The 80/20 Librarian: Focusing on the 20% that matters

Continuing to take notes on McKeown’s Essentialism.

I like the discussion on page 39 contrasting the Nonessentialist and the Essentialist.

The Nonessentialist feels that they “have to do” everything and consequently surrenders their ability to choose.

The Essentialist comes to act because they, “choose to” and uses their own free will to do what is right for them.

One party acts from a sense of obligation while the other party is passionately choosing to act.

I just stumbled upon this quote on Amazon from a review of The Pigeon Tunnel by John Le Carre, check out what Rosemary P. wrote in October 2016,

“Like sitting in an oak paneled library at dusk with a cherished companion, fire burbling in the grate and a glass of something wonderful within reach–nary an error of grammar within earshot! An absolute delight. A wonderful book that achieves exactly what it’s meant to.”

Wow! Knocked it out of the park! I would definitely pick up the book! Sure beats a typical, “I liked it.”

I find this encouraging to use the imagination to better describe what we find enjoyable about something. Analogy is a good way to do it. Now only to start practicing this in speech and in writing.

I was just looking back over my notes on Greg McKeown’s Essentialism particularly pages 20 to 25.

The three core facets of the Essentialist are something to keep in mind:

1. Explore and Evaluate: Discerning the Vital Few from the Trivial Many
   • McKeown’s sums it up by stating, “We aren’t looking for a plethora of good things to do. We are looking for our highest level of contribution: the right thing the right way at the right time.”
2. Eliminate: Cutting Out the Trivial Many
   • McKeown’s has a few lines worth taking to heart, “To eliminate nonessentials means saying no to someone. Often. it means pushing against social expectations. To do it well takes courage and compassion. So eliminating the nonessentials isn’t just about mental discipline. It’s about the emotional discipline necessary to say no to social pressure.”
3. Execute: Removing Obstacles and Making Execution Effortless
   • This one is counterintuitive. I best think of it as working smart not working hard. By taking away the hurdles you are able to be that much better positioned to accomplish your goal. I’ll throw out some examples in a later post.