Technique 2.102 Essentialism
Introduction
One of the most common reasons for being overwhelmed or frustrated at work is having too many things to do and not having enough time to do them.
As you become involved in too many projects, you end up making little progress in any of them.
Similarly, when you are striving to make a bigger impact, your natural inclination try to do more and more.
However, one of the most powerful strategies for growth lies in improvement by subtraction, ie the theory of constraints. This is best done by eliminating what is not vital and make progress in what matters most.
For example, if there are a couple of bottlenecks in a system that slows down the whole process: by identifying and eliminating these bottlenecks, the whole system can be improved.
Additionally, overcoming obstacles can have a cumulative impact.
Need to identify what obstacles would make the most significant difference if removed, ie
"...essentialism is not about getting more things done, but about getting right things done..."
Seph Fontane Pennock, 2023b
Essentialism
"...involves discerning essential from non-essential matters to allow individuals contribute to the things that matter the most......the premise of essentialism is that you consciously stop yourself spreading your efforts and instead orientate your focus and energy to just one of the most important project(s) (or the few that matter the most) to make a big difference on your important projects..."
Lucinda Poole et al, 2023
Essentialism vs non-essentialism
"...non-essentialists divide their energy into many different activities, making little progress in countless directions which is often an unfulfilling experience. Essentialists......focus on fewer activities, making significant progress in the things that matter the most, which leads to satisfying experience. Non-essentialists make choices reactively, whereas essentialists deliberately distinguished the vital few from the trivial many. A non-essentialist believes 'I can do it all', whereas an essentialist understands the impossibility of this..."
Lucinda Poole, et al, 2023
"...essentialism allows people to explore the critical projects they want to pursue, eliminate the rest, and better understand their goals and skills to say no more effectively.....This prioritisation practice enables individuals to utilise their working hours and resources more efficiently, boosting productivity, reducing procrastination and enhancing job performance.....The ability to prioritise has also been linked to improved well-being and work-life balance, reduced work-related stress and anxiety, and better management of competing demands and goals..."
Greg McKeown as quoted by Lucinda Poole et al, 2023
Checklist (essentialism vs non-essentialism)
For each paired statement in the below table, tick the appropriate one
| Tick | Non-essentialism | Tick | Essentialism |
| You often feel that everything is important | I am aware that only a few things are truly important | ||
| When deciding whether to take on an extra project, you tend to focus on what you will lose if you say 'no' | When deciding whether to take on an extra project, you tend to focus on what you will gain if you say 'no' | ||
| You often struggle to find time for everything | You have enough time to do what is necessary | ||
| You tend to work on the most pressing tasks | You pause to find out which matters most | ||
| You tend to say 'yes' to people without really thinking | You tend to say 'no' to everything except essential | ||
| You tend to execute projects at the last moment | You remove obstacles to make execution easy | ||
| The quality of your work tends to suffer because you take on too much | The quality of your work is high because you have enough time and focus on delivery | ||
| You mostly feel overwhelmed and exhausted at work | You feel energised and at ease at work | ||
| Progress in your work is often slow because you focus on too many projects simultaneously | Progress in your work is fast because you focus on a few projects simultaneously | ||
| total number of ticks | total number of ticks |
(source:Lucinda Poole et al, 2023)
The total number of ticks will indicate if you are essentialist or non-essentialist. To become more an essentialist, you need to know what matters most and focus on them. To help you achieve this, complete the following table below where you list your daily activities and score each activity from 1 (not essential) to 10 (strongly essential)
| Daily activity | Essentialism score |
Based on the score of each daily activity, we need to find ways to reduce your involvement with the ones with the lowest essentialism score
Summary
"...The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak..."
Hans Hofmann as quoted by Seph Fontane Pennock, 2023.
To increase your essentialism, on a daily basis you need to adopt the following approach:
"...1. Make a habit of asking yourself: 'Is this the most important thing I should be doing with my time and resources, right now?
2. Become more selective in your choices by checking whether you feel completely convinced to do something. If so, say 'yes'. Anything else should be a 'no'. If the answer isn't a definite 'yes', it is an 'no'.
3. Practice saying 'no'. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. Remember that you do not have to use the word 'no' to convey the message that you are declining a request. For example, the statements 'I would love to attend, but unfortunately I'm over-committed', 'I'm afraid I don't have the availability at the moment' and 'thank you, but unfortunately I am not available' convey the message 'no' clearly and politely without using the word..."
Lucinda Poole et al, 2023