Essentialism
by Greg McKeown
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McKeown argues that doing less but better is the disciplined pursuit of what truly matters. Most people spread themselves too thin and make a millimetre of progress in a million directions.
- Published:
- Pages:
- 272
In the Conversation
In this collection, Essentialism references 2 other books and is cited by 4 other books.
It draws on Good to Great and Getting Things Done.
It’s picked up by Digital Minimalism, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout and Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less and 1 others.
Scroll down to read the exact passages where other authors reference this book and what they say about it.
What Essentialism Draws On
2The books McKeown references and why each one mattered to the argument.
McKeown directly quotes Collins, warning against "the undisciplined pursuit of more" that derails companies after initial success. Essentialism applies this principle to individual productivity.
“We must avoid what Jim Collins calls the undisciplined pursuit of more.”
McKeown references Allen's GTD while arguing essentialism goes further.
What Other Authors Say About It
4The exact passages where other authors bring up “Essentialism” and what they take from it.
Newport references McKeown's essentialism on intentional technology use.
Aligns with McKeown's Essentialism in arguing that doing fewer things is the precondition for doing important things well, extending the disciplined-pursuit frame from life design to creative output
Aligns with McKeown's Essentialism in arguing that total productivity requires disciplined pursuit of less, treating elimination as the master skill
Clear references Greg McKeown's Essentialism for the line "He always stopped journaling before it seemed like a hassle" — used to illustrate why making habits enjoyable beats making them complete.
Chapter 12 (notes)
Intellectual Lineage
How ideas flow through the citation network. Ancestors are books this title builds on; descendants are books that build on it.
Builds on (2 layers deep)
Directly cites
Unexpected Connections
Books from completely different categories that share citation overlap with this one. These are the reads you would not find by browsing a single shelf.
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Books with the highest citation overlap within the same categories.
Citation Network
This book and its direct connections. Hover a node to see its title, click to visit.
Books this book cites
Books that cite this book
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Hover a node to highlight its connections. Click to open the book page. Node size reflects total citation links.