanythingyoutrytoachieveusingthisbook,becausetherewillalwaysbepointsalongyourjourneytosuccesswhereyourmotivationwillfalter,andyou’llfeellikegivingup.Don’tquit.Stickingwithsomethingforthelongtermisthetruepathtoanythingworthwhile.

HOWDOESMOTIVATIONWORK?

Beforewegetintospecificmethods,it’susefultoexaminewhatmotivationis,whatitdoes,andhowitworks.

Motivationiswhatdrivesyoutowardagoal,whatkeepsyougoingwhen

thingsgettough,thereasonyougetupearlytoexerciseorworklatetofinishaproject.Thereareallkindsofmotivations,ofcourse,frompositivetonegative.Havingabossthreatentofireyouismotivation—you’relikelytoworkhardertocompleteaprojectwiththatkindofpressure.ButIfindthatpositivemotivationworksbetter.

Somotivation,initsbestform,isawayforyoutowanttodosomething.Theremaybetimes,forexample,whenyoudon’tfeellikegettingupearly,andinthosetimesyoumayjustwanttosleepin(notthatthere’sanythingwrongwiththat).Butifyouhaveareasontowanttogetupearly,somethingyoureallywanttodo,you’lljumpupoutofbedwithexcitement.

Thebestkindofmotivation,then,isforyoutoreallywantsomething,togetexcitedaboutit,tobepassionateaboutit.Rememberthat,astherearemanyothertypesofmotivation(especiallynegative),butinmyexperience,thisisthekindthatworksthebest.Thereisonlysolongthatyoucangoontryingtomotivateyourselftodosomethingyoudon’tliketodo,somethingyoudon’twanttodo.Butifyoufindwaystoreallywanttodosomething,youcansustainyoureffortforlongenoughtoachieveyourgoal.

8WAYSTOMOTIVATEYOURSELFFROMTHEBEGINNING

It’simportanttostartoutwiththerightmotivation,becauseagoodstartcanbuildmomentumthatyoucansustainforalongtime.Ifyoustartoutright,youhaveamuchbetterchanceofsucceeding.Herearesometipsforstartingout:

1.Startsmall.I’vesaidthisbefore,butthat’sbecauseit’soneofthemostimportanttipsinmotivatingyourselftowardagoal.Don’tstartoutbig!Startoutwitharidiculouslyeasygoal,andthengrowfromthere.

2.Onegoal.Toomanypeoplestartwithtoomanygoalsatonce,andtrytodotoomuch.Anditsapsenergyandmotivation.It’sprobablythemostcommonmistakethatpeoplemake.Youhavetochooseonegoal,fornow,andfocusonitcompletely.

3.Examineyourmotivation.Knowyourreasons.Givethemsomethought…andwritethemdown.Ifyouhavelovedones,andyouaredoingitforthem,thatismorepowerfulthanjustdoingitforself-interest.Doingitforyourselfisgoodtoo,butyoushoulddoitforsomethingthatyoureallywanttohappen,forreallygoodreasons.

4.Really,reallywantit.Thisisessentiallythesameastheabovetip,butIwanttoemphasizeit:It’snotenoughtothinkitwouldbecooltoachievesomething.Ithastobesomethingyou’repassionateabout,somethingyou’resuperexcitedabout,somethingyouwantdeeply.Makesurethatyourgoalmeetsthesecriteria,oryouwon’tstickwithitforlong.

5.Commitpublicly.Noneofuslikestolookbadinfrontofothers.Wewillgotheextramiletodosomethingwe’vesaidpublicly.

6.Getexcited.Well,itstartswithinspirationfromothers(seeabove),butyouhavetotakethatexcitementandbuildonit.Forme,I’velearnedthatbytalkingtomywifeaboutit,andtoothers,andreadingasmuchaboutitaspossible,andvisualizingwhatitwouldbeliketobesuccessful(seeingthebenefitsofthegoalinmyhead),Igetexcitedaboutagoal.OnceI’vedonethat,it’sjustamatterofcarryingthatenergyforwardandkeepingitgoing.

7.Buildanticipation.Thiswillsoundhard,andmanypeoplewillskipthistip.Butitreallyworks.Ithelpedmequitsmokingaftermanyfailedattempts.Ifyoufindinspirationandwanttoachieveagoal,don’tstartrightaway.Manyofuswillgetexcitedandwanttostarttoday.That’samistake.Setadateinthefuture—aweekortwo,orevenamonth—andmakethatyourStartDate.Markitonthecalendar.Getexcitedaboutthatdate.Makeitthemostimportantdateinyourlife.Bydelayingyourstart,youarebuildinganticipation,andincreasingyourfocusandenergyforyourgoal.

8.Printitout,postitup.Printoutyourgoalinbigwords.Makeyourgoaljustafewwordslong,likeamantra(“Exercise15mins.Daily”),andpostitup

onyourwallorrefrigerator.Postitathomeandwork.Putitonyourcomputerdesktop.Youwanttohavebigremindersaboutyourgoal,tokeepyourfocusandkeepyourexcitementgoing.Apictureofyourgoal(likeamodelwithsexyabs,forexample)alsohelps.

20WAYSTOSUSTAINMOTIVATIONWHENYOU’RESTRUGGLING

Thesecondhalfofmotivationistokeepyourselfgoingwhenyoudon’tfeelthesameexcitementasyoudidinthebeginning.Perhapssomethingnewhascomeintoyourlifeandyouroldgoalisn’tasmuchofapriorityanymore.Perhapsyouskippedadayortwoandnowyoucan’tgetbackintoit.Perhapsyouscrewedupandgotdiscouraged.

Ifyoucangetyourselfexcitedagain,andkeepgoing,you’llgetthere,eventually.Butifyougiveup,youwon’t.It’syourchoice—accomplishthegoal,orquit.Here’showyoucanstopfromquitting,andgettoyourgoal:

1.Holdyourselfback.Whenwestartanewexerciseprogram,oranynewgoalreally,weareusuallyraringtogo.Wearefullofexcitement,andourenthusiasmknowsnoboundaries.Nordoesoursenseofself-limitation.Wethinkwecandoanything.It’snotlong,though,beforewelearnthatwedohavelimitations,andourenthusiasmbeginstowane.Well,agreatmotivatorwhenyouhavesomuchenergyatthebeginningofaprogram,andwanttogoalloutis—toholdyourselfback!Don’tletyourselfdoeverythingyouwanttodo.Onlyletyourselfdo50to75percentofwhatyouwanttodo.Andplanoutacourseofactionwhereyouslowlyincreaseovertime.Forexample,ifIwanttogorunning,ImightthinkIcanrunthreemilesatfirst.Butinsteadoflettingmyselfdothat,Istartbyonlyrunningonemile.WhenI’mrunningthatmile,I’llbetellingmyselfthatIcandomore!ButIdon’tletmyself.Afterthatworkout,I’llbelookingforwardtothenextworkout,whenI’llletmyselfdoamileandahalf.Ikeepthatenergyreinedin,harnessit,sothatIcanrideitevenfurther.

2.Juststart.Therearesomedayswhenyoudon’tfeellikeheadingoutthedoorforarun,orfiguringoutyourbudget,orwhateveritisyou’resupposedtodothatdayforyourgoal.Well,insteadofthinkingabouthowharditis,andhowlongitwilltake,tellyourselfthatyoujusthavetostart.IhavearulethatIjust

havetoputonmyrunningshoesandclosethedoorbehindme.Afterthat,itallflowsnaturally.It’swhenyou’resittinginyourhouse,thinkingaboutrunningandfeelingtired,thatitseemshard.Onceyoustart,itisneverashardasyouthoughtitwouldbe.Thistipworksformeeverytime.

3.Stayaccountable.Ifyoucommittedyourselfpublicly,throughanonlineforum,onablog,bye-mail,orinperson…stayaccountabletothatgroupofpeople.Committoreportbacktothemdaily,orsomethinglikethat,andsticktoit!Thataccountabilitywillhelpyoutowanttodowell,becauseyoudon’twanttoreportthatyou’vefailed.

4.Squashnegativethoughtsandreplacethemwithpositiveones.Thisisoneofthemostimportantmotivationskills,andIsuggestyoupracticeitdaily.It’simportanttostartmonitoringyourthoughts,andtorecognizenegativeself-talk.Justspendafewdaysbecomingawareofeverynegativethought.Then,afterafewdays,trysquashingthosenegativethoughtslikeabug,andreplacingthemwithacorrespondingpositivethought.Squash,“Thisistoohard!”andreplaceitwith,“Icandothis!IfthatwimpLeocandoit,socanI!”Itsoundscorny,butitworks.Really.

5.Thinkaboutthebenefits.Thinkingabouthowhardsomethingisisabigproblemformostpeople.Wakingearlysoundssohard!Justthinkingaboutitmakesyoutired.Butinsteadofthinkingabouthowhardsomethingis,thinkaboutwhatyouwillgetoutofit.Forexample,insteadofthinkingabouthowharditistowakeearly,focusonhowgoodyou’llfeelwhenyou’redone,andhowyourdaywillbesomuchbetter.Thebenefitsofsomethingwillhelpenergizeyou.

6.Getexcitedagain!Thinkaboutwhyyoulostyourexcitement…thenthinkaboutwhyyouwereexcitedinthefirstplace.Canyougetthatback?Whatmadeyouwanttodothegoal?Whatmadeyoupassionateaboutit?Trytobuildthatupagain,refocusyourself,getenergized.

7.Readaboutit.WhenIlosemotivation,Ijustreadabookorblogaboutmygoal.Itinspiresmeandreinvigoratesme.Forsomereason,readinghelpsmotivateandfocusyouonwhateveryou’rereadingabout.Soreadaboutyourgoaleveryday,ifyoucan,especiallywhenyou’renotfeelingmotivated.

8.Findlike-mindedfriends.Stayingmotivatedonyourownistough.Butifyoufindsomeonewithsimilargoals(running,dieting,finances,etc.),seeifthey’dliketopartnerwithyou.Orpartnerwithyourspouse,sibling,orbestfriendonwhatevergoalsthey’retryingtoachieve.Youdon’thavetobegoingafterthesamegoals—aslongasyouarebothpushingandencouragingeachothertosucceed.Othergoodoptionsaregroupsinyourarea(I’mpartofarunningclub,forexample)oronlineforumswhereyoucanfindpeopletotalktoaboutyourgoals.

9.Readinspiringstories.Inspiration,forme,comesfromotherswhohaveachievedwhatIwanttoachieve,orwhoarecurrentlydoingit.Ireadotherblogs,books,magazines.IGooglemygoal,andreadsuccessstories.ZenHabitsisjustoneplaceforinspiration,notonlyfrommebutfrommanyreaderswhohaveachievedamazingthings.Ilove,love,lovereadingsuccessstoriestoo.

10.Buildonyoursuccesses.Everylittlestepalongthewayisasuccess—celebratethefactthatyouevenstarted!Andthendiditfortwodays!Celebrateeverylittlemilestone.Thentakethatsuccessfulfeelingandbuildonitwithanotherbabystep.Addtwotothreeminutestoyourexerciseroutine,forexample.Witheachstep(andeachstepshouldlastaboutaweek),youwillfeelevenmoresuccessful.Makeeachstepreally,reallysmall,andyouwon’tfail.Afteracoupleofmonths,yourtinystepswilladduptoalotofprogressandalotofsuccess.

11.Justgetthroughthelowpoints.Motivationisnotaconstantthingthatisalwaysthereforyou.Itcomesandgoes,andcomesandgoesagain,likethetide.Butrealizethatwhileitmaygoaway,itdoesn’tdosopermanently.Itwillcomeback.Juststickitoutandwaitforthatmotivationtocomeback.Inthemeantime,readaboutyourgoal,askforhelp,anddosomeoftheotherthings

listedhereuntilyourmotivationcomesback.

12.Gethelp.It’shardtoaccomplishsomethingalone.WhenIdecidedtorunmymarathon,Ihadthehelpoffriendsandfamily,andIhadagreatrunningcommunityonGuamwhoencouragedmeat5Kracesanddidlongrunswithme.WhenIdecidedtoquitsmoking,Ijoinedanonlineforumandthathelpedtremendously.Andofcourse,mywife,Eva,helpedeverystepoftheway.Icouldn’thavereachedthesegoalswithouther,orwithouttheotherswhosupportedme.Findyoursupportnetwork,eitherintherealworldoronline,orboth.

13.Chartyourprogress.ThiscanbeassimpleasmarkinganXonyourcalendarorcreatingasimplespreadsheet,orloggingyourgoalusingonlinesoftware.Butitcanbevastlyrewardingtolookbackonyourprogressandtoseehowfaryou’vecome,anditcanhelpyoutokeepgoing—youdon’twanttohavetoomanydayswithoutanX!Now,youwillhavesomebadmarksonyourchart.That’sOK.Don’tletafewbadmarksstopyoufromcontinuing.Striveinsteadtogetthegoodmarksnexttime.

14.Rewardyourselfoften.Foreverylittlestepalongtheway,celebrateyoursuccess,andgiveyourselfareward.Ithelpstowritedownappropriaterewardsforeachstep,sothatyoucanlookforwardtothoserewards.Byappropriate,Imean1)it’sproportionatetothesizeofthegoal(don’trewardgoingonaone-milerunwithaluxurycruiseintheBahamas);and2)itdoesn’truinyourgoal—ifyouaretryingtoloseweight,don’trewardadayofhealthyeatingwithadessertbinge.It’sself-defeating.

15.Goformini-goals.Sometimeslargeorlonger-termgoalscanbeoverwhelming.Afteracoupleweeks,wemaylosemotivation,becausewestillhaveseveralmonthsorayearormorelefttoaccomplishthegoal.It’shardtomaintainmotivationforasinglegoalforsuchalongtime.Solution:Havesmallergoalsalongtheway.

16.Getacoachortakeaclass.Thesewillmotivateyoutoatleastshowupandtotakeaction.Theycanbeappliedtoanygoal.Thismightbeoneofthemoreexpensivewaysofmotivatingyourself,butitworks.Andifyoudosomeresearch,youmightfindsomecheapclassesinyourarea,oryoumightknowafriendwhowillprovidecoachingorcounselingforfree.

17.Neverskiptwodaysinarow.Thisruletakesintoaccountournaturaltendencytomissdaysnowandthen.Wearenotperfect.So,youmissedoneday…nowtheseconddayisuponyouandyouarefeelinglazy.Tellyourself,“No!Youwillnotmisstwodaysinarow!”

18.Usevisualization.Visualizeyoursuccessfuloutcomeingreatdetail.Closeyoureyesandthinkaboutexactlyhowyoursuccessfuloutcomewilllook,willfeel,willsmellandtasteandsound.Whereareyouwhenyoubecomesuccessful?Howdoyoulook?Whatareyouwearing?Formasclearamentalpictureaspossible.Nowhere’sthenextkey:Doiteveryday.Foratleastafewminuteseachday.Thisistheonlywaytokeepthatmotivationgoingoveralongperiodoftime.

19.Beawareofyoururgestoquit,andovercomethem.Weallhaveurgestostop,buttheyaremostlyunconscious.Oneofthemostpowerfulthingsyoucandoistostartbeingmoreconsciousofthoseurges.Agoodexerciseistogothroughthedaywithalittlepieceofpaperandputatallymarkforeachtimeyougetanurge.Itsimplymakesyouawareoftheurges.Thenhaveaplanforwhenthoseurgeshit,andplanforitbeforehand—andwritedownyourplan,becauseoncethoseurgeshit,youwillnotfeellikecomingupwithaplan.

20.Findpleasureagain.Noonecansticktosomethingforlongiftheyfinditunpleasantandareonlyrewardedaftermonthsoftoil.Therehastobefun,pleasure,joyinit,everyday,oryouwon’twanttodoit.Findthosepleasurablethings—thebeautyofamorningrun,forexample,orthesatisfactioninreportingtopeoplethatyoufinishedanotherstepalongtheway,orthedeliciousnessofahealthymeal.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’dliketoacknowledgetheinvaluablehelpofthemanypeoplewhocontributedtothisbook,includingHollyandBrendan,whohadgreatpatienceforthisfirst-timeauthor.ThereadersofZenHabitsinspiredandencouragedmeeverystepoftheway.Mymom,Shannon,whohasbeentherockuponwhichmylifehasbeenbuilt.Myfather,Joe,whosewitandhumorhaveinfusedeverythingIdo.MysisterKatrina,whoisbothmyrunningpartnerandconfidant,andmybeautifulsistersAnaandTiara,andmywonderfulbrothersJoseph,Brandon,andAustin.Myincrediblechildren,thereasonsforeverythingIdo:Chloe,Justin,Rain,Maia,Seth,andNoelle.

Andofcoursemywife,Eva,mygreatestsupporter.

AbouttheAuhtor

Leo Babauta has been a reporter, editor, speechwriter, and freelance writer for the last 17 years. HefoundedZenHabits.netwithnofundinginJanuary2007,andoneyearlateritisatop50blogwithaboutamillionuniquevisitorspermonth.UsingthemethodshesharesinTHEPOWEROFLESSoverthelasttwoyears, he’s trained and successfully completed amarathon, he’s doubled his income, he’s eliminated hisdebt,he’squitsmoking,andhe’swrittenanovel.

Copyright

THE POWEROF LESS.Copyright©2009LeoBabauta.All rights reservedunderInternational and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of therequiredfees,youhavebeengrantedthenon-exclusive,non-transferablerighttoaccess and read the text of this e-bookon-screen.Nopart of this textmaybereproduced,transmitted,down-loaded,decompiled,reverseengineered,orstoredinorintroducedintoanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,inanyformorbyanymeans,whetherelectronicormechanical,nowknownorhereinafterinvented,withouttheexpresswrittenpermissionofHyperione-books.

MicrosoftReaderDecember2008ISBN9781401395643

10987654321