# Effortless  Author:: Greg Mckeown ## Highlights > When you simply can’t try any harder, it’s time to find a different path. ([Location 103](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=103)) > Burnout is not a badge of honor. ([Location 126](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=126)) > Essentialism was about doing the right things; Effortless is about doing them in the right way. ([Location 194](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=194)) > Instead of trying to get better results by pushing ever harder, we can make the most essential activities the easiest ones. ([Location 204](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=204)) > Part I reintroduces you to your Effortless State. Part II shows how to take Effortless Action. Part III is about achieving Effortless Results. ([Location 218](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=218)) > Part II: Effortless Action Once we are in the Effortless State, it becomes easier to take Effortless Action. ([Location 238](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=238)) > Part III: Effortless Results When we take Effortless Action, we make it easier to get the results we want. ([Location 242](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=242)) > Whenever your efforts yield a one-time benefit, you are getting a linear result. ([Location 244](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=244)) > With residual results you put in the effort once and reap the benefits again and again. ([Location 247](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=247)) > Anything Can Be Made Effortless, but Not Everything ([Location 252](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=252)) > The Effortless State is one in which you are physically rested, emotionally unburdened, and mentally energized. You are completely present, attentive, and focused on what’s important in that moment. You are able to do what matters most with ease. ([Location 314](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=314)) > Think of these revealing phrases: When we accomplish something important, we say it took “blood, sweat, and tears.” We say important achievements are “hard-earned” when we might just say “earned.” We recommend a “hard day’s work” when “day’s work” would suffice. ([Location 343](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=343)) > The Path of Least Effort Our brain is wired to resist what it perceives as hard and welcome what it perceives as easy. This bias is sometimes called the cognitive ease principle, or the principle of least effort. It’s our tendency to take the path of least resistance to achieve what we want. ([Location 354](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=354)) > Here is what I learned: trying too hard makes it harder to get the results you want. Here is what I realized: behind almost every failure of my whole life I had made the same error. When I’d failed, it was rarely because I hadn’t tried hard enough, it was because I’d been trying too hard. ([Location 386](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=386)) > We are conditioned over the course of our lifetimes to believe that in order to overachieve we must also overdo. As a result, we make things harder for ourselves than they need to be. ([Location 389](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=389)) > Effortless Inversion means looking at problems from the opposite perspective. It means asking, “What if this could be easy?” It means learning to solve problems from a state of focus, clarity, and calm. It means getting good at getting things done by putting in less effort. ([Location 398](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=398)) > Asking the question “What if this could be easy?” is a way to reset our thinking. It may seem almost impossibly simple. And that’s exactly why it works. ([Location 412](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=412)) > Marketing author Seth Godin once shared the following: “If you can think about how hard it is to push a business uphill, particularly when you’re just getting started, one answer is to say: ‘Why don’t you just start a different business you can push downhill?’ ” ([Location 453](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=453)) > When a strategy is so complex that each step feels akin to pushing a boulder up a hill, you should pause. Invert the problem. Ask, “What’s the simplest way to achieve this result?” ([Location 474](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=474)) > We turned a task we had in the past barely endured into a ritual we looked forward to. ([Location 604](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=604)) > Much has been written on habits. Less has been written about rituals. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably. But behavioral economists insist they are not the same thing at all. Rituals are similar to habits in the sense that “when I do X, I also do Y.” But they are different from habits because of one key component: the psychological satisfaction you experience when you do them. Habits explain “what” you do, but rituals are about “how” you do it. ([Location 605](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=605)) > Our rituals are habits we have put our thumbprint on. Our rituals are habits with a soul. ([Location 622](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=622)) > We live in a complaint culture that gets high on expressing outrage: especially on social media, which often seems like an endless stream of grumbling and whining about what is unsatisfactory or unacceptable. ([Location 661](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=661)) > When you focus on something you are thankful for, the effect is instant. It immediately shifts you from a lack state (regrets, worries about the future, the feeling of being behind) and puts you into a have state (what is going right, what progress you are making, what potential exists in this moment). ([Location 669](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=669)) > Studies show that peak physical and mental performance requires a rhythm of exerting and renewing energy—and ([Location 827](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=827)) > athletes. In fact, one study found that the best-performing athletes, musicians, chess players, and writers all honed their skills in the same way: by practicing in the morning, in three sessions of sixty to ninety minutes, with breaks in between. Meanwhile, those who took fewer or shorter breaks performed less well. ([Location 827](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=827)) > Have you ever pushed yourself so far past the point of exhaustion one day that you wake up the next morning utterly depleted and need the entire day to rest? To stop this vicious cycle in its tracks, try this simple rule: Do not do more today than you can completely recover from today. Do not do more this week than you can completely recover from this week. ([Location 834](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=834)) > We can do the following: Dedicate mornings to essential work. Break down that work into three sessions of no more than ninety minutes each. Take a short break (ten to fifteen minutes) in between sessions to rest and recover. ([Location 841](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=841)) > Getting more sleep may be the single greatest gift we can give our bodies, our minds, and even, it turns out, our bottom lines. ([Location 873](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=873)) > naps can improve performance in reaction time, logical reasoning, and symbol recognition even in well-rested people. ([Location 909](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=909)) > “I just don’t need a lot of sleep” or “Who has the time to sleep?! Not me!” as a badge of honor. But in fact, “sleep shaming” is a timeless tradition. ([Location 917](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=917)) > According to the Gottmans, we all make small and large attempts to obtain affection, affirmation, and attention in our relationships. They call these bids for connection. There are three distinct ways a partner can respond to a bid for attention. ([Location 1025](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1025)) > The first type of response is what they call “turning toward.” ([Location 1027](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1027)) > The second kind of response is “turning against.” ([Location 1031](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1031)) > The third kind of response is “turning away.” Now your partner doesn’t address the comment about the weather at all and instead responds with something entirely unrelated, like “Have you taken the car for the oil change yet?” ([Location 1035](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1035)) > According to Gottman’s research, both of the first two responses—even the argumentative one—are generally healthy for a relationship. The one that does the most damage is the third kind. It signals that these two people do not see each other. ([Location 1037](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1037)) > Contrast this with a practice used by the Quakers called the Clearness Committee. When someone in the community (the “focus person”) is facing an important dilemma, they often ask a few people they trust (the “Elders”) to come together to form a committee. The purpose is not for the committee to tell them what to do. The purpose is to help them figure it out for themselves. ([Location 1075](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1075)) > An Effortless Summary Part I: Effortless State What is the Effortless State? The Effortless State is an experience many of us have had when we are physically rested, emotionally unburdened, and mentally energized. You are completely aware, alert, present, attentive, and focused on what’s important in this moment. You are able to focus on what matters most with ease. INVERT Instead of asking, “Why is this so hard?,” invert the question by asking, “What if this could be easy?” Challenge the assumption that the “right” way is, inevitably, the harder one. Make the impossible possible by finding an indirect approach. When faced with work that feels overwhelming, ask, “How am I making this harder than it needs to be?” ENJOY Pair the most essential activities with the most enjoyable ones. Accept that work and play can co-exist. Turn tedious tasks into meaningful rituals. Allow laughter and fun to lighten more of your moments. RELEASE Let go of emotional burdens you don’t need to keep carrying. Remember: When you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have. When you focus on what you have, you get what you lack. Use this habit recipe: “Each time I complain I will say something I am thankful for.” Relieve a grudge of its duties by asking, “What job have I hired this grudge to do?” REST Discover the art of doing nothing. Do not do more today than you can completely recover from by tomorrow. Break down essential work into three sessions of no more than ninety minutes each. Take an effortless nap. NOTICE Achieve a state of heightened awareness by harnessing the power of presence. Train your brain to focus on the important and ignore the irrelevant. To see others more clearly, set aside your opinions, advice, and judgment, and put their truth above your own. Clear the clutter in your physical environment before clearing the clutter in your mind. ([Location 1104](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1104)) > Past a certain point, more effort doesn’t produce better performance. It sabotages our performance. Economists call this the law of diminishing returns: ([Location 1153](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1153)) > The Heavy Cost of Light Tinkering Sometimes important projects remain undone because we keep tinkering with them endlessly. ([Location 1212](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1212)) > Getting clear on what “done” looks like doesn’t just help you finish; it also helps you get started. ([Location 1224](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1224)) > Make a “Done for the Day” List ([Location 1250](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1250)) > this is a list of what will constitute meaningful and essential progress. As you write the list, one test is to imagine how you will feel once this work is completed. Ask yourself, “If I complete everything on this list, will it leave me feeling satisfied by the end of the day? Is there some other important task that will haunt me all night if I don’t get to it?” If your answer to the second question is yes, that is a task that should go on the Done for the Day list. ([Location 1255](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1255)) > Take the Minimum Viable Action ([Location 1298](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1298)) > Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, defines a minimum viable product as “that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least amount of effort.” It’s an effortless way of testing an idea because it requires building only the simplest version of your product necessary to get reliable feedback about what your customers want. ([Location 1327](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1327)) > If there are processes in your life that seem to involve an inordinate number of steps, try starting from zero. Then see if you can find your way back to those same results, only take fewer steps. ([Location 1478](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1478)) > To make effortless progress on what matters, learning-sized mistakes must be encouraged. This isn’t giving yourself—or others—permission to consistently produce poor-quality work; it’s simply letting go of the absurd pressure to always do everything perfectly. ([Location 1569](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1569)) > The False Economy of Powering Through ([Location 1634](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1634)) > When we try to make too much progress on a goal or project right out of the gate, we can get trapped in a vicious cycle: we get tired, so then we take a break, but then we think we have to make up for the time lost, so we sprint again. ([Location 1635](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1635)) > When we’re trying to achieve something that matters to us, it’s tempting to want to sprint out of the gate. The problem is that going too fast at the beginning will almost always slow us down the rest of the way. ([Location 1647](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1647)) > To make progress despite the complexity and uncertainty we encounter on a daily basis, we need to choose the right range and keep within it. ([Location 1699](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1699)) > Part II: Effortless Action What is Effortless Action? Effortless Action means accomplishing more by trying less. You stop procrastinating and take the first obvious step. You arrive at the point of completion without overthinking. You make progress by pacing yourself rather than powering through. You overachieve without overexerting. DEFINE To get started on an essential project, first define what “done” looks like. Establish clear conditions for completion, get there, then stop. Take sixty seconds to focus on your desired outcome. Write a “Done for the Day” list. Limit it to items that would constitute meaningful progress. START Make the first action the most obvious one. Break the first obvious action down into the tiniest, concrete step. Then name it. Gain maximum learning from minimal viable effort. Start with a ten-minute microburst of focused activity to boost motivation and energy. SIMPLIFY To simplify the process, don’t simplify the steps: simply remove them. Recognize that not everything requires you to go the extra mile. Maximize the steps not taken. Measure progress in the tiniest of increments. PROGRESS When you start a project, start with rubbish. Adopt a “zero-draft” approach and just put some words, any words, on the page. Fail cheaply: make learning-sized mistakes. Protect your progress from the harsh critic in your head. PACE Set an effortless pace: slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Reject the false economy of “powering through.” Create the right range: I will never do less than X, never more than Y. Recognize that not all progress is created equal. ([Location 1766](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1766)) > This is what it means to achieve Effortless Results: not to achieve a result once through intense effort, but to effortlessly achieve a result again and again. ([Location 1808](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1808)) > Linear results are limited: they can never exceed the amount of effort exerted. What many people don’t realize, however, is that there exists a far better alternative. Residual results are completely different. With residual results you exert effort once and reap the benefits again and again. Results continue to flow to you, whether you put in additional effort or not. Results flow to you while you are sleeping. Results flow to you when you are taking the day off. Residual results can be virtually infinite. ([Location 1820](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1820)) > An author who writes a book and is paid royalties for years is getting residual income. ([Location 1824](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1824)) > A person who makes the one-time decision to exercise every day has made a residual decision. An entrepreneur who sets up her business to work even when she is on vacation for six months has a residual business. ([Location 1827](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1827)) > A person who does something every day, habitually, without thinking, without effort, is benefiting from residual action. ([Location 1830](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1830)) > Lever: Learning Modest Input, Residual Results Personal capability compounds over time. You develop a reputation once, but then opportunities flow to you for years. You understand first principles deeply and then can easily apply them again and again. You establish a habit once, but then it serves you for a lifetime. ([Location 1860](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1860)) > Seek Principles Not all knowledge has lasting value. Some knowledge is useful just once. ([Location 1922](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1922)) > Other knowledge is useful countless times. When you understand why something happened or how something works, you can apply that knowledge again and again. ([Location 1926](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1926)) > Different ideas in isolation represent linear knowledge. But those same ideas form residual knowledge when interconnected. ([Location 1992](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1992)) > Reading a book is among the most high-leverage activities on earth. ([Location 2010](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2010)) > So prioritize reading books that have lasted a long time. In other words, read the classics and the ancients. ([Location 2019](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2019)) > Distill to Understand. When I finish reading a book, I like to take ten minutes to summarize what I learned from it on a single page in my own words. ([Location 2025](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2025)) > Gaining unique knowledge takes time, dedication, and effort. But invest in it once, and you’ll attract opportunities for the rest of your life. ([Location 2068](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2068)) > The checklist isn’t just useful for highly specialized tasks like flying an airplane. As the world gets more complex, we all need tools to help us remember what’s important. The beauty of the checklist is that the thinking has been done ahead of time. It’s been taken out of the equation. Or rather, it has been baked into the equation. ([Location 2179](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2179)) > The idea of a cheat sheet is simply to get things out of your brain so you can do them automatically, without having to rely on memory. ([Location 2190](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2190)) > Effortless Automation: ([Location 2242](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2242)) > Which makes what actually happened so incredible: Buffett closed the McLane deal over a single two-hour meeting and a handshake. Just twenty-nine days later the purchase was complete. Buffett wrote, “We did no ‘due diligence.’ ” On the basis of his prior experience, he concluded he “knew everything would be exactly as Wal-Mart said it would be—and it was.” ([Location 2296](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2296)) > You can’t have a high-performing team without high levels of trust. ([Location 2320](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2320)) > The best way to leverage trust to get residual results is simply to select trustworthy people to be around. ([Location 2332](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2332)) > Hiring someone trustworthy starts a simple and obvious first step, but one that many routinely overlook: making sure you are hiring someone honest and honorable, someone you can trust to uphold a high standard when nobody’s looking. But hiring someone who is trustworthy is also about hiring someone conscientious, someone you can trust to uphold their responsibilities, to use good judgment, to do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it and to do it well. It’s someone you don’t have to supervise or micromanage, someone who understands the team’s goals and who cares as much as you do about the quality of the essential work to be done. ([Location 2342](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2342)) > Warren Buffett uses three criteria for determining who is trustworthy enough to hire or to do business with. He looks for people with integrity, intelligence, and initiative, though he adds that without the first, the other two can backfire. I call this “The Three I’s Rule.” ([Location 2347](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2347)) > Taking a little time to build a foundation of trust is a valuable investment in any relationship. It’s a lever that turns a modest effort into residual results. ([Location 2411](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2411)) > This is what I call the long tail of time management. When we invest our time in actions with a long tail, we continue to reap the benefits over a long period. ([Location 2441](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2441)) > Sometimes we get so used to the little irritations—like a pencil tray lodged in a desk drawer—it doesn’t even occur to us to do anything about them. Even if we are bothered by them and we complain about them, we still don’t really see them as a problem worth fixing. ([Location 2442](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2442)) > To break this habit, ask yourself: What is a problem that irritates me repeatedly? What is the total cost of managing that over several years? What is the next step I can take immediately, in a few minutes, to move toward solving it? ([Location 2446](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2446)) > “The key to this process is time. The sooner you identify a problem, the more likely you are to avert a dangerous situation.” ([Location 2496](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2496)) > Just as you can find small actions to make your life easier in the future, you can look for small actions that will prevent your life from becoming more complicated. This principle applies in every type of endeavor. ([Location 2497](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2497)) > Part III: Effortless Results What are Effortless Results? You’ve continued to cultivate your Effortless State. You’ve started to take Effortless Action with clarity of objective, tiny, obvious first steps, and a consistent pace. You are achieving the results you want, more easily. But now you want those results to continue to flow to you, again and again, with as little additional effort as possible. You are ready to achieve Effortless Results. LEARN Learn principles, not just facts and methods. Understand first principles deeply and then apply them again and again. Stand on the shoulders of giants and leverage the best of what they know. Develop unique knowledge, and it will open the door to perpetual opportunity. LIFT Use teaching as a lever to harness the strength of ten. Achieve far-reaching impact by teaching others to teach. Live what you teach, and notice how much you learn. Tell stories that are easily understood and repeated. AUTOMATE Free up space in your brain by automating as many essential tasks as possible. Use checklists to get it right every time, without having to rely on memory. Seek single choices that eliminate future decisions. Take the high-tech path for the essential and the low-tech path for the nonessential. TRUST Leverage trust as the engine oil of frictionless and high-functioning teams. Make the right hire once, and it will continue to produce results again and again. Follow the Three I’s Rule: hire people with integrity, intelligence, and initiative. Design high-trust agreements to clarify results, roles, rules, resources, and rewards. PREVENT Don’t just manage the problem. Solve it before it happens. Seek simple actions today that can prevent complications tomorrow. Invest two minutes of effort once to end recurring frustrations. Catch mistakes before they happen; measure twice, so you only have to cut once. ([Location 2598](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2598)) > We realized that the best way to help our daughter, and our whole family, through this time was not by exerting more effort. In fact, it was quite the opposite. We needed to find ways to make every day a little easier. ([Location 2666](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2666)) > life doesn’t have to be as hard and complicated as we make it. Each of us has, as Robert Frost wrote, “promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep.” No matter what challenges, obstacles, or hardships we encounter along the way, we can always look for the easier, simpler path. ([Location 2708](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2708)) --- Title: Effortless Author: Greg Mckeown Tags: readwise, books date: 2024-01-30 --- # Effortless  Author:: Greg Mckeown ## AI-Generated Summary None ## Highlights > When you simply can’t try any harder, it’s time to find a different path. ([Location 103](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=103)) > Burnout is not a badge of honor. ([Location 126](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=126)) > Essentialism was about doing the right things; Effortless is about doing them in the right way. ([Location 194](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=194)) > Instead of trying to get better results by pushing ever harder, we can make the most essential activities the easiest ones. ([Location 204](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=204)) > Part I reintroduces you to your Effortless State. Part II shows how to take Effortless Action. Part III is about achieving Effortless Results. ([Location 218](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=218)) > Part II: Effortless Action Once we are in the Effortless State, it becomes easier to take Effortless Action. ([Location 238](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=238)) > Part III: Effortless Results When we take Effortless Action, we make it easier to get the results we want. ([Location 242](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=242)) > Whenever your efforts yield a one-time benefit, you are getting a linear result. ([Location 244](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=244)) > With residual results you put in the effort once and reap the benefits again and again. ([Location 247](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=247)) > Anything Can Be Made Effortless, but Not Everything ([Location 252](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=252)) > The Effortless State is one in which you are physically rested, emotionally unburdened, and mentally energized. You are completely present, attentive, and focused on what’s important in that moment. You are able to do what matters most with ease. ([Location 314](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=314)) > Think of these revealing phrases: When we accomplish something important, we say it took “blood, sweat, and tears.” We say important achievements are “hard-earned” when we might just say “earned.” We recommend a “hard day’s work” when “day’s work” would suffice. ([Location 343](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=343)) > The Path of Least Effort Our brain is wired to resist what it perceives as hard and welcome what it perceives as easy. This bias is sometimes called the cognitive ease principle, or the principle of least effort. It’s our tendency to take the path of least resistance to achieve what we want. ([Location 354](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=354)) > Here is what I learned: trying too hard makes it harder to get the results you want. Here is what I realized: behind almost every failure of my whole life I had made the same error. When I’d failed, it was rarely because I hadn’t tried hard enough, it was because I’d been trying too hard. ([Location 386](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=386)) > We are conditioned over the course of our lifetimes to believe that in order to overachieve we must also overdo. As a result, we make things harder for ourselves than they need to be. ([Location 389](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=389)) > Effortless Inversion means looking at problems from the opposite perspective. It means asking, “What if this could be easy?” It means learning to solve problems from a state of focus, clarity, and calm. It means getting good at getting things done by putting in less effort. ([Location 398](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=398)) > Asking the question “What if this could be easy?” is a way to reset our thinking. It may seem almost impossibly simple. And that’s exactly why it works. ([Location 412](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=412)) > Marketing author Seth Godin once shared the following: “If you can think about how hard it is to push a business uphill, particularly when you’re just getting started, one answer is to say: ‘Why don’t you just start a different business you can push downhill?’ ” ([Location 453](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=453)) > When a strategy is so complex that each step feels akin to pushing a boulder up a hill, you should pause. Invert the problem. Ask, “What’s the simplest way to achieve this result?” ([Location 474](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=474)) > We turned a task we had in the past barely endured into a ritual we looked forward to. ([Location 604](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=604)) > Much has been written on habits. Less has been written about rituals. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably. But behavioral economists insist they are not the same thing at all. Rituals are similar to habits in the sense that “when I do X, I also do Y.” But they are different from habits because of one key component: the psychological satisfaction you experience when you do them. Habits explain “what” you do, but rituals are about “how” you do it. ([Location 605](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=605)) > Our rituals are habits we have put our thumbprint on. Our rituals are habits with a soul. ([Location 622](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=622)) > We live in a complaint culture that gets high on expressing outrage: especially on social media, which often seems like an endless stream of grumbling and whining about what is unsatisfactory or unacceptable. ([Location 661](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=661)) > When you focus on something you are thankful for, the effect is instant. It immediately shifts you from a lack state (regrets, worries about the future, the feeling of being behind) and puts you into a have state (what is going right, what progress you are making, what potential exists in this moment). ([Location 669](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=669)) > Studies show that peak physical and mental performance requires a rhythm of exerting and renewing energy—and ([Location 827](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=827)) > athletes. In fact, one study found that the best-performing athletes, musicians, chess players, and writers all honed their skills in the same way: by practicing in the morning, in three sessions of sixty to ninety minutes, with breaks in between. Meanwhile, those who took fewer or shorter breaks performed less well. ([Location 827](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=827)) > Have you ever pushed yourself so far past the point of exhaustion one day that you wake up the next morning utterly depleted and need the entire day to rest? To stop this vicious cycle in its tracks, try this simple rule: Do not do more today than you can completely recover from today. Do not do more this week than you can completely recover from this week. ([Location 834](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=834)) > We can do the following: Dedicate mornings to essential work. Break down that work into three sessions of no more than ninety minutes each. Take a short break (ten to fifteen minutes) in between sessions to rest and recover. ([Location 841](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=841)) > Getting more sleep may be the single greatest gift we can give our bodies, our minds, and even, it turns out, our bottom lines. ([Location 873](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=873)) > naps can improve performance in reaction time, logical reasoning, and symbol recognition even in well-rested people. ([Location 909](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=909)) > “I just don’t need a lot of sleep” or “Who has the time to sleep?! Not me!” as a badge of honor. But in fact, “sleep shaming” is a timeless tradition. ([Location 917](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=917)) > According to the Gottmans, we all make small and large attempts to obtain affection, affirmation, and attention in our relationships. They call these bids for connection. There are three distinct ways a partner can respond to a bid for attention. ([Location 1025](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1025)) > The first type of response is what they call “turning toward.” ([Location 1027](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1027)) > The second kind of response is “turning against.” ([Location 1031](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1031)) > The third kind of response is “turning away.” Now your partner doesn’t address the comment about the weather at all and instead responds with something entirely unrelated, like “Have you taken the car for the oil change yet?” ([Location 1035](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1035)) > According to Gottman’s research, both of the first two responses—even the argumentative one—are generally healthy for a relationship. The one that does the most damage is the third kind. It signals that these two people do not see each other. ([Location 1037](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1037)) > Contrast this with a practice used by the Quakers called the Clearness Committee. When someone in the community (the “focus person”) is facing an important dilemma, they often ask a few people they trust (the “Elders”) to come together to form a committee. The purpose is not for the committee to tell them what to do. The purpose is to help them figure it out for themselves. ([Location 1075](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1075)) > An Effortless Summary Part I: Effortless State What is the Effortless State? The Effortless State is an experience many of us have had when we are physically rested, emotionally unburdened, and mentally energized. You are completely aware, alert, present, attentive, and focused on what’s important in this moment. You are able to focus on what matters most with ease. INVERT Instead of asking, “Why is this so hard?,” invert the question by asking, “What if this could be easy?” Challenge the assumption that the “right” way is, inevitably, the harder one. Make the impossible possible by finding an indirect approach. When faced with work that feels overwhelming, ask, “How am I making this harder than it needs to be?” ENJOY Pair the most essential activities with the most enjoyable ones. Accept that work and play can co-exist. Turn tedious tasks into meaningful rituals. Allow laughter and fun to lighten more of your moments. RELEASE Let go of emotional burdens you don’t need to keep carrying. Remember: When you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have. When you focus on what you have, you get what you lack. Use this habit recipe: “Each time I complain I will say something I am thankful for.” Relieve a grudge of its duties by asking, “What job have I hired this grudge to do?” REST Discover the art of doing nothing. Do not do more today than you can completely recover from by tomorrow. Break down essential work into three sessions of no more than ninety minutes each. Take an effortless nap. NOTICE Achieve a state of heightened awareness by harnessing the power of presence. Train your brain to focus on the important and ignore the irrelevant. To see others more clearly, set aside your opinions, advice, and judgment, and put their truth above your own. Clear the clutter in your physical environment before clearing the clutter in your mind. ([Location 1104](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1104)) > Past a certain point, more effort doesn’t produce better performance. It sabotages our performance. Economists call this the law of diminishing returns: ([Location 1153](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1153)) > The Heavy Cost of Light Tinkering Sometimes important projects remain undone because we keep tinkering with them endlessly. ([Location 1212](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1212)) > Getting clear on what “done” looks like doesn’t just help you finish; it also helps you get started. ([Location 1224](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1224)) > Make a “Done for the Day” List ([Location 1250](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1250)) > this is a list of what will constitute meaningful and essential progress. As you write the list, one test is to imagine how you will feel once this work is completed. Ask yourself, “If I complete everything on this list, will it leave me feeling satisfied by the end of the day? Is there some other important task that will haunt me all night if I don’t get to it?” If your answer to the second question is yes, that is a task that should go on the Done for the Day list. ([Location 1255](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1255)) > Take the Minimum Viable Action ([Location 1298](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1298)) > Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, defines a minimum viable product as “that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least amount of effort.” It’s an effortless way of testing an idea because it requires building only the simplest version of your product necessary to get reliable feedback about what your customers want. ([Location 1327](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1327)) > If there are processes in your life that seem to involve an inordinate number of steps, try starting from zero. Then see if you can find your way back to those same results, only take fewer steps. ([Location 1478](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1478)) > To make effortless progress on what matters, learning-sized mistakes must be encouraged. This isn’t giving yourself—or others—permission to consistently produce poor-quality work; it’s simply letting go of the absurd pressure to always do everything perfectly. ([Location 1569](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1569)) > The False Economy of Powering Through ([Location 1634](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1634)) > When we try to make too much progress on a goal or project right out of the gate, we can get trapped in a vicious cycle: we get tired, so then we take a break, but then we think we have to make up for the time lost, so we sprint again. ([Location 1635](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1635)) > When we’re trying to achieve something that matters to us, it’s tempting to want to sprint out of the gate. The problem is that going too fast at the beginning will almost always slow us down the rest of the way. ([Location 1647](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1647)) > To make progress despite the complexity and uncertainty we encounter on a daily basis, we need to choose the right range and keep within it. ([Location 1699](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1699)) > Part II: Effortless Action What is Effortless Action? Effortless Action means accomplishing more by trying less. You stop procrastinating and take the first obvious step. You arrive at the point of completion without overthinking. You make progress by pacing yourself rather than powering through. You overachieve without overexerting. DEFINE To get started on an essential project, first define what “done” looks like. Establish clear conditions for completion, get there, then stop. Take sixty seconds to focus on your desired outcome. Write a “Done for the Day” list. Limit it to items that would constitute meaningful progress. START Make the first action the most obvious one. Break the first obvious action down into the tiniest, concrete step. Then name it. Gain maximum learning from minimal viable effort. Start with a ten-minute microburst of focused activity to boost motivation and energy. SIMPLIFY To simplify the process, don’t simplify the steps: simply remove them. Recognize that not everything requires you to go the extra mile. Maximize the steps not taken. Measure progress in the tiniest of increments. PROGRESS When you start a project, start with rubbish. Adopt a “zero-draft” approach and just put some words, any words, on the page. Fail cheaply: make learning-sized mistakes. Protect your progress from the harsh critic in your head. PACE Set an effortless pace: slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Reject the false economy of “powering through.” Create the right range: I will never do less than X, never more than Y. Recognize that not all progress is created equal. ([Location 1766](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1766)) > This is what it means to achieve Effortless Results: not to achieve a result once through intense effort, but to effortlessly achieve a result again and again. ([Location 1808](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1808)) > Linear results are limited: they can never exceed the amount of effort exerted. What many people don’t realize, however, is that there exists a far better alternative. Residual results are completely different. With residual results you exert effort once and reap the benefits again and again. Results continue to flow to you, whether you put in additional effort or not. Results flow to you while you are sleeping. Results flow to you when you are taking the day off. Residual results can be virtually infinite. ([Location 1820](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1820)) > An author who writes a book and is paid royalties for years is getting residual income. ([Location 1824](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1824)) > A person who makes the one-time decision to exercise every day has made a residual decision. An entrepreneur who sets up her business to work even when she is on vacation for six months has a residual business. ([Location 1827](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1827)) > A person who does something every day, habitually, without thinking, without effort, is benefiting from residual action. ([Location 1830](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1830)) > Lever: Learning Modest Input, Residual Results Personal capability compounds over time. You develop a reputation once, but then opportunities flow to you for years. You understand first principles deeply and then can easily apply them again and again. You establish a habit once, but then it serves you for a lifetime. ([Location 1860](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1860)) > Seek Principles Not all knowledge has lasting value. Some knowledge is useful just once. ([Location 1922](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1922)) > Other knowledge is useful countless times. When you understand why something happened or how something works, you can apply that knowledge again and again. ([Location 1926](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1926)) > Different ideas in isolation represent linear knowledge. But those same ideas form residual knowledge when interconnected. ([Location 1992](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=1992)) > Reading a book is among the most high-leverage activities on earth. ([Location 2010](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2010)) > So prioritize reading books that have lasted a long time. In other words, read the classics and the ancients. ([Location 2019](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2019)) > Distill to Understand. When I finish reading a book, I like to take ten minutes to summarize what I learned from it on a single page in my own words. ([Location 2025](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2025)) > Gaining unique knowledge takes time, dedication, and effort. But invest in it once, and you’ll attract opportunities for the rest of your life. ([Location 2068](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2068)) > The checklist isn’t just useful for highly specialized tasks like flying an airplane. As the world gets more complex, we all need tools to help us remember what’s important. The beauty of the checklist is that the thinking has been done ahead of time. It’s been taken out of the equation. Or rather, it has been baked into the equation. ([Location 2179](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2179)) > The idea of a cheat sheet is simply to get things out of your brain so you can do them automatically, without having to rely on memory. ([Location 2190](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2190)) > Effortless Automation: ([Location 2242](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2242)) > Which makes what actually happened so incredible: Buffett closed the McLane deal over a single two-hour meeting and a handshake. Just twenty-nine days later the purchase was complete. Buffett wrote, “We did no ‘due diligence.’ ” On the basis of his prior experience, he concluded he “knew everything would be exactly as Wal-Mart said it would be—and it was.” ([Location 2296](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2296)) > You can’t have a high-performing team without high levels of trust. ([Location 2320](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2320)) > The best way to leverage trust to get residual results is simply to select trustworthy people to be around. ([Location 2332](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2332)) > Hiring someone trustworthy starts a simple and obvious first step, but one that many routinely overlook: making sure you are hiring someone honest and honorable, someone you can trust to uphold a high standard when nobody’s looking. But hiring someone who is trustworthy is also about hiring someone conscientious, someone you can trust to uphold their responsibilities, to use good judgment, to do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it and to do it well. It’s someone you don’t have to supervise or micromanage, someone who understands the team’s goals and who cares as much as you do about the quality of the essential work to be done. ([Location 2342](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2342)) > Warren Buffett uses three criteria for determining who is trustworthy enough to hire or to do business with. He looks for people with integrity, intelligence, and initiative, though he adds that without the first, the other two can backfire. I call this “The Three I’s Rule.” ([Location 2347](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2347)) > Taking a little time to build a foundation of trust is a valuable investment in any relationship. It’s a lever that turns a modest effort into residual results. ([Location 2411](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2411)) > This is what I call the long tail of time management. When we invest our time in actions with a long tail, we continue to reap the benefits over a long period. ([Location 2441](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2441)) > Sometimes we get so used to the little irritations—like a pencil tray lodged in a desk drawer—it doesn’t even occur to us to do anything about them. Even if we are bothered by them and we complain about them, we still don’t really see them as a problem worth fixing. ([Location 2442](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2442)) > To break this habit, ask yourself: What is a problem that irritates me repeatedly? What is the total cost of managing that over several years? What is the next step I can take immediately, in a few minutes, to move toward solving it? ([Location 2446](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2446)) > “The key to this process is time. The sooner you identify a problem, the more likely you are to avert a dangerous situation.” ([Location 2496](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2496)) > Just as you can find small actions to make your life easier in the future, you can look for small actions that will prevent your life from becoming more complicated. This principle applies in every type of endeavor. ([Location 2497](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2497)) > Part III: Effortless Results What are Effortless Results? You’ve continued to cultivate your Effortless State. You’ve started to take Effortless Action with clarity of objective, tiny, obvious first steps, and a consistent pace. You are achieving the results you want, more easily. But now you want those results to continue to flow to you, again and again, with as little additional effort as possible. You are ready to achieve Effortless Results. LEARN Learn principles, not just facts and methods. Understand first principles deeply and then apply them again and again. Stand on the shoulders of giants and leverage the best of what they know. Develop unique knowledge, and it will open the door to perpetual opportunity. LIFT Use teaching as a lever to harness the strength of ten. Achieve far-reaching impact by teaching others to teach. Live what you teach, and notice how much you learn. Tell stories that are easily understood and repeated. AUTOMATE Free up space in your brain by automating as many essential tasks as possible. Use checklists to get it right every time, without having to rely on memory. Seek single choices that eliminate future decisions. Take the high-tech path for the essential and the low-tech path for the nonessential. TRUST Leverage trust as the engine oil of frictionless and high-functioning teams. Make the right hire once, and it will continue to produce results again and again. Follow the Three I’s Rule: hire people with integrity, intelligence, and initiative. Design high-trust agreements to clarify results, roles, rules, resources, and rewards. PREVENT Don’t just manage the problem. Solve it before it happens. Seek simple actions today that can prevent complications tomorrow. Invest two minutes of effort once to end recurring frustrations. Catch mistakes before they happen; measure twice, so you only have to cut once. ([Location 2598](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2598)) > We realized that the best way to help our daughter, and our whole family, through this time was not by exerting more effort. In fact, it was quite the opposite. We needed to find ways to make every day a little easier. ([Location 2666](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2666)) > life doesn’t have to be as hard and complicated as we make it. Each of us has, as Robert Frost wrote, “promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep.” No matter what challenges, obstacles, or hardships we encounter along the way, we can always look for the easier, simpler path. ([Location 2708](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08F4GGQ2K&location=2708))