The Pursuit of Less

The trend of sleep-deprived and overworked Americans is widely acknowledged.

Unfortunately, these days, it’s a badge of pride to say you’ve been “too busy” to work out, call a friend, prepare real food to eat, or even sit down.

From time to time, I feel myself falling into each of these categories.

What’s so great about being part of the “busy” culture?

Your priorities get turned around, and all the on-the-run eating, and neglect of social ties and loved ones are some of the worst things we could do for our own health and wellbeing.

I didn’t necessarily want to own up to a lot of what McKeown talked about in his book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, but I realized how easy and detrimental it is when we fall into the “busy” trap. When we slowly cut out an hour of exercise here, for an extra hour of work on a new project there.

It’s a gradual process that can slowly wear on a person until they decide to make some small changes to get back on track, or for some, need to do a complete overhaul of one’s life.

McKeown discussed essentialism as determining what should get done, and doing just that, while cutting out the excess.

He made some memorable points about working less, more slowly, and more purposefully to end up with better productivity and less burnout.

Maybe it’s okay to say “no,” to understand your limits, and to work less for the sake of living more.

So for now, try essentialism on for size. Slow down, look inward, and experience what living life more fully feels like.