#STATE OF EFFORTLESS HOW TO#

What would it take for you to do better work (not more work or longer work)?Įffortless action is the more concrete next step of taking action with clarity, purpose, and focus and avoiding procrastination, overthinking, and perfectionism.

When you focus on what you have, you get what you lack.” As McKeown says, “When you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have.

Find meaning, purpose, joy, and even play in your work.

Getting to this state, so you can be at your best, requires the emotional intelligence skill of self-management. If we are reactive, upset, tired, sick, or distracted then effortless action and results are difficult. In this state we are centered, clear, energized, and can be in flow. Effortless StateĮffortless state is a state of physical, mental, and emotional groundedness. I’ll focus on the lessons from the section of the book on effortless state and effortless action, which were most helpful for me.

#STATE OF EFFORTLESS HOW TO#

Effortless explores how to do this beginning with an effortless state, then taking effortless action, to get effortless results. adrienne maree brown calls for “less preparation, more presence” has been helping me show up better for others rather than focusing on me and all my hard work. Taking a little bit of time, getting some perspective, and really considering what needs to be done and how can save us significant time. What are the things that we make into a much bigger deal than they need to be? How do we avoid this? What is the simplest possible structure or solution to our problems? It is amazing how the “shoulds” can get us.

I often share the story of the 22 Hour Pinata from Allison Vaillancourt in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Once you have practiced essentialism (something I think about every single day), then McKeown encourages us to think about how we can pursue the most essential things in life in a way that is more effortless. McKeown reminds us that “If you don’t prioritize your own life, someone else will.” I love the powerful questions, “How can you do less, so you can be more?” Another useful metaphor is weeding the garden of your life. It is hard to understand Effortless without the context of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. I still catch myself and am working on my own unlearning. This mentally taught me that anything noble, meaningful, or valuable must be hard and anything easy wasn’t noble, meaningful, or valuable. These messages came from folks whose work was physically demanding and often had to be done early in the morning, in the bitter cold, and in the mess. I also learned that if you are not suffering or miserable then it wasn’t real work. I certainly learned about hard work, gratitude, and resourcefulness. Even when your class status changes, class values often remain, for better and for worse. Socialization and Class-Based Messages About Work Effortless challenges the notion that the most important things must be miserable, hard work, and take a long time and explores ways to make the most essential things in life more effortless. Blog, Coaching, Leadership, Positive PsychologyĮffortless is the follow-up from author Greg McKeown to his first book Essentialism, my most recommended book for coaching clients, consulting clients, and friends and family.

State of effortless