Quotes About Essentialism

I did not then understand that we—the women of that academic community—as in so many middle-class communities of the period—were expected to fill both the part of the Victorian Lady of Leisure, the Angel in the House, and also of the Victorian cook, scullery maid, laundress, governess, and nurse. I only sensed that there were false distractions sucking at me, and I wanted desperately to strip my life down to what was essential. June

I usually carry my wallet, phone, Chapstick, and a snack at all times.

The best designers and the best programmers aren't the ones with the best skills, or the nimblest fingers, or the ones who can rock and roll with Photoshop or their environment of choice, they are the ones that can determine what just doesn't matter. That's where the real gains are made.

Which features you choose to include or omit have a lot to do with less software too. Don't be afraid to say no to feature requests that are hard to do. Unless they're absolutely essential, save time/effort/confusion by leaving them out. Slow down too. Don't take action on an idea for a week and see if it still seems like a great idea after the initial buzz wears off. The extra marinading time will often help your brain come up with an easier solution.

If we did realize the difference between the vital few and the trivial many in all aspects of our lives and if we did something about it, we could multiply anything that we valued.

Do people absolutely need the arts to get by day-to-day? You can make that claim, but they also really need a lot of things before that.

People see essentialism embedded in bloodlines—i.e., genes.

There's a movement for simplifying your life: purchase less stuff, own a few things that are very high quality that last a long time, and that are multifunctional.

There's never any cumulative value to all the things we do instead of the things we know are truly important. What

Learning to say no to the non-essentials will give you more time to devote to the things that have the power to truly improve the way you live and help you leave the legacy you know in your heart you are destined to leave.

Learning to say no to the non-essentials will give you more time to devote to the things that have the power to truly improve the way you live and help

Philip K. Dick died and now we only need what is strictly necessary.

It's not always that we need to do more but rather that we need to focus on less.

Most of what we say and do is not necessary, and its omission would save both time and trouble. At every step, therefore, a man should ask himself, 'Is this one of the things that are superfluous?' Moreover, not idle actions only but even idle impressions ought to be suppressed; for the unnecessary action will not ensue.

on every occasion a man should ask himself, Is this one of the unnecessary things?

Secret to productivity is not finding more time to do more stuff, but finding the strength to do less of the stuff that doesnt need doing.

He regarded meals as a waste of time and ate because his body required it; that was all.

No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary.

Only that thing is free which exists by the necessities of its own nature, and is determined in its actions by itself alone.

I want to convince you that humans are, to some extent, natural born essentialists. What I mean by this is we don't just respond to things as we see them or feel them or hear them. Rather, our response is conditioned on our beliefs, about what they really are, what they came from, what they're made of, what their hidden nature is.

Only the superfluous is sordid

Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, was once asked his secret of success. He replied, "Simple. I just say no to everything that is not absolutely vital to me at the moment.

The way to get the most out of your work and your life is to go as small as possible.

Once you've figured out what actually matters, keep asking what matters most until there is only one thing left. That core activity goes at the top of your success list.