Product Description

A blueprint for taking our lives back from the clutter, noise and unnecessary work that fills a modern day. Babauta lays out simple, concise steps for growth through increased productivity and teaches readers the art of living simply. He encourages the reader to place limits on themselves, his tips include: Focus only on the three most essential projects on your plate. Limit oneself to one large goal at a time. And keep emails to just five sentences. Babauta's lessons enable readers to do less, be more effective, get more done and simplify their lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30951 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .60" h x 6.00" w x 8.60" l, .75 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

Before Buying, Check Out the Blog to See If You Need More Information

Increasingly, popular bloggers turn their free online product into books and products that people need to buy. Unlike a blog, a book integrates individual ideas together better. If you seek that integrated approach, you may like this book better than the blog it is based on. But be sure you check out the blog first to see if you like Mr. Babauta's approach.

If you have read other books about simplifying life, you won't find anything here you haven't read before. But you probably won't find the ideas expressed as simply and briefly as here. That's the main advantage of The Power of Less over its competitors.

Most of the good books I've read on this subject didn't pay enough attention to dealing with the Internet, BlackBerry, and cell phone. I was pleased to see that Mr. Babauta paid lots of attention to keeping e-mails under control. However, he could have done more with reducing intrusions from your BlackBerry or your cell phone.

Mr. Baubauta is at his best when he is talking about breaking bad habits and building better ones. Conversely, he isn't an expert on many of the habit-making areas so his suggestions are at the modest end of what's possible.

As an example, a great way to get more done in less time and with less strain is to do tasks in ways that they serve many purposes while remaining a simple task. Here's an example: You might want to spend more time with your children, get lots of fix-up projects done at home, and learn some new skills. By picking the right fix-up project and organizing it to involve your children and some new learning, you can learn together and accomplish something that will endure and remind you of a good experience.

Aware of this limitation in the book, Mr. Babauta recommends that you seek out specialized information in the areas where you want to improve. I second that suggestion.

He also favors making lots of little improvements, focusing on one at a time, rather than making a breakthrough in one area and then not needing to change very much else. For instance, some entrepreneurs design business models that require only a few minutes a day of their time. As a result, they can have simple, stress-free lives in everything else they do. That seems like a better solution than simply getting a little bit better at a lot of things after months and years of reforming yourself.

As a result, this book is best for someone who wants to make a lot of little changes in many different areas, breaking lots of bad habits over time.

The book has one design quirk that bothered me. He addresses how to get work done in a simpler way before looking into looking into improving your personal life. When I teach people about simplification, I find that it works better to start with their values and goals for a whole life and simplify work and personal life at the same time in complementary ways.

How to get out of the fast lane
The next time you're sitting at a red light, note how many of the drivers around you are talking on cellphones or text messaging. Do your co-workers scurry about, occasionally pausing to converse, even though they're clearly preoccupied? Most people seem resigned to living in the fast lane, where stress and multitasking are unavoidable realities. Not Leo Babauta, even though he is the father of six children. Babauta believes you can stop the insanity by simplifying your life. His strategy for restoring order is based on six productivity principles, starting with setting limits, since it's impossible to do everything. If you examine your core beliefs, values and goals, Babauta says you can begin trimming away things that complicate your life and focus on what's really important (even if a three-item main project list seems a little short to you). Although the author does not break new ground, getAbstract believes his suggestions and ideas are reassuring and helpful. Plus, it's nice to know that not everyone is crazy.

The power of Less - Less is definitely more!
I've been a fan of Leo's for a while and was a little frustrated waiting for the book to arrive! Still, as these things do, it's arrived at just the time when I've been on some time management training so it's take out before I add in!

What I love about this is that it's come from Leo's personal journey and way of working. And this is clear throughout the book, as is the fact that he really works at keeping the book itself and the key principles, as simply as possible. It's easy to read and has lots of great tips