{"id":2249,"date":"2009-01-07T05:00:27","date_gmt":"2009-01-07T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=2249"},"modified":"2023-11-05T11:45:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T18:45:05","slug":"book-review-the-power-of-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/book-review-the-power-of-less\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Less book review"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>Zen Habits<\/a> is one of my favorite weblogs. For the past two years, Leo Babauta’s exploration of productivity and simple living has helped me make the most of my time. (Plus sometimes, like yesterday, he just hits it out of the park<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Babauta recently published his first book, The Power of Less<\/b><\/i><\/a>, which seeks to help readers become more efficient \u2014 and more relaxed at the same time \u2014 by limiting themselves only to the essential.<\/p>\n The Power of Less<\/i> is divided into two sections. In the first, Babauta explores the six guiding principles of his philosophy, “the ideas that will help you to maximize your productivity while simplifying your life”:<\/p>\n The second section of the book offers practical tips for applying these six principles in various parts of your life: goals and projects, time management, e-mail, filing, daily routine, etc.<\/p>\n The first section of this book disappointed me. Babauta’s six principles are good, but the chapters describing them are too long and the examples vague.<\/p>\n Babauta writes, “These days we consume information, food, and media at a breakneck pace that was unimagined two hundred years ago.” Maybe so (that’s my impression too), but I want a bit of research to back it up. This sort of book lends itself to facts and figures. There’s no research cited in The Power of Less<\/i>, and that frustrated me.<\/p>\n But I think the second section of the book is great<\/b>. It’s filled with ideas that I can use in my own life. As one who is completely overwhelmed by his work, the idea of doing more by working less appeals to me. As I read, I jotted down some techniques I can use to improve my own life today<\/i>:<\/p>\n As you might expect, The Power of Less<\/i> is very much like a refined and extended version of Babauta’s blog, Zen Habits<\/a>. This alone may tell you whether you’ll enjoy the book. I liked it, but do have some reservations.<\/p>\n For one, the book is tech-centric. The examples are great if you’re an office worker, but much less relevant if you have a blue-collar job or are a stay-at-home parent.<\/p>\n Also, at times the book feels like a group of unrelated parts instead of unified whole. For example, in one chapter Babauta encourages readers to focus on only one<\/i> goal at a time<\/a>. But in the next (and in the rest of the book), he writes of having multiple goals<\/b><\/i>. Which is it? One goal or many?<\/p>\n Quibbles aside, I’m glad to have read The Power of Less<\/b><\/i><\/a>. I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m questioning my priorities. Do I really want to spend 60 hours a week writing? How important is money relative to fitness and relationships? How can I find balance?<\/p>\n When I read The Power of Less<\/i> on Christmas Day, it had quite an impact.<\/b> Over the past two weeks, I’ve used its lessons to help me re-structure how I organize my time. I’m pleased with the changes. I have embraced the power of less \u2014 and so far it seems to be working.<\/p>\n Learn more about this book at the Power of Less website<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/a>Zen Habits<\/a> is one of my favorite weblogs. For the past two years, Leo Babauta’s exploration of productivity and simple living has helped me make the most of my time. (Plus sometimes, like yesterday, he just hits it out of the park<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/span>Six lessons<\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>The power of less<\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>More or less?<\/span><\/h2>\n