Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

I am a firm believer in reading for personal and professional development. Books can open your mind to countless possibilities and ideas that can promote great skill and wellbeing in your life. Each month, I plan on sharing at least one book that I believe can have a big impact on your life as a property manager and make it more stress-free.

I just finished Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. It is going to take some work for me to become an Essentialist. I felt personally attacked by his closet metaphor, as my closet is on the polar opposite end of the spectrum compared to the pristine goal Greg painted for us.

“The way of the Essentialist means living by design, not by default. Instead of making choices reactively, the Essentialist deliberately distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many, eliminates the nonessentials, and then removes obstacles so the essential things have clear, smooth passage.” It is a discipline that you apply each and every time you are faced with a decision.

Part One: Essence

Part one of the book explores the essence of an essentialist, answering the question of what is the core mindset of an essentialist. This first part focuses on the power of choice, discerning the unimportance of practically everything, and trade-offs—which problem do I want?

Did you know the word priority came into the English language in the 1400s? “It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities.” Think about what your life would look like if you started using the word priority in its original context—where you just focus on one priority at a time and everything else would follow. What would your priority be?

Remember that choices aren’t things. They are actions. “Options (things) can be taken away, while our core ability to choose (free will) cannot be.” It’s so important to remember that we may not be in control of our options, but we are in control of our choices. This is one of the most fundamental principles of essentialism. Keep in mind that saying yes to any opportunity requires saying no to several others.

Part Two: Explore

Part two is about exploring. How can we discern the trivial many from the vital few? This part focuses on the perks of being unavailable, looking around and seeing what really matters, embracing the wisdom of your inner child through play, the vital importance of sleep because it protects the asset—YOU!—and the power of extremely selective criteria.

Part Three: Eliminate

Part three is about elimination. How can we cut out the trivial many? It discusses clarifying your decision-making, daring to say no, uncommitting and winning by citing your losses, the art of editing, and the freedom of setting boundaries.

Part Four: Execute

The book ends with part four, execution. How can we make doing the vital few things almost effortless? Topics include how buffers give an advantage, bringing forth more by removing obstacles, celebrating small wins, the power and genius of routine, focusing on what’s important now, and living the essential life.

Key Takeaways for Property Management:

1. Protect the Asset: Remember, you are the asset, and you must protect it at all costs. This means making sleep a priority in your life. “By ‘protecting their asset,’ they are able to go about their daily lives with a reserve of energy, creativity, and problem-solving ability to call upon when needed.” You cannot successfully manage your property if you aren’t protecting the asset. Countless research studies have shown that a good night’s sleep makes us more productive. The more productive we can be, the less stressed we will be down the line.

2. Learn to Say No: If you struggle with saying “no,” you are probably overwhelmed and stressed most of the time keeping everyone happy. McKeown teaches us to say no gracefully by introducing “The ‘No’ Repertoire” and gives eight responses that can help you say no: The awkward pause, The soft “no” (or the “no but”), “Let me check my calendar and get back to you,” use email bouncebacks, Say, “Yes, what should I deprioritize?”, Say it with humor, Use the words, “You are welcome to x, I am willing to y,” and “I can’t do it, but X might be interested.”

3. Set Boundaries: Boundaries are your key to freedom. If you don’t set boundaries on your property (and in your life), there either won’t be any boundaries, or there will be ones set by default, by another person, without your wellbeing in mind. Boundaries protect your time and energy. Whether you have to put boundaries on when residents can come into your office to chat or call the emergency number when it’s not an emergency, having boundaries in place will protect your peace of mind. “When people make their problems our problem, we aren’t helping them, we are enabling them. Once we take their problem for them, all we’re doing is taking away their ability to solve it.”

4. Avoid Planning Fallacy: This was coined in 1979 by Daniel Kahneman and it refers to people’s tendency to underestimate how long a task will take, even when they have actually done the task before. How long does it take you to do a move-in? A recertification? Are you being honest and realistic with your answer, or are you falling into planning fallacy? Best practice is to add 50% of the time you think it will take you to do something. If you think it’s going to take you an hour to process a move-in, add 30 more minutes and block off an hour and a half to complete it. By allowing yourself more time to complete tasks, you will find that you are able to complete them in the allotted time and be less stressed because they are done and you are not scrambling to fit them into your already overpacked schedule.

5. Celebrate Small Wins: Property management isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, so we have to celebrate the small wins to keep from throwing in the towel some days. “Research has shown that of all forms of human motivation, the most effective one is progress. Why? Because a small, concrete win creates momentum and affirms our faith in further success.” Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer found in their research that “everyday progress—even a small win—can make all the difference in how people feel and perform. Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.” So another key to stress-free property management is to celebrate the small wins and find meaning in those small steps of progress. Slow progress is still progress!

6. Focus on What’s Important Now (WIN): In times of stress and overwhelm, it is important to ask yourself this question: What’s important now? Don’t worry about what will be most important in an hour or tomorrow, but focus on what is important NOW, in this very moment. “When faced with so many tasks and obligations that you can’t figure out which to tackle first, stop. Take a deep breath. Get present in the moment and ask yourself what is most important this very second—not what’s most important tomorrow or even an hour from now. If you’re not sure, make a list of everything vying for your attention and cross off anything that is not important right now.”

I believe that these six key takeaways can help you implement a more stress-free approach to property management and hopefully inspire you to read the book by Greg McKeown. It could truly revolutionize your approach to life.

McKeown, G. (2014). Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. Currency.