Why Less is More

I just finished reading 'Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less' by Greg McKeown. I actually bought this book by accident.  I thought it was going to be about the philosophical concept (that, for any specific entity, there is a set of attributes which are necessary to its identity and function)... but it turned out to be a book about managing your work load, your life, your ambitions, your time and your identity. 

The core premise is that rather than doing too much and spreading ourselves too thin, we focus on the core project and ideas that will move us forward.  In many respects, it shares ideas with Agile strategies from the worlds of software design and management, and like those, takes a critical look at multi-tasking and trying to do it all.  The main take away for me is to carefully consider what projects I choose to take on and to accept that some opportunities must be rejected in order to have enough space and time to focus on the things I am most passionate about.  In a world in which the pursuit of more, more and even more is presented as the ultimate goal, the concept of less is a much needed anti-dote.