I’ve already mentioned Leo and The Power of Less in my post about books that can change your life. I was reading this book while writing that post and felt that it deserves a longer review now that I have finished it and had time to reflect on it.
Short review
There’s so much information in this book about how to streamline your life, including both theory and actionable items. Use it like a workbook, mark pages, scribble in the margins, and make it yours. It can change your life for the better. Get your copy.
Long review
There’s so much goodness in the book that I’m not sure where to start. I know that I read through it in only a couple days, marking pages as I went (there are at least 30 pages marked). If it wasn’t a library book I would have marked more pages and been scribbling notes in the margin as I went along. As it was, I had to renew it so that I could keep working. I’m not done with it yet, because my life is still more complicated than it needs to be. As I progress, I will refer back to the information in this book to help guide me to the next step. (It’s well worth purchasing a copy to keep.)
Power of Less is divided into two sections: The Principles and In Practice.
The Principles
Leo begins by giving the concept of the entire book (and his success) in two simple steps:
- Identify the essential.
- Eliminate the rest.
These two steps are all that you need to know to create a simpler lifestyle for yourself. However, Leo continues on to tell his personal story of how he changed his life using these steps and explains the six principles that enabled him to do so.
- Set limitations.
- Choose the essential.
- Simplify.
- Focus.
- Create habits.
- Start small.
Each of these principles are expanded up on in their individual chapters. Not only does Leo give the reasons why each is important, but he outlines ways to implement these principles in your life.
In Practice
The great thing about the book, for me, is that Leo does such a great job of not only mentioning changes that we can make in our lives, but gives practical tips for doing so. Fortunately for all of us, these tips aren’t just aimed at productivity, but span work, life, health, and our daily lives.
- Overwhelmed by email? Check out chapter 10.
- Need to figure out how to be more productive each day? See what chapter 9 has to say.
- Feeling unmotivated? Chapter 18 will help you find the kick in the pants you need.
- Having a hard time fitting regular exercise into your schedule? Chapter 17 tells you how.
Leo does a great job of providing step-by-step instructions in each chapter that are simple enough anyone can follow them while also being broad enough that they will work for anyone’s circumstances. It doesn’t matter if you can’t see your desk or only have an extra 10 items on it; chapter 15 will help you clear your workspace in order to make it more comfortable to work at.
Simplify your life to improve it
Fight against multi-tasking and the speed at which life is coming at us. The future only holds more things that will demand our attention. Take control of your life now, so that you can live the life that you have dreamed of. Give the Power of Less a try.
This book sounds wonderful for some of the things I am trying to do. I just put it on hold at my library.
It’s an extremely helpful book. I highly recommend that you keep a notepad and pen ready as you read, since you shouldn’t make notes in the margins of a library book.