More, more, more. We’re working longer hours, receiving more information, and are more connected to each other than ever before. So where’s the increase in our happiness, productivity, and satisfaction? Leo Babauta was asking himself that very question in the not so distant past, before he quit his job and created one of the most well-known blogs on the internet. His answer to the problem of more was to simplify and to harness the power of less.

Babauta’s book “The Power of Less” will be appreciated not just by fans of his popular productivity blog, Zen Habits, but by anyone wanting to cut through the clutter of demands piling up from work, home, and unwanted obligations. Not a rigid productivity system, “Less” gives concise, no-nonsense advice that works—by teaching us how to limit ourselves.

The Art of Setting Limits

Many of us want everything, and we’re constantly pushing ourselves to the higher limit. We’re not trying to find out how to do less in our day, but more. Babauta is quick to point out that limits give us power. Instead of focusing on how to do more, we should just focus: Lack of focus means our attentions are divided and we end up dabbling in too many things while achieving nothing significant and satisfying. Taking his own advice, Babauta focuses on six short principals that show readers a realistic approach for simplifying their lives, one small step at a time.

Start Small

The last of his six major principles, starting small is one of the most powerful messages of the book. Much too often, when we think about wanting to improve our productivity or cutting out the stressful elements in our lives, we go about it too big. Our goals and expectations are unrealistic, and the habits don’t stick. Eventually, we regress to our normal state, and then try something new. The cycle perpetuates.

“Less” encourages readers not to be radical, but realistic. Radical changes may work for some, but for most people, making a long-term habit is a slow process—and we all have problems with task management and completing our long term goals.

Many of these problems can be solved with simple focus, as Babauta points out. He encourages readers in methods that are truly effective, such as what he calls “The One Goal” (selecting one and only one major goal that we consider important and focusing on it intensively to get it completed), and selecting MITs (the three Most Important Tasks we want to complete on each given day).

The Essentials

Healthy routines, completed goals, and positive habits all add to our happiness and overall well-being. Babauta maintains that we can have these things, we just can’t have them instantly, and all at once. Whether we want to quit smoking, write a book, get in shape, or spend more time with our families depends on our ability to honestly look at our lives and cut out the things that are just contributing to the more—but not contributing to our satisfaction. “The Power of Less” is a helpful, well-written tool for readers who want no-nonsense advice on how to get happier and simpler by trading more for less.

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