In my first post on Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown I said that I was finding essentialism to be like minimalism but for work and life activities rather than things. Early on McKeon says "our lives get cluttered as well-intended commitments and activities we've said yes to pile up."
Clutter in Writers' Lives
It's easy to see how life clutter accumulates in our private lives. We have family responsibilities and
jump at every volunteer and social opportunity and collect new interests like sports cards. But what about clutter in writers' work lives? Can that even happen?
Yeah, it can. How often do we want to:
- Attend every nearby and sometimes not nearby writers' conference?
- Attend every writer gathering?
- Accept every request to read and blurb books?
- Get on every new social media platform?
- Join still another writers' Facebook group?
- Read every new book on writing?
Notice that none of those things I listed above actually involve writing. Many relate to networking, a big, and not necessarily beneficial, drain on writing time.
McKeown says "A Nonessentialist thinks almost everything is essential. An Essentialist thinks almost everything is nonessential."
He also writes that Nonessentialists feel they have to do all the things they're trying to do while Essentialists choose what they're going to do.
They choose to do fewer things and they go big on the things they do do.
Next week: The Essentialist's first step in making those choices.
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