Essentialism
Essentialism isn't about getting more done in less time. It's about getting only the right things done. Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin? Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized? Are you often busy but not productive? Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people's agendas? If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist. Essentialism is more than a time-management strategy or a productivity technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter. By forcing us to apply more selective criteria for what is Essential, the disciplined pursuit of less empowers us to reclaim control of our own choices about where to spend our precious time and energy -- instead of giving others the implicit permission to choose for us. Essentialism is not one more thing. It's a whole new way of doing everything. It's about doing less, but better, in every area of our lives. Essentialism is a movement whose time has come. - Jacket flap.
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- Not 2024 book, but I found "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown valuable despite it being a mainstream self-help book.
While the core message isn't revolutionary (focus on what truly matters), it provided a useful framework for re-examining my priorities and look and my current state of things from different perspective. Sometimes the obvious needs to be stated well to sink in.
- Don't jump on the assumption that you have ADHD. Get it diagnosed by a competent professional if you want to be sure. But even then, I feel like a lot of people get diagnosed with ADHD (or self diagnosed) while they probably don't have it (mostly in America is my impression).
Instead, it might simply be related to your personnality. I tend to be like you, and for me it is simply that finishing all the little details at the end of a project get boring and the new and grand ideas are more exciting.
Some suggestions:
Surrounding yourself with people who are good at finishing stuff can help, especially if it's on the same project.
Cycle between projects: when project A becomes boring, does project B become interesting again ?
Filter things to get the things that you're the most excited about and focus on the those instead. I found the book "Essentialism" to be particularly helpful for me in that regard. Check for patterns: what are the commonalities between the projects that you are interested in ? Try to find what really gets your excited.
Finally, this is perhaps more controversial, but I recommend looking into the 4 sides of the mind theories by C.S Joseph on YouTube: your personnality type might be ESFJ-ESFP-ENTP-ENFP, and learning to leverage your psychology instead of going against it can help. It's similar to MBTI but less.. horoscope like in my opinion. Maybe the big 5 model also has something interesting to say in that area if you're more comfortable with something less novel but more accepted within psychology. For me, learning about my strengths and weaknesses is something I found extremely useful.
Good luck!
- In order to change the behavior, first you need to grow the context and understanding of why you want to do this, what are downsides, what tropes do you want to avoid.
I recommend reading Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport and Essentialism by Greg McKeown.
First understand the problem and all the aspects of it. Then action will foolow
- Essentialism by Greg McKeown.
Changed how I think about work and makes me hyper-aware of when I or anyone I work with says that we “have” to do something. Getting into the mindset that everything I do at work is my choice has helped me feel more in control of my workday and get more done as well.
- Someone asked me how to get out from being constantly swamped. I highly recommend two books: Essentialism by Greg McKeown, and Deep work by Cal Newport. They haven't fixed all my woes but they gave me something to strive for.
- A lot of it really is just time management, minimize things that don't matter, and maintaining your mental and physical health. I am by no means part of this elite class referenced - but I am able to keep up with a demanding job, full time school, and a large family well enough.
A couple of books I can recommend on the subjects are Cal Newport's "Deep Work" and Greg McKeown's "Essentialism".
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