It’s April of 2021, we’ve been in the pandemic for over a year now, and today Ontario is releasing even harsher restrictions because the case numbers continue to climb. You might actually accelerate your journey to the end by constantly choosing the heavier burden to bear, being stressed out all the time, and trying to do more, more, more. There is no medal at the end of life for having taken the torturous path. In a world where I’ve always taken the harder path (were two MSc degrees in engineering really necessary?), this advice was both difficult to swallow and exactly what I needed to hear. There is no shame in choosing to make things easier on myself. I’m really, truly, in the dregs of full-blown, exhausting burnout, which is, of course, not sustainable. I realized that I am burnt out, and not in the kind-of-tired way. I’m not sure that I communicated well enough just how impactful his writing was to me, but in a sense, it did two things: I spoke to Greg about this in our interview, because I wanted to thank him for writing to the parents who are trying to do too much right now. I didn’t expect a burnout prevention manual to show me a fundamental truth about myself, but it did. And then, the last chapter hit me like a ton of bricks. Productivity books are my jam, so I was reading through this new release at warp speed, taking notes and learning things. My Two Cents: How this book impacted me, personally Leaders who are working more to try to support their teams through a tough timeĮntrepreneurs/freelancers trading too much time for too little money Working moms taking on the lion share of the childcare, education and household work And while most people will get something from this manual for choosing a better way forward, there are a few groups of people that I think this book will speak to most: “Do I choose the heaver or the lighter path?”Įffortless really is for anyone feeling the effects of burnout, which would likely include the entire population of North America. In essence, the book provides the inspiration for you to constantly be asking yourself: Start with rubbish (similar to the concept of shitty first drafts, but an even lower bar) To give you a taste for some of the topics covered in detail, these were a few of my favourites: It’s about small changes, tweaks, and process improvements. These tips and suggestions at first seem trivial, but that’s the whole point, isn’t it? Finding ways to make life easier isn’t about monumental shifts, because that’s hard. Greg takes us through a myriad of stories to showcase simple ways we can all search for the easier path, in life, at work, and in relationships. But, as Greg points out, when we instead give up the ghost and search for something that feels lighter, We’ve grown to glorify hard work, all-nighters, challenges, and trudging on. The more hours we work, the more money we are rewarded with on the harder path. The employee that sends the email latest at night gets the praise. But there is a third way, there is a path that is both easier and lighter and yet still good and rightous.” “A lot of people distrust the easy and think of it as being virtuous and hard or easy and immoral in some way. By looking for that path, he believes we can achieve the results we want, and sometimes even breakthrough results, without burning out. He wrote Effortless because he believes that we can search for an easier path, one that is lighter. “What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other.” His motivation could be encapsulated by a beautiful quote from George Elliot: Inevitably, with a book title like this one, Greg shared that there are people who will scoff or think that it’s a lofty ideal that would never apply to their life and their hardships, but that’s exactly the person that Greg wrote the book for. Because what if things that are worthwhile didn’t have to be so hard? It’s necessary reading for all of us, burning the candle at both ends, who need a nudge to choose the easier path. Greg’s latest book, Effortless, is a guide, and in the case of us perfectionists, a permission slip, on how to make what is essential easier to do. This all stemmed from us having a conversation around honestly answering the question, “How are you?” And isn’t it refreshing to hear that even productivity experts are frazzled and finding it hard to prioritize self-care and switch off these days? “There are two types of people: those who are burnt out and admit it, and those who are burnt out.” In an interview with Greg McKeown earlier this month, he said:
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