The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essentialin Business and in Life

If you'r beginning your journey with work-life balance and minimalism, this is the right book to start. Leo knows how to put all the complicated thoughts everyone has into simple and easy to use ideas. There really is a POWER of less.

First off let me admit that I really like Babauta: I have used something like a modified version of Zen to Done for number of years, I love the Zen insight he provides (When eating, just eat), etc. And I also enjoyed this book. But there are two significant problems:

1. It is too long

2. It lacks evidence

(1) The core insight of the book is that we should all reduce. This is a valuable insight. Many of us could do well to take it on. It is especially valuable when it comes to productivity systems themselves. They should be stripped back to only the essentials. And Babauta recommends this. All good so far. BUT why then does a book preaching reduction stretch to 18 chapters? At the very least there is a bit of a tension here.

(2) More significantly, never are we given any hard empirical evidence in support of Babauta's claims. This is pretty typical of books in the productivity/self help space. All you ever see is a bunch of claims and possibly the odd anecdote about how it changed the author's life. I want evidence. Consider a concrete example: Babauta preachers the virtues of a clean desk. Does he give us evidence? Well he says it allows you to focus and it gives you Zen-like calm. But these are just his claims: we don't get any hard evidence to support them. Is there evidence for them? I don't even know how you could support the claim that a clean desk gives you Zen-like calm for the simple reason I don't know what Zen-like calm looks like. What about focus? Actually what hard evidence there is (and there ain't much) points in the other direction. Messy desks (and messy "shop fronts") actually promote clearer, more focused thinking. So not only does Babauta failed to give evidence for his claims, but when we cast our net further for what little evidence there is, we find it is pointing in exactly the opposite direction.

All that said, I still kinda like the book. In fact, I would recommend it, but I would also recommend you read it critically. Read it as a catalyst for your own thinking about focusing your life. It is a good book to get you thinking. And perhaps that is all Babauta wanted to do and all we should expect.

Let me start by saying that I think this is an excellent book, particularly for people who are into mindfulness. Reading it I was constantly struck by how the basic message of less instead of more - more - more goes against the grain of our culture. It's refreshing and empowering. If you're struggling with finding time for your mindfulness practice, this book is an excellent anti-dote.

Having said that, there's a big chunk missing in Babauta's life strategy -- sleep. Chronic, low-grade sleep deprivation is endemic in Western society. Direct and indirect effects of sleep deprivation are a significant contributor to many of the problems addressed in The Power of Less. Conversely, being consistently well-rested will make you harder to manipulate, less prone to sweet cravings, perkier in the morning, less reluctant to exercise, all around healthier, more focused and so on.

If you're only going to change one thing in your life, making sure you get enough sleep on a daily basis would be it. It will make everything else easier.

It would be interesting to find out if Babauta consciously chose not to address sleep or if he has a blind spot in that area.

This is an easy to read book with lots of common-sense ideas that many of us have seen or heard elsewhere, so I don't think there's anything original here, but a synthesis of current thinking about being more effective with your time, and being better organized. Some of it is just plain common sense, and some of it way too simplistic. Why have a section on eating slowly? Hmmm If you're looking for a 'silver-bullet' to change your life, it's not here, but this is still a worthwhile read.
To really get you thinking about how you've structured your life, take a look at 'The 4 hour Work Week;' by Timothy Ferris- that's a book that provides real food for thought. Babauta's book is a quick snack, Ferris' is a whopping meal.

Leo Babauta touches the essentials when it comes down to how to be successful. He explains in great detail how to keep focus and also the power of simplicity. I recognized a lot and learned new things. A great gift for everybody who likes practical insights to build success.

The best thing (out of a whole book of good things) was the concept of changing through tiny changes. I'm getting ready to start my 6th tiny commitment challenge. 4 of the 5 previous ones have made their way solidly into my life and the difference in my life and my attitude is huge.

This book is FABULOUS! It's very simple and straight forward no fluff just right to the point. A lot of wonderful ideas that are both basic and mind shattering at the same time. If you are looking to find more LIFE in your life... this is a must read!

There wasn't much I found I could take away from the book. It left me strangely unfulfilled and I feel it wasn't worth my time or the money. However, there were a couple of points in there that got me thinking. All in all, I felt like it was just a regurgitation of blog content, and not worth ten dollars.

I love reading books about how to improve myself but I hate this book. Without a personal side to the book, the author's avoidance of including any story or creative elements, and using bullet points on what felt like every page, this book is basically structured like a dry and boring professional blog post. Not worth the time to read it.

First, let me say this: The content in this book is worth 5 stars. Leo is the absolute best at making anyone realize what is important in the world, and act on it. If you've had it with other self-empowerment books, the kind that use phrases like "thrive off of synergy" and "discover the true version of yourself" and "unlock the millionaire within you" and other absurdities that clog the self-improvement industry of books, then The Power of Less will be an absolute relief. The general mantra is easy to swallow and understand: focus your efforts on one thing and you will be more effective.

The book is simple and direct with little fluff. It's aimed at everyone, not just the big-time business managers and the yuppie type. As a student and writer, I find that 7 Habits and Getting Things Done and the like, while they're great, just don't feel like they're aimed at me. The Power of Less is, though. And it's undiluted greatness. There's no New Age-y stuff in here, nothing really abstract. Just solid, practical approaches to the problems that everyone faces.

Here's the one catch, though: at least 85-90% of the content in this book is fundamentally equivalent to what's been posted on his blog, Zen Habits (zenhabits dot net). Leo's techniques rely on simplicity so much that there are really only so many ways you can spin it.

There are a lot of reasons to buy this book: it goes a little bit deeper in its explanations, it is a great summary and introduction to everything on Leo's site, it supports Leo after all of the hard work he has put in to helping your average Joe like me make his life and his world a little bit better, and it introduces his ideas in a logical order.

But you can get explanations the same fundamental approaches and set of tips for free on Zen Habits, so if you're looking to pinch pennies while still taking serious steps forward in your life, you might instead just want to go through his site.

This review is not a knock on the book at all. It's just a reminder that there's a free digital alternative. That's a tip Leo himself would approve of.

This book just didn't cut it in my opinion.

I was "captivated" by the title, and thought the book would deliver on it's promise...

When I received it, I started reading.

Yawn. It was a boring read, and didn't deliver on the title's promise at all.

In fairness to the author, the author's blog has solid content which you can read for free...and pay much "less."

Nothing new, interesting, or helpful. He constantly repeats the same things throughout the book, all of which have been said before.
Clear The Clutter With Feng Shui by Karen Kingston Or Eckhart Tolle MUCH BETTER.

What an insipid, trite rip-off! The author's suggestions are so lame--check your e-mail only twice a day, keep a positive attitude!, get some exercise (regularly)--that you're left feeling stupid for paying the cover price plus s&h. Totally unnecessary bit of publishing.

The Power of Less is an excellent and powerful guide to making better habits and cutting out the nonessential and damaging aspects of our lifestyles. It advocates routine-creation and refocusing commitments over dramatic change, which paradoxically leads to dramatic change must faster than a more aggressive approach. Simply creating and adhering to schedules for several weeks on end is sufficient to change your life completely, but Leo doesn't stop there. He offers advice on how to gradually add or remove elements to your life without creating that sense of sudden change that often leads to regression and adherence to bad habits.

I have read a lot of self-help books and generally disdain them for their overly prescriptive and hyperactive methods, but Leo's approach is so easy to apply that you will find yourself becoming a better person with only a few small updates in your daily life. I should also add that I only applied about 10% of what I read in here, and found it made profound differences for the better. I think my own experience shows that even a little bit of application goes a long way if the information you are applying is high value. From this I can say that Leo's book is a must read for anyone who wants to live a better life and, as a result, experience more positive results.

I loved this book. As someone who strives for a minimalistic lifestyle in a busy world, I found that Leo provides a wonderfully realistic perspective on what we can do to be more present and less stressed in our whirlwind lives. Leo also runs a popular blog, Zenhabits.net, which I visit daily. His advice in the book is simple and straightforward. He tends to write in short sections with bullets and lists to make the reading easier. The book technically can be a quick read, but because he is so efficient in his writing, you can really spend a lot of time complementing the ideas he presents on each page.

The book is organized into two parts: principles and practice. The principles he covers are: Why Less Is Powerful, The Art of Setting Limits, Choosing the Essential/Simplifying, Simple Focus, Create New Habits/Power of Less Challenge, Start Small. Those principles are then applied realistically in the practice section of the book in the following areas: simple goals and projects, tasks, time management, e-mail, internet, filing, commitments, daily routine, decluttering your workspace, slowing down, health and fitness, motivation.

Gem of a book! I think this book is much more helpful than other organizing/decluttering/simplifying books because it focuses on proactively solving the cause of our complexity/stress instead of trying to sell you on a system for doing 3 things at once or organizing hundreds of shoes with fancy containers.

One thing I'll say for this Leo Babauta's The Power of Less -- it's a very quick read. So quick that, after I read it a while ago in one sitting, and wasn't too impressed, I was able to skim it again in 5 minutes to remember what's in the book.

There's really nothing new in here that you can't read in other self-help books: goal-setting, routine, doing the difficult first, keeping a positive attitude. One thing that's very popular is forcing yourself to do something (and encouraging yourself) by making artificial commitments to others (exercise partner, publish goals on website).

Rather I would agree with something else Babauta says -- that if you've got passion and enjoy what you do, the rest comes easily. But identifying that activity, and arranging to spend most of your time on it (read "get a job you enjoy") is not necessarily easy and there's no recipe for it.

Refreshing that he takes the other side (or the new popular side) regarding multi-tasking: against. But nothing's black and white. Not even trivial tips like to only look at e-mail twice a day. Sometimes progress and idea-generation comes from the flow -- look at kids who are online all the time while doing their homework. Single-minded focus can be lonely, and not as effective as suggested because it avoids synergy with others.

I guess my recommendation is to divide your reading on this topic in two: for the goals and principles side, read Stephen Covey (or better, read his "wisdom literature" classic sources). For the detailed practical side, there are enough blogs and websites out there to give you what you need in one page, not a hundred.

Here's a tip for e-mail, for example. IMHO more practical than Babauta's limiting to twice a day, or write less. Read e-mail when you need to, but follow this procedure:

1. Delete without reading (based on From: or Subject:)
2. Read and delete
3. Read and file
4. Read and respond

Offers much information to think on. Deals with your mindset,and how to reduce clutter and stress. Author directly relates stress with the amount of material possessions.

I have been working diligently on de cluttering my personal and business life. I have read so many simplifying and de-cluttering and efficiency books I almost have a clutter problem with all the books on the subject. (Cured that recently too with the Kindle 2.)
I run three business. One brick and morter and two online. I was getting over four hundred emails a day and was drowning in mail and spam. So I utilized ideas / suggestions from several sources to cure my problems. From the Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss we started using detailed faq's lists on our websites and an auto-responder that answered many questions so we would no longer have to reply to as many emails. For the ones we do answer the questions are predictable and we saved the answers as email drafts that way we just cut and paste and all done.

For the Spam we ran our eight email accounts into one google mail as they have the best spam filters and you can reply from the email address to which the mail was sent so they dont know that anything is happening. And suggestions from the life hacker Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better by Gina Tripani has some interesting ideas for sure.

Keeping your inbox empty we use suggestions from Stress Less and Zen to Done by Leo Babauta and you would not believe how much better you feel when things are under control. But it is you who must Work the system or you will be overwhelmed again.

A much more detailed program is used in Getting Things Done David Allen book, but the above is kind of the simplified version that I currently prefer.

And for just getting rid of all the clutter in your life any of the books from Peter Walsh, How to Organize (Just About) Everything, and Enough Already, are great even though they tend to recover some of the material from his other books somewhat but thats not a big deal since the info is worth repeating. Another good author but she covers pretty much the same thing is Julie Morgenstern.

The books by Koch on the 80/20 principle are also worth looking into. For the paper clutter in my life I have a digital sender scanner and have scanned over four full file cabinets into Adobe PDF computer files. I have done this with pictures too as you can also save them info Jpeg and Jiff files. While there are tons more books out there and I seem to have most of them, these are the best to get things under control and to get you the time to do the things that matter to you.

All in all a good book to put us on the road to less.

In a sense this is all about getting back to basics. The concept of less being more might sound odd at first but being able to concentrate in a multitasked fast paced world is not always as easy as some might think.

Being addicted to being connected is not something that anyone wants nor should it really be expected. It becomes taxing and in the end actually less efficient. Being asked to do something encompassing might be nice but unless it is specifically stated then it is best to limit it to what is asked.

The art of asking for more frankly does not always work well. How many toaster ovens offer both that work exceptionally well? How many multipurpose devices are optimized on everything?

Some suggest that this is business book but frankly it is more of a life book. I think it should be handed out at high school graduations or become a requirement for incoming college freshmen.

I'm always interested in reading books on personal productivity, and I was thrilled when Leo Babauta asked me if I would be interested in reviewing his new book The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential...in Business and in Life. It's gotten a lot of air time in the blogs I follow, and the idea of "less" is one that appeals a great deal to me. It didn't take long to read, and I immediately found myself concentrating on a few key components for my own life. And when a book can get me to make changes that quickly, it's a good thing.

Contents:
Introduction
Part 1 - The Principles: Why Less Is Powerful; The Art of Setting Limits; Choosing the Essential, and Simplifying; Simple Focus; Create New Habits, and the Power of Less Challenge; Start Small
Part 2 - In Practice: Simple Goals and Projects; Simple Tasks; Simple Time Management; Simple E-mail; Simple Internet; Simple Filing; Simple Commitments; Simple Daily Routine; Declutter Your Work Space; Slow Down; Simple Health and Fitness; On Motivation
Acknowledgements

Babauta starts the book by laying the foundation... why should we care about "less"? The answer makes a lot of sense when you think about it. You can run around frantically, trying to do everything and be all things to all people. But in the process, you'll only be able to skim the surface when it comes to making a difference. You may be able to measure "volume" in your output, but will any of it really matter or be effective? By setting limits and focusing on fewer, more essential things, you can complete tasks to the end and concentrate on those items that will make a difference in your life and the lives of others. The example of the haiku was very appropriate... Instead of writing many words and lines to convey a thought, you only have 17 syllables that have to be laid out in a particular format. As such, you're forced to cut out extraneous words and make sure the ones you keep really matter. Same with the things in your life that you commit to... cut out the noise, and keep the activities that matter.

The second part takes the principles of less and starts to apply them to areas in your life where noise and clutter tend to abound. Everyone is buried by email, it seems. Babauta offers some effective ways that you can get on top of the wave. Only read and answer emails at a particular time each day, limiting the number of email inboxes you maintain, and taking advantage of filtering features all help to make sure you only have to deal with "critical" items. Granted, some of the ideas may not work for you, such as limiting your replies to five sentences. But overall, even implementing just one or two of the ideas can have a dramatic impact on your overall time and effectiveness. Same with internet connectivity... you might find yourself distracted by all the different trails that your web browser presents to yo... HEY, LOOK AT THIS COOL VIDEO! Tracking your actual usage and physically disconnecting from the net while you're working can make all the difference in the world. I could definitely apply this rule when it comes to having Twitter running while working...

If you're familiar with the Getting Things Done methodology, you'll see some similar thoughts and patterns emerge in The Power of Less. It's not a rehash of GTD by any means, though. If you're heavily into GTD, you'll pick up some effective habits in Less that can make you even more effective with your time and energy. If you're not into GTD or somehow intimidated by getting started, Less can be a bit more approachable and help you develop habits that will most definitely improve your life. Either way, you can count on coming away with a number of tips and techniques that will work wonders. For me, it's the process of being present in whatever you do, instead of trying to do one thing and think about another. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to cut the clutter from their life.

Increasingly, popular bloggers turn their free online product into books and products that people need to buy. Unlike a blog, a book integrates individual ideas together better. If you seek that integrated approach, you may like this book better than the blog it is based on. But be sure you check out the blog first to see if you like Mr. Babauta's approach.

If you have read other books about simplifying life, you won't find anything here you haven't read before. But you probably won't find the ideas expressed as simply and briefly as here. That's the main advantage of The Power of Less over its competitors.

Most of the good books I've read on this subject didn't pay enough attention to dealing with the Internet, BlackBerry, and cell phone. I was pleased to see that Mr. Babauta paid lots of attention to keeping e-mails under control. However, he could have done more with reducing intrusions from your BlackBerry or your cell phone.

Mr. Baubauta is at his best when he is talking about breaking bad habits and building better ones. Conversely, he isn't an expert on many of the habit-making areas so his suggestions are at the modest end of what's possible.

As an example, a great way to get more done in less time and with less strain is to do tasks in ways that they serve many purposes while remaining a simple task. Here's an example: You might want to spend more time with your children, get lots of fix-up projects done at home, and learn some new skills. By picking the right fix-up project and organizing it to involve your children and some new learning, you can learn together and accomplish something that will endure and remind you of a good experience.

Aware of this limitation in the book, Mr. Babauta recommends that you seek out specialized information in the areas where you want to improve. I second that suggestion.

He also favors making lots of little improvements, focusing on one at a time, rather than making a breakthrough in one area and then not needing to change very much else. For instance, some entrepreneurs design business models that require only a few minutes a day of their time. As a result, they can have simple, stress-free lives in everything else they do. That seems like a better solution than simply getting a little bit better at a lot of things after months and years of reforming yourself.

As a result, this book is best for someone who wants to make a lot of little changes in many different areas, breaking lots of bad habits over time.

The book has one design quirk that bothered me. He addresses how to get work done in a simpler way before looking into looking into improving your personal life. When I teach people about simplification, I find that it works better to start with their values and goals for a whole life and simplify work and personal life at the same time in complementary ways.

THE POWER OF LESS is one of the more logically written, user-friendly manual companions for self-improvement available in book form. Leo Babauta succeeds where many others fail because he converses with the reader instead of setting out a grand plan, scheme or recipe as a checklist for obsessive self-help book readers. His writing style is casual yet intelligent, supportive, and encouraging.

The quest for simplifying our too chaotic lives is the driver for this book. Babauta has a way of presenting his thoughts that challenges the reader to examine just how cluttered our days have become. And if our days are cluttered with addictions to email, blog sites, and other fixations on the internet, he offers ways to re-think the priorities we have established in this immediate communication world in order to find a sense of balance for living the lives we all desire. Early on in the book Babauta presents two principles that remain the key to the book: 1) 'By setting limitations, we must choose the essential. So in everything you do, learn to set limitations'. and 2) 'By choosing the essential, we create great impact with minimal resources. Always choose the essential to maximize your time and energy.' The remainder of this easy to digest book takes the reader on the journey of learning how to implement these principles.

If there could be only one reason to read this book it would be to gain an appreciation for just how cluttered our lives have become, and unfortunately, lost in that clutter are such vital treasures as true interpersonal friendships and tending to our fellow human beings. And that is reason enough to read THE POWER OF LESS: the discovery of the essentials will follow. Grady Harp, January 09

The Power of Less is a practical book and stands out in a world of self-help books. Babauta knows that people are not perfect in setting and achieving our goals despite our intentions or desires to do otherwise. He wants the reader to understand that achieving optimum performance in our lives comes from making personal time for ourselves. Learning to take that time and live with less, he argues, can lead to more personal satisfaction and contentment. In a world of continuous interruption and obligation, the Power of Less is about focusing on what is truly necessary and the keys to fulfilling personal goals. In addition to the book, which is a short and concise read (the power that less is more, perhaps?), I would recommend his blog as well, which tackles several topics not mentioned in the book, such as marriage, hobbies and spending more time with family. In all, this is a worthwhile book for anyone looking to improve him or herself. I know that it has motivated me to begin waking up earlier as I am no longer accomplishing as much in the evening as I used to due to increased work and family demands. I am on my way to learning to focus on less and thereby weed out the unnecessary and wasteful.

This book takes the premise that we are so wrapped up in being busy (because being busy is the new status that everybody seeks, "I work ergo I have status") that we are in fact far less productive than we actually believe.

The author tells a compelling personal story of how he de-cluttered and minimalized his own life and as a result became physically fitter, lost weight, gave up smoking, paid off his debt, and built financial security. The bulk of the book is an easy to follow model which seeks to establish a balance between focus and goal setting. The author argues that by working on one major goal at a time, with a realistic timeline, focus naturally follows - living in the now, de-cluttering, minimizing are all side benefits of becoming focused on one particular goal.

I read this book last year, and have now spent 10 months following the model - it works! This is not a book for people who want to squeeze more out of every hour of the day in terms of productivity, but it is a book for people who are looking for increased productivity, whilst achieving better management of their time, and a far better quality and balanced life.

I am relatively new to the ZenHabits blog so I picked this book up to fill me in on some of the topics Leo writes about, namely living a reduced stress life, de-cluttering your home and office, enjoying and loving the simple things in life.

I found this to be a good book and given the fact Leo has come from being an over weight, over worked, stressed out person to a person with true clarity, who exercises everyday, developed a blog with a hundred thousand subscribers all while working from home and raising six kids!

Leo focusing on the importance of setting limits in everything your do but he has remarkable self discipline and self motivation to execute his goals.

I got a lot out of this book and have already started de-cluttering and thinking about my goals and how I plan to achieve them.

It's a relatively quick read and the strategy is pretty straightforward. I enjoyed the book and recommend if you want tips on setting priorities and discussion on identifying your goals and limiting your time spent on activities. Focus on the stuff with the most potential for payback and eliminate the rest!

In the book, The Power of Less, Leo Babauta discusses and outlines his modified system of getting things done. In part one: the principles, he talks about how "less" is a powerful principle. By setting limits we must choose the essential areas of focus in our life, which allows us to create a greater impact , maximizing our time and energy. We start small and create new habits that with time will allow us to be more productive. In part two: in practice, he gives examples of simplifying one's goals and projects to limit our stress and wastefulness.

Practical tips, like how to simplify e-mail, are used to inspire and motivate the reader. For example, limiting your inboxes, spending less time answering e-mails, reducing your incoming stream, processing your box to empty, and writing less, are discussed and encouraged.

I liked this book and while reading it I referred to the his website located at ZenHabits.net. There are many recourses on the website that are also discussed in the book. For a nice introduction, check out his beginners guided tour on his website.

I give this book 3 stars because I enjoyed reading, but will probably not refer to it again. Many of the ideas were very repetitive, and halfway through the book, my interest started to wane. I found that I actually read more on the website rather in the book about topics that I found interesting. I would suggest this book to anyone who has tried the Getting Things Done method and found it not to their liking. Also be sure to check out the website Zen Habits for more great tips.

Imagine being able to do less, but at the same time, getting
more done . . . that's the premise behind THE POWER OF
LESS, a short but powerful book by Leo Babaura.

Its subtitle tells you that this is possible when you learn
THE FINE ART OF OF LIMITING YOURSELF . . . IN BUISNESS
AND IN LIFE.

As the author points out:

* The simplicity I seek in my life is simplicity in what I do. . . . it
[simplicity] boils down to two steps:

1. Identify the essential.
2. Eliminate the rest.

Babaura then proceeds to show how he actually did this by
concentrating on one goal and at a time--and not trying
to accomplish everything at once . . . this simple technique
enabled him to train for and run two marathons, complete
two triathlons, start a successful blog, completely eliminate
his debt, lose 44 pounds, write and sell two successful ebooks,
write the first draft of a novel, and many other things--all within the
span of the past several years . . . in addition, he raised and
made time for his six wonderful kids.

To do anything even remotely similar, you must first be able to
beat the procrastination hurdle . . . here's how:

* Anytime you find yourself procrastinating on an important task,
see if you can break it into something smaller. Then just get
started. Don't procrastinate, but just get started. Once you've
gotten started, you will gain momentum, and will have broken
through the initial resistance barrier, and you'll be much more
likely to continue to the next small task and the next one until
the large task is completed.

Of perhaps the greatest value was the advice on handling email, one
of my biggest problems:

* How many times you check email per day is a function of the kind
of work you do. If you can get away with checking email just once
per day, that would be ideal--you'd have very few e-mail interruptions,
and your email habits would be most efficient. However, for many people,
twice a day is probably more realistic. Others, who need to be able
to get email more often because their job orders are sent through
email (customer service, for example), might want to limit their email
checking to once per hour (perhaps ten minutes at the top of the hour).
Still others might be able to get away with checking e-mail less than
once a day--every other day, twice a week or ever once a week. If you
can count yourself among these people, take advantage of this and limit
yourself to the bare minimum.

I'd write more about this fine book . . . however, if less is truly more, it is
now time for me to devote my attention to some other task that will
help move me closer to one of my weekly or yearly goals.

I am very cautious when I read a self-help book. I am consistently questioning what I read, making sure strategies being presented are implemented with the information in the book.

Leo does an excellent job doing what he is teaching: keeping it simple, keeping it efficient, and keeping it quick. Within the first six pages you get Leo's 2 steps which are the backbone of the Power of Less. The rest of the book gives tips and strategies, in order of importance, to explain and help the reader implement the steps.

The information is well organized and the strategies are simple to implement.

You may be able to find this information on Leo's blog, but not in such a clear concise manner where you can easily refer back to it, as presented in the book.

Leo Babauta's "The Power of Less" is one self-help book I highly recommend.

With all of the technological advances that have come out lately---usually something to do with phones or some messaging system---I feel like I'm the only person in the world who doesn't care about this stuff at all. Well, maybe Leo Babauta feels the same way.

I really enjoyed his book; his revelations are based on good old fashioned common sense, and that's a rare commodity these days. I've long since given up trying to multi-task, and think using your phone to Twitter is ridiculous; texting's bad enough. If you can't wait to get to your p.c. to post a tweet, you've got issues; by all means read this book.

If you've already managed to ground yourself in a simple philosophy of sticking only to what really matters in your life, this book may not provide anything earth shattering. However, knowing that you're doing the right thing with your time is nice; positive affirmation is good.

The Internet, including this website, is awash with people who have ways to help us get things done. In both its upper and lower-case manifestations, getting things done in many cases seems to involve special tools, dedicated software programs or tweaks, hours-long seminars, or other complex arrangements that are less "tools" than they are proprietary lifestyles. Maybe those arrangements are necessary. The simple elegance of "The Power of Less," however, suggests maybe they're not.

For reasons I'm not really sure about now, I expected this book to take a more overtly philosophical approach to goal-achievement and life-management issues. The Zen behind the Zen Habits, so to speak. In fact, though, while the underlying philosophy becomes clear soon enough, "The Power of Less" is in fact an eminently practical book, full of tactics, check lists, and hands-on applications that can get readers started on the changes they want to make quickly and easily. (That's not to say that achieving the goals will itself become easier: the author can't change how much effort it takes to write a book, or start a business, or drop 30 pounds. But I contend "The Power of Less" approach of getting from where you are to where you want to be is a very good one.)

The key insight of "The Power of Less" -- and where this book becomes revolutionarily different than most of those others -- is instead of trying to do more in less time, we should ... do less: slow down, do (read, consume, work, email, panic) less, do the fewer things you do better than you did before. The first time I "read" this book I actually listened to the audiobook. But I soon found myself going back to the volume itself to re-read and make notes. For a reader seriously interested in getting more, not only out of her to-do list, but also of her life, "The Power of Less" and the blog associated with it are tools worth returning to.

This book is designed for people working essentially alone. The advice is sound, but as others have noted, it is repeated excessively. For most people, working in complex organizations, following this advice will create strains with co-workers, supervisors, subordinates. They may not be satisfied knowing that they did not make your list of three things to do. Here's what I think a reader should take away from this book. Break complex projects into manageable tasks for an individual, focus and complete one at a time. If part of a team, do the same thing with your teammates. If your organization wants to do many projects, pick one at a time and do the same thing. You may need some meetings to explain the concept, but that will be worth the effort.

The Power of Less: the fine art of limiting yourself to the essential ... in business and in life, by Leo Babauta, founder of ZenHabits.net, is a down-to-earth, peaceful explanation of how to achieve and experience more by having and doing less. Seems like a crazy idea, but Leo was able to radically change his life (lose 42 lbs, quit smoking, write 3 books, eliminate all debt, quit day job to work at home, etc.) by what he cut out and stopped doing, and who he started being.

For fans of 4 Hour Work Week, this book is a great companion to the ideas of reducing email checking, doing what's important first, and limiting our access to too much information.

But if you hated 4 Hour Work Week (or don't know what I'm talking about), this book is especially for you. Leo is less flashy and more realistic, with specific tips you can go home and do this afternoon that will, step by step, change your life.

Even if you regularly read Leo's blog ZenHabits, this book gives an overview of the "Six Principles of Simple Productivity" and will help you implement tips from ZenHabits by showing you where they fit in the system.

What I have already applied from The Power of Less:

- Doing the Most Important Thing first each day (and I'm declaring that intention to my twitter followers each morning, to hold me accountable).
- Created a list of the 5 Things I Love to Do, and making sure I arrange my schedule to do those things every day, even if just for a short time.
- Eating Slow - instead of eating while working/reading/driving, I sit down and concentrate on just enjoying my food - takes much less food to make me feel satisfied, when I'm paying attention.

If you want to learn how to organize your clutter or get more done in your day, this book is not for you. If you want to finally achieve your goals, get the most important things done, and enjoy every moment of your life, read this book.

This was a good book - short chapters, very good flow, and some down to earth advice.

I did, in fact, come away with some things to focus on.

Books like Covey's 7 Habits, Pat Lencioni's leadership fables, and Canfield's The Power of Focus are life changing titles -- The Power of Less is not.

Babauta gives a lot of bite-sized morsels that, added together, can make a significant change in one's life. None of them are "oh-wow's" -- they're all very practical, with the author's addition of WHY you should be doing them.

I would have given this only 3 stars, but added the fourth becuase I am awful at finishing books and the flow of Babauta's book was very, very good to the point that someone like me (always starting several books, finishing very few) can get through it in a couple of sessions.

A very simple book(go figure). Very short and to the point. One of my goals this past year has been to not get so overwhelmed with multiple project at school(teacher), life, hobbies, and with my family. I have been reading various books to help me learn how to take things, slim them down, and slowly eliminate the unnecessary things in my life and To Do list.

This book has proven to be a great help in helping me establish some patterns and habits. This summer for example I took a break from all school related ideas and just focused on my marathon training. With school starting up again I will have to add school to my daily life, but by working with just one thing I begun to realize the powerful energy of doing less.

I have been drafting my own book and many ideas that I was thinking about including in my own book were brought out in this book. One thing that I started writing about in my early draft of my book was just focusing on one goal and not multiple. This was suggested in this text and it works. I have been working on eliminating email and eliminating the clutter in other aspects of my life.

What is an even greater resource is the blog of Leo. This is another keeper of books. I have compiled several pages of notes from reading and rereading this book that I hope to continue to add to my daily routine.

Well worth taking the time to read to better your life.

A great book with several small ideas on simplifying, but greatly improving your life. As a sales rep, I ran into a wall prospecting for new customers. I pulled this book off the shelf and reread it on a flight and it got me back on track. Thanks Leo for your efforts as there are greatly appreciated.

The next time you're sitting at a red light, note how many of the drivers around you are talking on cellphones or text messaging. Do your co-workers scurry about, occasionally pausing to converse, even though they're clearly preoccupied? Most people seem resigned to living in the fast lane, where stress and multitasking are unavoidable realities. Not Leo Babauta, even though he is the father of six children. Babauta believes you can stop the insanity by simplifying your life. His strategy for restoring order is based on six productivity principles, starting with setting limits, since it's impossible to do everything. If you examine your core beliefs, values and goals, Babauta says you can begin trimming away things that complicate your life and focus on what's really important (even if a three-item main project list seems a little short to you). Although the author does not break new ground, getAbstract believes his suggestions and ideas are reassuring and helpful. Plus, it's nice to know that not everyone is crazy.

A constant stream of emails. Instant messages. Notes, files, phone calls, news, requests. Is this really how we want to spend our lives?

"We are drinking from a fire hose of information, with no idea of how to reduce the flow," says author Leo Babauta in his new book, The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential...in Business and in Life.

Here's the good news: It's indeed possible to find calm in the chaos, according to Babauta, that middle ground where we can enjoy access to the information we want, instant communication when we want it, and the ability to accomplish what we need to.

Discovering what matters
It all comes down to choices, as The Power of Less describes a two-step process for simplicity: Identify the essential, and eliminate the rest by applying limitations to every aspect of your life.

Babauta uses the structure of haiku poetry to illustrate his point. The poet must carefully choose only the essential words and images needed to convey his or her idea. By applying limitations in order to force choices, some of the world's most powerful and beautiful poetry is created.

If an area of your life is currently overwhelming you, says Babauta, try applying limitations. Too many emails? Limit yourself to checking your inbox twice a day, and responding to just five emails each time. Like the haiku writer, you'll be forced to work more effectively.

The art of setting limits
The Power of Less effectively makes the case for limitations as the key to a more tranquil, productive existence. Here are just a few of the benefits of setting limits in one or more areas of your life:

* Focuses your energy
* Helps you achieve more
* Makes you more effective
* Sends a message to others that your time is important

Besides email, Babauta suggests setting limits on tasks like the time you spend on the phone, the number of projects on your plate, and what's currently on top of your desk. First, analyze your current usage, then pick a lower limit and test it out for one week. Adjust as needed, then continue to reinforce your new behavior until it becomes a habit.

The idea of setting limitations is the first of Babauta's six "power of less principles," which also include:

* Choosing the essential
* Simplifying
* Focusing
* Creating habits
* Starting small

The Power of Less reviews each of the six principle in detail, then explores practical tips for implementing these principles in the quest for a simpler, more rewarding professional and personal life.

The scourge of multi-tasking
The Power of Less advocates what Babauta calls "single-tasking" -- focusing on one thing at a time and working as simply as possible to preserve your mental health and improve your effectiveness. By doing less, you are actually becoming more powerful and more effective.

Some other tips for discovering the power of less:

Batch processing -- Group together similar small tasks and tackle them all at once. Ideal tasks for batch processing include returning phone calls, running errands, conducting research, and processing paperwork.

Working offline -- Disconnect from the internet when you need a block of seriously focused, uninterrupted time.

Personal peak time -- Identify the time of day in which you are at your best, and plan to handle important tasks during this period.

This is one of the solid books that can be read at any point in your working life and improve your time management skills immensely. There are just so many great little tips from email management to web browsing time wasters that you can't help but get more efficient. The thing with the book is that it's common sense and it's true value is to remind yourself that you should be doing this. In summary, a solid book to help alleviate some stress of time management.

Ready for a change and have a long list of new habits to adopt and old ones to drop? Not so fast! As Leo Babauta points out, focus is key: pick one thing, focus on it, and do it incrementally by setting small goals and getting yourself used to the flow. Slow down, relax, and enjoy the process.

"Power of Less" is a great book, and one I've recommended to a number of friends. While you can get much of the content on author's blog (zenhabits.net), the book provides a great overview of Leo Babauta's philosophy. Of course, if you're interested in the subject you should also pick up David Allen's "Getting Things Done" series.

This book is a gem among gems. Leo's blog Zen Habits has been on my radar for years, but i needed a chapter-by-chapter book that would overhaul my life for the better, and this did it. (ps. Leo, you really need to add a search function to your blog).

I am a very good self-starter, self-employed, business owner and successful at most things i do. But in the last two years i have found myself inundated with overwhelming task lists, scatter brained and multi-tasking to the point of ineffectiveness. I felt i had to do more and and more and more to succeed but it seemed the more i did the less i achieved.

A friend asked me "could you achieve your dreams by doing less?" and i stared at her blankly. I thought about it for a few days and then in a search for a way to find my passion again, i came across this book- the title spoke directly to the challenge my friend had offered. The customer reviews described my stand-still to a T and I trust Leo, so i bought it without hesitation.

I highly recommend reading and working the ideas in this book chapter by chapter- one at a time- complete them step by step so they build on each other. There's no point in skipping around or thinking you can take some and leave the rest- this is a complete philosophical change to your life and each bit builds on the next. I started with what i could see first- i limit myself to one browser window with five tabs open. When i need to open a new tab, i make sure something open is already completed. I also started writing five line emails. These two things opened so much space in my head that i automatically found a difference- i was able to slow down, hear people again, hear myself think, and immediately i became less stressed and more effective. (Five line emails really make me say what i need to and nothing else).

Long story short- this book has been a gift from the heavens. My life is clearer, i now what i am doing, when and how. my calendar, hard drive, email, and browser all now have the same organizational system, which is clear and easy to navigate. I get my MITs done and they relate to the goals i most want to achieve. And, i have room to be ... happy. That's the biggest gift of all.

So get this book! Leo deserves your support and his methods work.
and Enjoy it. It will help you find yourself again.

damali ayo
artist author speaker comedian.

With the few exceptions of timeless classics such as Alan Lakein "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life", the vast majority of popular books on time management are what they are ... In my opinion, this one is different.
By reading diagonally others in bookstores, they remind me of those seminars in which there are still always some interesting ideas to integrate, but 80% of the rest of the content is of no value. And It is precisely what " The power of Less" it all about : a very interesting angle of approach of the famous Pareto 80/20 principle.

Unlike "methods" in vogue as GTD, ( which certainly have advantages too ) , Leo Babauta main idea does not consist on proposing tools to control the excess of constant task and information flows we are all trying to better manage.
Instead, he proposes to focus on reducing the flows at their bases. An as subtle as powerful difference. Of course, to focus on the tasks and information that make a real difference regarding our goal is not a new idea. But to reduce their number to minimalism seems to me to be a very pragmatic enrichment of the basic concept. Apart from this, this straight to the point book with an unpretentious style that contrasts with the content is a pleasure to read.

Finishing up Leo's book, and have to say that I have been enjoying it quite a bit. Although, I am yet to start implementing some of his helpful tidbits of advice. The "not checking email first thing in the morning" has been tricky thus far, especially with ubiquitous smartphones - alarm is on - time to check email. TV was easy, have hardly been watching it for the past years. Perhaps, for many at this information age, the two main culprits sucking energy and time are internet and email. It is on my list now to reduce reliance on those and, as a consequence, reduce fatigue and stress. Overall, this book is about something we all have known about but may not have bothered to define in words: pristine desk or workplace with no clutter, limited number of projects and tasks do booster creativity and allow to focus, accomplish more in less time and use all this newly recuperated free time for family and loved ones.

This book is short and to the point. Leo Babauta doesn't waste a bunch of words trying to explain having a more minimalist life or having a more simple life. He is precise and to the point...I highly recommend it to those who need to change some habits or those who are wanting to start having more healthy habits.

The Power of Less has some powerful, counter-intuitive ideas that could lead to a significant change in your productivity, and a reasonable volume of fluff that will be helpful to very few.

For examples of fluff, you could review the "20 ideas to help you maintain your motivation." A few examples are "think of the benefits" and "get excited again." Some of the author's own simplicity principles could have been profitably applied to chapters such as this one.

The powerful ideas, however, justify the purchase price and will yield significant productivity improvements if you can implement them. For example, Babauta suggests that you pick three projects that are most important to you, and complete all three before you work on any other project. This may sound extreme, but Babauta's own personal example suggests the power in the approach. (He has lost weight, quit smoking, become a world-famous blogger, etc, etc, following his own principles.)

What follows is a summary of the book with most of the key points. This ought to help you decide if the book is worth your time:

Introduction:
The Power of Less Principles:
1. Set limitations
2. Choose the essential
3. Simplify
4. Focus
5. Create habits
6. Start small
Simplicity can be powerful
Achieve goals one at a time

Part 1: The Principles

Chapter 1: Why less is powerful
Principle 1: By setting limitations, we must choose the essential. So in everything you do, learn to set limitations.
Principle 2: By choosing the essential, we create great impact with minimal resources. Always choose the essential to maximize your time and energy.
How to choose the tasks that have the most impact? Two options:
1. Examine your task list and ask yourself the following questions:
a. Will this have an impact that will last beyond this week or this year?
b. How will this change my career, my life?
c. How will this further a long term goal of mine?
2. Start with your goals: plan tasks each day that will lead to accomplishing the goals.
What are the things one can apply limits to? Any aspect of your life. E.g.,
The number of possessions that I have
The information that I receive
The number of emails I respond to per day
The number of times I check email per day

Chapter 2: The art of Setting Limits
What to set limits on:
Email, daily tasks, number of projects, number of blogs you subscribe to, amount of time spent reading on the Internet
How to set limits:
1. Analyze current usage levels, pick a lower level limit
2. Test it for a week
3. If it doesn't work, adjust and test again
4. Continue to adjust and then make it a habit

Chapter 3: Choosing the Essential, and Simplifying
Questions to help determine what is essential
* What are your values?
* What are your goals?
* What do you love?
* What is important to you?
* What has the biggest impact?
* What has the most long-term impact?
* Needs vs. wants
* Eliminate the non-essential
* Continual editing process
Ways to apply the questions about essentials:
Life commitments
Yearly goals
Work projects and tasks
E-mails
Finances
Clutter
Regular review
Principle 3 - Simplifying - Eliminating the Nonessential.
Learn to say "No."

Chapter 4 - Simple focus
Principle 4: Focus is your most important tool in becoming more effective
How to use focus to improve your life
Focus on a goal
Focus on now
Focus on the task at hand. Single-tasking is more efficient than multi-tasking because you don't waste time switching gears.
Focus on the positive
How to single-task:
1. First thing in the morning, focus on the Most Important Task
2. Turn off all other distractions while working on the Most Important Task
3. If tempted to check email, pause, breathe deeply, and resist the urge
4. If other things come in, make a note of them, and keep focusing
5. Process email and inbox at regular intervals
6. Take breaks, stretch, move, get outside
How to focus on the present:
1. When you eat, just eat. Experience the food, the taste. Really experience it.
2. Be aware.
3. Be gentle. Don't beat yourself up if you start thinking about past or future.
4. Exercise. Focus on your body, breathing, etc while exercising, not the MP3 player.
5. Daily routines. When you walk, focus on walking.
6. Put up reminders to focus on the present
7. There is no failure
8. Keep practicing

Chapter 5 - Create New Habits, and the Power of Less Challenge
Principle 5 - Create new habits to make long-lasting improvements
1. Select one habit for the challenge
2. Write down your plan
3. Post your goal publicly
4. Report on progress daily
5. Celebrate your new habit
Why it works
* Commitment
* Accountability
* Encouragement
* Inspiration
The Rules
* Do only one habit at a time
* Choose an easy goal
* Choose something measurable
* Be consistent
* Report daily
* Keep a positive attitude
12 Key Habits to Start with
1. Set your 3 Most Important Tasks each morning
2. Single task
3. Process your in-box to empty
4. Check email just twice a day
5. Exercise five to ten minutes a day
6. Work while disconnected, with no distractions
7. Follow a morning routine
8. Eat more fruits and veggies every day
9. Keep your desk decluttered
10. Say no to commitments and requests that aren't on your Short List
11. Declutter your house for fifteen minutes every day
12. Stick to a five-sentence limit for emails

Chapter 6 - Start Small
Principle 6 - Start new habits in small increments to ensure success
Why starting small works
It narrows your focus
It keeps your energy and enthusiasm going for longer
It's easier to handle
You ensure success
Gradual change is longer-lasting
How to apply starting small
Exercise - start with 5-10 minutes per day
Waking early - start by waking 15 minutes earlier
Productivity - Start by focusing on task at hand for 15 minutes at a time
Email effectiveness - start by reducing the frequency of checking email to fewer times per day but not all the way to 2 or 3 times per day
Healthy eating - start with just one change to the diet
Decluttering - start with just one drawer
Part Two - In Practice

Chapter 7 - Simple Goals and Projects
The "One Goal System" - focus on one goal at a time
1. Choose a goal
2. Break it down to a sub-goal
3. Weekly goal
4. Daily action
The Simple Projects List
Make a list of all the projects going on in your life. Anything that takes a day or more to complete.
Now choose just three projects from the list. This list of three is the Simple Projects List. Everything else is on hold until you complete the three projects that you've chosen. You don't get to work on other projects until all three projects are completed. Then you add three new projects to the Simple Projects List.
Tips to focus on completion:
* Have an outcome in mind - what will the project look like when you are done?
* Move from projects to tasks - list all the tasks required to achieve the outcome
* Each day, choose a task to move you toward completion
* Reassess your progress

Chapter 8 - Simple Tasks
Choose only three Most Important Tasks that will be the focus of your day. No matter what else, make sure you get the three MITs done each day. At least one of the MITs should be related to your goals.
Set these MITs the first thing in the morning. Focus on accomplishing these above everything else. Do them early in the day, before distractions. Break things down into small tasks.

Chapter 9 - Simple Time Management.
Batch processing - group together similar tasks

Chapter 10 - Simple E-mail
Limit the number of inboxes - list all the ways you receive information, evaluate each to see if it gives you value, and find ways to combine or eliminate in-boxes
Limit your time with email: Limit the number of times per day you check email; don't check email first thing in the morning, turn off email notifications
Reduce your incoming stream: Create filters to send notifications directly to a folder outside the Inbox; stop the flow of joke emails
Process to empty: Temporary folder of to be filed; have an external to-do system; process quickly; Delete key; Process to done; write less

Chapter 11 - Simple Internet
Awareness - track your usage:
[...]
[...]
[...]
Consciousness: Make a Plan
Set limits and have a purpose to your usage
Focus: Learning to work while disconnected - disconnect from the Internet when you want to focus and get something done.
Set a timer and focus on the task at hand.
When you think of something you need to do on the Internet, write it down and do it later.
Discipline: How to stay away from distractions

Chapter 12 - Simple Filing
1. Reduce before organizaing
2. Simple filing - alphabetical; manila folders,
3. File immediately
4. Have materials on hand
5. Reduce your needs over time
a. Store reference material on line
b. Reduce incoming paper
c. Stop printing stuff
Home paperwork tips
1. Create one mail center in your home for dealing with your mail and incoming paperwork
2. Home in-box - all incoming papers
3. Pay bills immediately
4. Enter stuff into your to-do lists or calendar
5. File immediately

Chapter 13 - Simple Commitments
Take inventory of commitments: work, side work (freelance assignments), family, kids, civic, religious, hobbies, home, online
Make a short list: Does this give my life value? How would it affect my life if I dropped out? Cut down your list to 4 or 5 things
Begin eliminating the nonessential
1. Start with something small
2. Call or email to send your regrets
3. Eliminate the commitment from your appointment
4. Repeat
Learn to say no
Making the time for what we love
1. Make a list of what you truly love to do
2. Eliminate as much of the other stuff from your life as possible
3. Schedule free time so that you're doing the things on your short list
Tips for simplifying your personal life
* What's important?
* Examine your commitments
* Do less during your days
* Leave space between tasks and appointments
* Eliminate as much as possible from your to-do list
* Slow down and enjoy every task
* Single-task
* Eliminate stress
* Create time for solitude
* Do nothing
* Sprinkle simple pleasures throughout your day
* Practice being present
* Free up time

Chapter 14 - Simple Daily Routine
Helps prepare for your day, time to set goals, get exercise, do something enjoyable
Choose 4-6 activities for a morning routine, e.g.
Have coffee, watch the sunrise, exercise, shower, do yoga, meditate, write, read, review goals, write the Most Important Tasks
Evening routine:
Prepare for the next day, unwind, review day, keep house clean, calm yourself, write, exercise
1. Focus on the routines
2. Make them rewarding
3. Log your progress

Chapter 15 - Declutter your work space
Benefits: allows you to focus; provides sense of calm
1. Set aside time
2. Take all the paperwork off your desk and put in a big pile
3. Clear everything off desk except computer, phone
4. Start with pile of papers
Getting down to the essentials
What do you really need to do your job?
Get rid of distracting knickknacks, posters, etc.
Empty entire shelf or drawer at a time
Be ruthless with papers
Keep things decluttered:
1. Keep an in-box for incoming papers
2. Once per day, process the in-box to empty
3. Have a place for each item and type of paper
A simple home: less stressful, more appealing, easier to clean
Thirty-day list: anytime you want to buy something, put it on the list with the date you added it

Chapter 16 - Slow Down
Slow attention:
Pick a simple task to start with
Practice this method throughout the day
Try meditation
Slow working
1. Choose work you love
2. Choose an important task
3. Make sure it's challenging, but not too hard
4. Find your quiet, peak time
5. Clear away distractions, and focus
6. Enjoy yourself
7. Keep practicing
8. Reap the rewards
Slow eating
Take smaller bites, chew each bite longer, enjoy the meal longer.
It takes twenty minutes for our brains to register that we are full.
1. Lose weight
2. Enjoy food
3. Better digestion
4. Less stress
5. Rebel against fast food and fast life
Slow driving
Benefits
1. Save gas
2. Save lives
3. Save time
4. Save your sanity
5. Simplify your life

Chapter 17 - Simple Health and Fitness
Step 1 - forming the exercise habit: Start light. Just 5-10 minutes per day at first. Schedule workout time. Don't allow yourself to miss a day. Don't give up. Get a partner if you can. Be accountable to others. Keep a strict workout and eating log, and make it public. Let the light shine. Enjoy yourself.
Step 2 - Making gradual healthy diet changes
Eat when you are lightly hungry, not ravenous. Eat light foods. Create meal plans with healthy foods. Eat slowly. Eat until lightly full, not stuffed.
Step 3 - Continuation, short-term goals, and accountability.
Continue to gradually increase exercise, adding variety. Continue to eat healthier. Set short-term goals. Hold yourself accountable - log eating and exercise daily.

Chapter 18 - On Motivation
8 ways to motivate yourself from the beginning:
1. Start small
2. One goal
3. Examine your motivation - know your reasons, write them down
4. Really, really want it - must be something you are passionate about
5. Commit publicly
6. Get excited - visualize what it will be like to be successful
7. Build anticipation
8. Print it out, post it up. Make the goal just a few words long.
Ways to sustain motivation when you're struggling
* Hold yourself back at first
* Just start - get the running shoes on and go outside
* Stay accountable - report back daily
* Replace negative thoughts with positive ones
* Think about the benefits
* Get excited again
* Read about it
* Find like-minded friends
* Read inspiring stories
* Build on your successes
* Just get through the low points
* Get help
* Chart your progress
* Reward yourself often
* Go for mini-goals
* Get a coach or take a class
* Never skip two days in a row
* Use visualization
* Be aware of your urges to quit, and overcome them
* Find pleasure again

Leo has the rare ability to take abstract concepts, and condense them down to an idea so simple, and with so much clarity, that you find yourself saying "Oh, NOW I get it!"

It's always nice, when you read a book from your field of expertise, and walk away knowing that you have truly learned something valuable. That does not happen with every book I read in this area; it DID however, happens with this one. Leo has made a remarkable contribution to the art and science of time management and productivity.

Leo lays out a great plan for simplifying your life on a number of levels. This book helped me out tremendously in the beginning of my journey into minimalism.

There are a some people that gave bad reviews. They said things about how this doesn't cover enough new information, or criticized Leo as a person.

They don't know Leo. I don't know Leo. It doesn't matter what he's like, the advice works. Furthermore, it seems to me that some people become obsessed with the idea of minimalism, but not its execution. They are always looking for new minimalist literature, which is...pretty silly.

This book will be very helpful if you're considering a simpler life. If you already live a minimalist life--stop reading books about minimalism. :-)

This is a really nice, effective, insightful, inspiring book. It is not about being huge, grand, magnificent, larger than life. It is about being the most effective, efficient, thorough, here and now you. I love the lists each chapter provides - breaking down the principles into a more readable format.

I have read dozens of time management books (and reviewed the best of those I have read here on the store).

Leo Babauta has written the best I have read on this subject. Most of the others focus on systems; his focus on habits is key to making a quantum leap in time management results.

My reviews are generally longer...in honor of the author's philosophy, I will demonstrate the Power of Less. This book is the best!

This book could have been written in far fewer (what the author means by less) pages. The author doesn't take his own advice that less is more. In the same way I just did with the point about less, the author repeats himself with different words saying the same thing , and someth=imes with the same words. His repetitions are endless. He does make a few good points but carries on forever about them. I agree with the reviewer who says the book's message is mostly intuitive. The message really is prioritize the important things in your life. Nothing more.

Leo Babauta says that simplicity boils down to two steps:
1. Identify the essential.
2. Eliminate the rest.

And in his recent book, The Power of Less, he takes these simple steps and invites those of us who "drink from a fire hose of information" to simultaneously discover simplicity and increase productivity. He recommends "setting limits to how much we consume and do...making the most of our time by focusing on the most important things, instead of everything."

In this practical book, Babuata describes six principles (Set limitations, Choose the essential, Simplify, Focus, Create habits, and Start small) and then describes ways to put them into practice in all aspects of life (goals, tasks, time, email, internet, work space, health, and more). He takes the best of the GTD phenomenon, debunks the myths of multi-tasking, and shows a simple way to to find simplicity in all aspects of life.

This is a book to read with a pen in hand as there are countless questions and quotes to note and remember. With a writing style that has proven true for thousands of blog readers (myself included), The Power of Less proves quite simply to be one of the best books on practical simplicity and productivity you will find.

Not such a good book. After reading half of it, it becomes redundant as no other. A blog post would have been enough for the idea behind this book. Anyway, Babauta is a great guy and his intentions with this publication are good.

I've been a reader of Leo's blog for a long time now. I like his approach to life in general, and I find that his writings help me keep things in perspective.

That said, I tend to gloss over most of his "7 tips to be more productive today" type of posts. In general, I've never found the advice of productivity "experts" to be particularly practical.

To my surprise, though, I absolutely loved the book. His approach to productivity is easy to understand, get excited about, and put into action. Rather than dramatic life overhauls, Leo recommends starting with very small changes. Creating small habits you can stick with.

Since finishing it a few days ago, I've already put a couple suggestions to use, and they've been wonderful.

All in all, definitely worth the time to read in my opinion.

What will consumers think in 2009? What will they feel? What will they buy (if anything)?

Leo Babauta tells you in "The Power of Less."

No, it's not a marketing book, but marketers BETTER read it. No, it's not economics or politics or investing, either. It's LIVING.

Babauta, author of the uber-popular productivity site [...] and the writer's blog [...], has turned his passion for and experience with SIMPLIFICATION, FOCUS, HEALTH, AND HAPPINESS into a book that promises to re-ignite life itself.

After 3 decades (yes, the 1970s were the "Me" decade that started it all), Western civilization has taken the fine of accumulation to pathological extremes. We have stuff atop stuff piled on crap and crammed into things that cost $200 more than our neighbor's things that everyone went ga-ga over at the annual subdivision "I spend more than you" party last spring.

Somewhere between opening day of the 2008 baseball season and Lehman Brothers' collapse in September, we all woke and said, "Do I really need all this stuff? And do I really WANT to try to collect MORE?"

Babauta takes you through the liberating, exhilarating, and RESTORATIVE process of freeing your house, your desk, you life, your calendar, and YOUR MIND from the stuff that gives no value or meaning despite costing a lot of money and creating stress every time you look at it.

And I'm not just talking about stuff you can throw away. Babauta will also help you trash that accumulation around your waist.

How does Babauta work this magic? Through development of QUALITY and HEALTHY HABITS that you develop one-at-a-time through LOW-IMPACT, HIGH-RESULT focus.

It Works! I've been following Leo's mantra since late November and the results are:

* Quit smoking 11/29
* Single list of all of my obligations since 11/19
* Wake at 5:00 a.m. (or earlier) every morning
* Write one quality blog post 5 days a week (I still write so-so posts whenever the mood strikes, though)
* My work area is free of crap and distractions, both at home and in my office!
* I am in a better mood

I have a long way to get to reach Leo's state of productivity, organization, and stresslessness. "The Power of Less" will be my guide, though, and I plan to adopt EVERY POSITIVE HABIT he recommends.

Buy this book today, and consider buying a 2nd loaner copy for the people you love.

Amazing read. It changed my life once and for all. Leo Babauta knows how to convey different aspects of zen habits in a more practical way that everyone can use in their daily life.
Now I a morning person with a routine that I am proud of and I go to bed with accomplishment and satisfaction and still have lot of energy to do more.

I was already a fan of Leo's Zen Habits blog. But after reading the power of less I feel motivated to clear out the clutter, make a plan, and focus on one small task at a time. The main priciples of the book are find out what is essential, and then focus on that. Short simple principles in a short easy read.

I read Power of Less by Leo Babauta at the recommendation of a life coach I respect greatly (and still do despite this book). Who isn't attracted to the notion that we can simplify our life and still be more productive? Unfortunately, that temptation is merely that -- a temptation with no substance at least from this book. I'm glad I borrowed it from the library, rather than purchased it. Here's the summary:

To do less and still get more done, cut to the most essential. Author can't tell you what those essentials are; you have to figure that out. End of book.

Babauta suggests picking no more than 3 goals at a time and then sticking to them till they are all done, as opposed to adding a goal once just 1 is done. That intrigued me for the logistical possibilities but otherwise I wasn't sure why that would work. Babauta also advises to take small steps (exercise first just 10 minutes rather than 30) but that's been advised in numerous other books.

The best I can say about Power of Less is that it's a fast read and a good reminder to simplify, even if it doesn't offer any suggestions on how.

I have read my fair share of productivity book and alike that all preach to be the new solution to time-management woes.
The power of less delivers a better punch than most these books. Most other books get a bit too involved and big in their own system, were The Power of Less gets more into cutting down on unneeded stuff and keeping things simple.

Personally i have been doing a lot of the stuff in the book for a while, but i recognize the value of each chapter and really recommend the book. Features good examples and makes you think about how you are actually spending your time.

Recommended good read for making the most of your time, and making more time for yourself :D

It's not often that I'm impressed with a book like this. I read alot in the genre but feel that the simplicity of the message is one that all of us need to hear and put into practice. I am determined to live my life "outside of the email inbox" from now on in order to achieve more with alot less stress and strain. I highly recommend this book!

Excellent read for anyone looking to get rid of all the non-essentials that overwhelm their life. The author has tested these ideas on his own life, and has found great success. I'm a reader of Leo's blog and i'm just proud of him.

The secrets are simple, but they have an extraordinary impact on one's life. Look at Leo's! Just think if educators taught these principles in grammar and high school?

If you are truly trying to limit yourself to the essential - skip this book.

As a public school teacher my life is divided into two very different patterns. During the school year my life is very much dedicated to the needs of others. During summer vacations I put all that aside and devote time to myself.

I picked up this audiobook with hopes to find tips to help me achieve greater effectiveness in both these aspects of my life. During the summer, when I set my own goals and priorities, I imagine my life fits the model that Babauta seems to be targeting. My life appears to be more similar to his as a self-employed writer. Unfortunately, his tips offer nothing new and should be evident to anyone with common sense. For example, he suggests that if you have to email a client who typically spends $100 on your business versus attending a meeting with a client who spends thousands of dollars you should...attend the meeting. Really? Does that really need to be said?

During the school year, I feel my life leads a pattern that the author obviously can't relate to. He doesn't appear to have experience working in an enviroment where others determine your prioritites. Babauta outlines an example of two reporters. One journalist writes several stories during the week. The second journalist picks one article, devotes days to extensive research, and writes an award winning article. Great. But how does this apply to the many of us with jobs that require us to juggle multi-tasks. Believe me I would love to say "I am devoting this week to planning award winning science lessons. Math, language arts, parent communication, meetings with administration, mentoring new teachers, student safety, classroom management, data analysis, and cupcake parties are not essential and can wait." An impossible goal...or at least I didn't find any worthwhile tips in this book to demostrate how it would be possible.

I read lots of non-fiction and feel like lots of books are "filled in" around just one really great chapter. It's a shame there is not market for booklets because I would certainly value a short/sweet/poignant booklet any day.... in case, great concept. Just no need to read the whole thing. Once you get it (first chapter or two), you've got it. - Lucas

If you want to have a well-balanced life, be more effective and live with less stress, this book is a must! It really helped me kick-start what I would call my path towards minimalism and less. Absolutely amazing book. Since I started minimizing, life has been more manageable and stress free for me. In part, it's changed the way I do things now... in a very positive way.

This is not a review of Leo Babauta's book, only of this audio version. I wouldn't buy the audio again. The book is well read by Fred Stella, but unfortunately the sound is muffled, and the whole product looks like it's done with some home equipment: not a pressed CD but a burned one, and the cover is printed with a home printer on regular paper. It doesn't justify the price either.
Dear producer, you can have that done much, much better and nicer by a professional service starting from an edition of merely 100 CDs. I bet the first 100 CDs will be sold very fast, with all the hype this book has been getting (and rightly so). Hopefully new buyers will get a better deal.
I'm disappointed with this audio edition.

Leo has become a major player in the world of productivity. His widely popular blog [...] has launched him into almost "guru-like" status. Now this book allows you to take this message of simplicity with you where ever you go.

Like a previous review stated, this book is a continuation and update of his blog Zen Habits, so if you're looking to save a few bucks, spend a couple of weeks going through all the posts on his blog. If you'd like the message in a laser-like package, this is worth the money and the read.

Less really is more!

It is a great book and he is very motivating and really gets it, obviously. To those who say don't buy the book, you can get the information on the blog for free, they don't get it. Great bloggers like Leo need to make a living somehow, we should spend a little to support them.

I received this book on Tuesday and read it in a day and today (Thursday) my email inbox went from 2000+ emails to under 200! My new mantra -- 10 and 4, archive or delete. If you want advice that you can implement TODAY, get this book. It was a borrowed copy so I am getting my own for my library. I really feel that this book is a treasure that you can pass on to your children :)

I immediately started employing some of the strategies outlined in this book and I feel less stressed, but more strategic and purposeful. Worth reading if you feel overwhelmed and feel you don't get to accomplish what you are truly passionate about.

I haven't finished reading it yet, but I can tell you that it is Leo's successful blog Zen Habits in the form of a book.

In my opinion, zenhabits is the best blog about productivity, organization, lifestyle, etc. and The Power of Less is all about showing us how to get more doing less. Besides, I think that buying his book is a way of supporting him and thanking him for all the helpful ideas you can get for free on his blog.

very nice reading, I recommend the book. It has a dual approach, philosophical and practical. The book repeats the key concepts with some frequency but without being annoying. Probably it will not teach you anything that you do not know, but it will explain you why you have failed in the past (productivity and life challenges)

This is a quick read on simplicity and it reinforced many of my beliefs and practices.

This is also a book that I could have written with more patience, focus, and simplicity in my life.

I like to use more technology tools than the author discusses.

Rocky Romero

ProfitCoaching.com

Leo knows what he's talking about when it comes to simplification, and his book is a great example of the Zen principle of "no more than necessary". Not only is the content written with simplification in mind, but even the book itself is an objet d'art of clean and simple... the book is small and portable with easy-to-read print. Leo puts the ideas from the book into the very book itself. A+

A great book that will encourage you to accomplish more by eliminating the unnecessary. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a greater sense of satisfaction both in their work and at home. This is the kind of book that will help you make lasting changes!

This book is mainly targeted at people that are new to Leo's work and busy people. For people who have regularly read his blog, the book is a bit to simplistic, and common knowledge from being a ZenHabits reader. Overall, it was well written and enjoyable!

Ours is a world of excess. Most people complicate their lives while accumulating more of just about everything. Leo Babauta explodes the "more" myth with The Power of Less.

He really does understand the concept of simplifying a life, as his blog, [...] has grown exponentially to be one of the leaders in the personal productivity field in the past two years.

A look at his blog shows that his writing style is easy to get into and enjoy. The Power of Less is the same. You'll be engrossed in no time.

And know this, Leo doesn't just write about his topic -- he lives it!

The Power of Less will be a game changer -- a life changer -- for all who dig in and follow the plan.

I've been a fan of Zen Habits for a long time and was so happy to get Leo's book. Been through it several times for his down to earth, simple suggestions for simplifying life and business. I keep it closeby on my desk for easy reference. Highly recommended!

To be honest, I haven't finished the book. I agree to a point with the other reviewers. There are some sensible ideas presented, and the book is easily digested. I probably could have read it in one sitting, if I'd felt the desire. But I didn't. The reason is that I feel that, while he has some interesting and fairly important points and ideas, it's a bit simplistic or perhaps unrealistic for everyone. I, for example, am a single mother who works full time in middle management. My lists of things to do are based, to an extent, on other people's needs (my children) and other people's demands (my supervisors and my clients). When new tasks are presented to me, I cannot just put them in my "in box" to wait till I'm done with what I'm working on. I think perhaps the ideas presented in the book work for people who are running their own businesses, entrepreneurs etc. who aren't needing to respond to the needs of others on an ongoing basis, and might I add (at the risk of sounding gender biased) most probably male. You can't let certain things wait in my world, I do get interrupted and I need to be responsive to those interruptions. I think as the author says that less is more, we can fill our lives with fewer demands, but in my world what that frequently means is shortchanging myself, because the demands of others can't be chosen. It's just a fact of my job and home life. My clients have their needs to which I must respond or I risk losing them and running the business into the ground, my supervisor has things she wants me to do which I must do or risk losing my job, and my children need dinner on the table and clean clothes in their drawers or I get reported to protective services. So if I'm going to have a rich and fulfilled life, I need to fit in the things that are personally fulfilling in between the things that I must do, and that means at times having too much in my life. I feel the idea is perhaps too luxurious for most people working to live.

First, let me say that the BIG ideas in this book - about single-tasking, focusing on completion, not taking on too many projects at once - are simple yet brilliant and very helpful. However, when Babauta gets down to specifics and his "system," things fall apart a bit. Ironically, this philosophy, based on simplicity, gets a bit convoluted, complicated, and at times doesn't seem completely thought-through. For example, the book prescribes that we focus on one habit at a time, focus on one goal at a time, focus on 3 projects a time, and work on only 3 tasks per day. That's a lot of confusion and multi-focus for a single-tasking book. Also, his strategies seem to fit better for someone, like him, who is self-employed and can work how and when he likes. As a teacher, I cannot focus on three projects at any one time, as I have 35 kids on my caseload with a multitude of needs. Not everything fits neatly into "projects" when you are not a free-lance writer. So, all in all, good ideals, not so great strategies.

After a month of owning the cd for this book, I still don't know if the content is any good. The first CD I purchased would not play in my car. I returned it and the replacement won't work in the car either. The CD will play on my Mac so I planned to import it onto my iPod to listen to while driving. Unfortunately the content is chopped up into 40-50 second tracks and includes none of the metadata to identify the tracks. Since I don't want to make a complete mess of my iTunes library, I'll have to listen at the computer. High school kids using free download software can master CDs more professionally than this piece of junk. Stick with the book or perhaps try the Audible version instead.

"The power of less" is one of those books that I've bought and thought to give me more information on living well with less things. There is nothing new for me and I'm very upset of its content because the examples are far from my life. Probably it is because my life at this moment is already simple enough. I'm not so email person, I have no cell phone, I don't watch TV so often, .... Neither the book gives me any encouragement because the content is not really new. It is good for the beginners who have a lot of emails and spend a lot of their time in surfing internet. If only I had read its review with one star (less stars), I wouldn't have bought it. I would have had fewer books. Next time before buying other books, I'll read the one star reviews. They are more likely true. That's the power of less.

Definitely worth a star for marketing! Toss around words, "Zen," "power," "less," "happiness" and "more," results in a winning combo of the what the today's consumer is aching for. Perhaps other "minimalists" also find the material in this book redundant, obvious and un-original? Though Mr. Babauta's marketing to his built-in target audience is superb. Agree with the reviewer who suggested this is good PUBLIC library material. After all, borrowing books rather than conspicuously consuming them is a very "Zen Habit," non?

I found this book difficult to get into because I thought it was really quite wordy and too much of the author's self praise (ego) to interest me. The ideas were not even slightly helpful or creative. Furthermore, it is quite difficult to accept "LESS" advice from someone who has six children!

The information on the Zen Habits blog is worth exactly what I paid for it: zero. This rehash of the same pablum falls into the same category: insipid triteness.

I was annoyed by the obviousness of it all. Do we really need someone to tell us this stuff? Even worse, do we really need someone making stuff up and telling us about it?

I'm sure that Leo Babauta is a nice guy and a swell father; I applaud his gutsiness in supporting his family with his writing. But the fact is that he's giving life advice based on what, exactly? He didn't discover any secrets through field research or testing, but from thinking about stuff and trying it himself. In other words, common sense and trial and error. In my life, those are two commodities I get for free.

Looking at specifics, is this really something you need to pay money to be told?

* p. 26: "If you can maintain your focus on a goal or habit, you will more often than not achieve that goal or create that habit. If you can't maintain your focus, you won't achieve the goal, unless it's such an easy goal that it would have happened anyway."

* Nearly 150 pages later (p. 163), it hasn't moved forward much, but we at least have some "specific advice," though I doubt it is the kind of thing you need to be told: "Print out your goal in big words. Make your goal just a few words long... and post it on your wall or refrigerator. Post it at home and at work. Put it on your computer desktop."

* Or there's the section about the benefits of driving slowly. Not a bad idea, and look!, he even gives some revolutionary tips to help you get started. They include "ignore other drivers," "leave early," and "keep to the right."

If you're looking for a book that tells you that by leaving early you can drive more slowly, by all means buy this book. If you need the kind of help to teach you to move to the right when you drive slowly, please buy this book (and buy it from the store! Stay off the road!). If these ideas seem trite, obvious, or pointless, know that there's a whole book full of 'em right here.

Look, I've now done the work for you -- read through the book -- and I'm telling you to save your time and money. If you want a book on living, time management, and life skills that has some research and years of work to back it up, try Neil Fiore's _The Now Habit_. If you'd rather keep the amateur's perspective, but want something that's practical and filled with less intuitive but still surprisingly useful stuff, try Mark Forster's _Do It Tomorrow_. Sadly, Leo Babauta's _Power of Less_ is one that libraries were made for, where you can do what I did: read it quickly, shake your head at the vapid waste of ink and paper, and then return it, glad to have saved your money for more worthwhile things.

Leo Babauta is yet another blogger on the zen philosophy and minimalist lifestyle. He is a fake, using these themes to make money. Babauta moved from Guam to California, and has six children. His books are poorly written, as well as inconsistent in theme and quality(I at times cannot understand what he is trying to convey through his poor sentencing). If you are looking for a real zen author, look elsewhere. For minimalist living, Francine Jay's 'The Joy of Less' is far more engaging and immersive.

First, where you interested in his style you could get it for free in his site. However, I am not moved, interested, or intrigued by his tone. I'm over people who claim to be zone yet spread negativity through sarcasm. He has chosen to go off radar living in Guam! Talk about living with less in a Zen-like state amongst the rest of the population. I find him hypocritical and with no credentials to back him up.

Sorry. Not worth the money, especially when you go back to my first point!

What a bunch of dribble from the most self-absorbed excuse for a writer I have ever had the displeasure to read. However, if you really like to be bored, talked down to and have the same mundane crap repeated over and over until you want to send writer Leo Babauta a box of crayons to alleviate his juvenile need to make senseless noise then this is your book. Otherwise, I would suggest an afternoon of watching paint dry - much more rewarding.