Something that prevents two things from coming into contact and harming each other.

Chapter 15 - Definition Of A Buffer

<ol><li>Use extreme preparation</li><li>Add 50% to your time estimate </li><li>Conduct scenario planning / risk management strategy </li></ol>

How To Create Buffers?

...often we actually know we can't do things in a given time frame, but we don't want to admit it to someone

<ol><li>Be clear about the essential intent</li><li>Identify the "Herbie"</li><li>Remove the obstacle </li></ol>"Done is better than perfect" - if your essential intent is to be done.

How To Subtract?

Everyday do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.

Chapter 17 - Progress

<ol><li>Focus on Minimal Viable Progress</li><li>Do the Minimal Viable Preparation/milestones </li><li>Visually Reward Progress</li></ol>

How To Progress?

Pursue small and simple wins in areas, instead of going for big, flashy wins that don't matter

What Does An Essentialist Do?

Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition.

Chapter 18 - Definition Of Flow

<ol><li>Overhaul your triggers</li><li>Create new triggers </li><li>Do the most difficult thing first</li><li>Mix up your routines to avoid routine fatigue</li><li>Tackle routines one by one</li></ol>A habit is made of cues, routines, and rewards.

How To Have Good Routines?

Look for the most obvious or immediate obstacles and bring forth more.

To attain knowledge add things everyday. To attain wisdom, subtract things everyday

Because a small concrete win creates momentum and affirms our faith in our further success

Design a routine that enshrines what is essential, making execution effortless by making it a default task.

The right routines can actually enhance innovation and creativity by giving us the equivalent of an energy rebate

There is a difference between losing and being beaten. Being beaten means they are better than you, losing means you lost focus.

Focus only on the play they are in right now because that's what's most important now.

Chapter 19 - Focus

focus on the present, and tune into what's important now. Enjoy the present. Chronos and Kairos (opportune/right)

Identify the "herbie" - the part of the process that is slower relative to every part of the plant.

Chapter 16 - Definition Of Subtract 

<ol><li>Figure out what's most important right now</li><li>Get the future out of your head</li><li>Prioritise</li><li>The pause that refreshes</li></ol>

How To Be In The Now?

They look ahead. They build a buffer for unexpected events, and practices extreme and early preparation.

What Would An Essentialist Do?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • More than one million copies sold! Essentialism isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done.   Featuring the new Essentialism 21-Day Challenge • “A timely, essential read for anyone who feels overcommitted, overloaded, or overworked.”—Adam Grant   Have you ever: • found yourself stretched too thin? • simultaneously felt overworked and underutilized? • felt busy but not productive? • felt 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.

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Greg McKeown is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Greg McKeown has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Greg McKeown's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

GREG MCKEOWN

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