McKeown's first book Essentialism was all about how to cut down to the essential things and focus on what really matters. Effortless is about how to make working on those essential things as effortless as possible. Specifically how to structure your work with this end in mind. As such the book is far more practical andwill have a greater impact on my approach to my work than its predecessor. Highly recommended.

The main point of this book could be described simply as: “Do not work harder, but work more effectively.”

This book came out of fruition after the author experienced burn-out following the success of his debut book, "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less". He attempted to live in his theory of essentialism, to only strive for the essentials after eliminating non-essential activities and thoughts. But it turns out even after removing the non-essentials, he still felt overwhelmed. Frankly, I think that is the real problem of most self-help books, that they tend to discount real-life problems by taking into account personalised experiences to solve larger problems that might be unique to every person depending on the context.

‘Effortless’ is a way to supplement the problems that the author could not cover in his previous book. He describes three steps to reach ‘effortlessness’, namely: Effortless State, Effortless Action, and Effortless Results. I do not know how it feels like for other readers, but to me, it feels like 80% of this book could be removed and we are still left with the ‘essentials’. At the end of each part, the author provides a summary for each step for ‘effortlessness’ that highlights the important points from each part. What comes in between are various examples, sometimes scientific, sometimes taken from other books, and sometimes could also be taken out of context to fit the narrative.

I personally think that many facts described in this book are things that we already know, and even most of the things described are common sense that I have been practising for quite a while (for example, the way we use technology to automate several processes to make our daily life easier). While I appreciate the way Greg McKeown draws many of his examples from various types of literature and fields, I hardly see anything new offered in this book. Perhaps I will forget I have ever read this book sooner or later.

Well written with lots of practical advice. The ideas encouraged me to think about my habits and where I might be able to make changes. Definitely worth a read.

Full disclosure; I did not finish this book. This is not a reflection on the book. It was written well in an easy, engaging style. Ironically the subject it tackled – namely how to prioritise what you need to do in order to make you life run more smoothly (ok there are more bells and whistles than that but essentially that’s what it’s talking about) – was one I had already more or less mastered in my own life. It didn’t add anything new for me personally and I did not receive any value from having what I already knew worked confirmed by the book. Basically, this book was for me circa twelve years ago not me now. No slur on McKeown’s work and I am certain that people who feel they are drowning in tasks and need to learn this skillset will benefit immensely. I just wasn’t the target audience.

Probably not entirely aimed at me... but informative and simple to read. Confirming that I do a lot of these things already!

Will be offering my teenage daughter some tips and patting myself on the back for always trying to keep my life simple!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I liked the principle of the book, that we should try to rearrange our lives so that it is easier to manage what the do with less effort and more output, rather than responding with ever-increasing amounts of time to get things done.

I also like the principle of inverting the demands to find a new way round things, although is likely the hardest part to master and could do with a whole book of practical tips on its own.

This book has been such a game changer for me! I’m on a bit of a path of self discovery and in particular trying to reduce general anxiety and this has helped me immensely. I love how you can pick up the book and read small chunks, go away and put what you’ve learnt into practice. It’s a book I’ll be re-reading if I feel my anxiety increasing again. Simply wonderful, easy to understand advice. Thank you for the chance to read and review this brilliant book,

I can see how this might help someone to turn mundane tasks into something more enjoyable, but I personally found it way too simplistic.
It all boils down to advice such as if you find washing up a torture, put some music on and enjoy it. 
I would find it helpful as a teenager maybe, but not now.
So the author and his wife used to skip budgeting nights because it was such a horrible task, but now they're enjoying it because they treat themselves to chocolate covered almonds and get to listen to the same song again and again.
It sounds to me like you're purely irresponsible and not mature at all. So how am I supposed to learn from you?! Most probably by not being like you.
So this one is a "NO" for me...

Absolutely brilliant book and so timely. This is exactly what I needed to hear and I now have a note above my desk saying 'what if this could be easy?'

Clearly written and laid out with so much wisdom. In some ways it's nothing new, but it highlights how we labour under the misconception that, to achieve something, we have to struggle and sacrifice to get it when, in fact, the opposite is true.

Now excuse me while I go and read it again!

I found this book to be highly engaging, intelligent, and very ‘readable’. Usually with non-fiction, I often stop-start but the author’s style and story-telling kept me coming back - in fact, I was disappointed when I finished it! However, when I did I immediately bought the author’s other book Essentialism which was excellent too.

The tagline for this book is “Make it easier to do what matters most”, and I am all for that sentiment! I haven’t read Greg McKeown’s previous book, Essentialism, but while that was about doing the right things (rather than trying to do more), this is about asking if those things can be done with less stress and/or effort.

It’s split into three parts: Effortless State, Effortless Action, and Effortless Results. The first asks you to look again at the things that you’re doing – one assumes, I suppose, that you’ve read this first book so these are the essential things that do need done! Then question, can it be made easier, can it even be fun? Or, sure, another round of ‘do I even need/want this at all’? Overall, this section is about improving focus.

We then move on to action. Once you’ve pondered your tasks, you do still have to get on with them. Can this be made easier? This section was the real ‘meat’ for me, I really resonated with the breakdown of various ways to in effect tackle procrastination: decide in advance what ‘done’ looks like – there’s no need to give 110% to everything – and then if you’re stuck find a tiny first action. Also the whole ‘give yourself permission to be rubbish’, especially while learning – progress is far more important than perfectionism. The final chapter in this section is titled, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”, which is a pretty good slogan.

The final section on results considered the concept of linear versus residual efforts. In other words, what can you do – maybe with a bit of extra effort up front – that will have returns beyond this one time? Some of this felt a little ‘yeah, but..’ to me – I think it’s quite a privileged position to be able to set things up like this – but yeah, as a goal it’s a good way of looking at things. I also really wanted to send the bit about teams and trust around my work, it was fantastically well summarised!

A few minor ‘hmms’ aside, I really liked most of the advice given here AND the way it was given. The tone is very friendly and non-condescending, but with exactly the right amount of confidence.

Overall, then, I really liked this book and the mainly very common sense advice it contained. I’ll be reading it again, which is the mark of a good non-fiction for me: means it held knowledge I really want to absorb! I’m also going to pick up a copy of Essentialism soon, too.

Wow. This is an absolutely inspiring read full of hope and possibility. Imagine what life would feel like if everything we did – all our essential endeavours – were effortless.
Well Greg McKeown shows us how this is absolutely possible in his new book, Effortless. In it we learn how to choose the lighter road – the road (sadly, for us) lesser travelled. We are too quick to believe that work and progress requires the hard slog, that anything worthwhile will inevitably be difficult – we even wear our struggles as a badge of honour.
McKeown proposes a way to escape this and in doing so live a more enjoyable, productive and rewarding life.
I haven’t read Mckeown’s previous work on Essentialism, but I plan to skip my lighter path right to his website after I’ve written this review, so I can find out more about that too. Effortless is an extension of his thinking about ’Essential Living’ but it works perfectly well alone too. This book really spoke to me and utterly makes sense.
Even reading it felt effortless – I was totally engaged in Mckeown’s conversational style and really fascinated by its content. It takes lots of ideas, some that I have heard of, know well or seem familiar, and pulls them together with new clarity.
For example, the effortless state he writes about reminds me of the idea of ‘flow’ in play theory - the sense of getting into the zone where anything is possible, everything feels easy. It’s not necessarily new thinking but what I like about this book is that it applies this thinking in new ways, giving hands-on insight into how this ‘state’ might be translated beyond sport or play or talent (where we see it often) and into the day to day.
How can it help us get around to the household tasks we put off, add enjoyment to the mundane or increase productivity in our working lives? And, most importantly, how do we achieve it? How can we make these things feel more effortless? It suggests ways to successfully find the reward in the task - or add one - like listening to your favourite podcast as you exercise and much, much more. It’s an extensive exploration that I don’t want to oversimplify. It is in fact, three stages full of anecdotes and suggestions.
It was invigorating to start thinking how I could apply this and I began to implement some of the learning in my day to day. Again, it doesn’t feel like it’s entirely new to me - but it has clarity in its purpose and lots of practical suggestions.
What is probably most helpful in the book – and in keeping with the effortless journey – is how McKeown summarises the key learning at the end of each section pulling all the anecdotes, actions and good advice into a clear understanding that you can easily begin to implement in your life.
I powered through the book for the purposes of the ARC review, but I will go back and spend a little more time with it now. It’s one of those texts where you can read a section and then actively begin to implement the learning in your life before moving on to the next section. Section three could even be saved for a point where you have tried out all the learning and had chance to start feeling the change.
I’ve definitely felt the shift in my mindset and how I approach my work and play and I’m eager to try more!
I – 100% – recommend this fantastic book. It feels like there are lots of take away opportunities for everyone, from mothers/parents just taking steps back to working life (like me), to those at the top of their game. Anyone who needs to find a positive work/ play balance and who wants to enrich their life a little.

The book is really suitable for people on the way to burn-out or already there. It addresses mainly workplace situations - trust in teams, not pulling all-nighters, being organised, etc. - although it does cover household tasks, too (make things fun by ironing while listening to podcasts!). So it probably wasn't massively aimed at me but I can see it confirms stuff I've done in my own life and business, and would be really useful for a burning-out exec.

The powerful Conclusion does make you think and he draws a lot of examples. I also like how he thanks his editor.

As a chronic over-achiever this book immediately struck a chord with me. Clearly articulated anecdotes and the erudite collation of a range of sources helped me to see that continually trying to work harder isn't the only, or indeed best, way to achieve my goals. The explanations are clear, well researched, and include links to a number of reference publications. The advice is practical and customisable, providing the skills needed to build an individual road map to achieve any goal in the most efficient way.

This is my first book by this author but I would be interested to read more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, it was mt first read by this author and I will be picking up more of his books.
Do you want an effortless life? Go ahead and read this.
Live life to the full, work is not everything. I am definitely taking away a lot of advise and tips from this book.

Is there a goal you want to make progress on, if only you had the energy? Do you assume that anything worth doing must take tremendous effort? Have you ever abandoned a hard but important activity for an easy but trivial one? Are you often overwhelmed by the complexity that's expanding everywhere? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you might be making life much harder for yourself than it needs to be.

This book stands alone on its own merit away from the author's previous work--you don't have to have read his first book to be able to shift your thought patterns or take action on the many pieces of advice he shares in this new book. I highly recommend it.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I’ve had Essentialism on my to-read shelf for almost two years, and after reading Effortless, I’ll definitely be pushing it towards the front of the queue. The premise of Effortless can be summed up in two sayings, “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast”, and, “Work smart, not hard”. Most of the lessons would be taught on any introductory project management course (i.e. define what “Done” looks like), but the writing is smooth and there is a charm to his anecdotes that make it an easy read. I received copies of both the digital and audio versions, and I did find sometimes that his narration, when trying to convey sincerity, did come across in an irritating pleading tone. Because of the checklists and footnotes, I suspect I’ll be returning to the digital version more than the audio.

A good, fun read, a solid 4*.

I was interested in this book, hence why I requested it, and it didn't disappoint. I haven't read the author's earlier book, but this is a very thought-provoking read, with a lot of helpful ideas. It is also refreshingly short! I'm not sure how many of the author's suggestions I will actually put into practice, but there is definitely food for thought.

Live life to the full. The work ethos isn't everything. This amazing insight into our lives implores us to take

opportunities but not at the expense of missing out with family and friends, Treasure relationships by cutting

back.. Simplify your way to success, Read secrets to a less demanding way to succeed A great eye-opener!

Effortless by Greg McKeown

In essence this book is about how to make the tasks that matter the most become effortless. It's a very persuasive argument and backed up by lots of explanations and examples which really make the theory come to life. I read it on my Kindle but would actually prefer the physical book so that I could keep flicking back and to between chapters and revisiting parts of it, bookmark pertinent bits etc. Highly recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.