I recently reread Essentialism by Greg McKeown in preparation for his new book release. For this read-through, I focused on discovering where I can improve in being an essentialist. I have greatly benefited from auditing my life and determining which aspects are non-essential and need to be eliminated.

The events of the last year have forced me to slow down and determine what is essential or, as highlighted in the book, what is most important right now.As I read, I wrote down my thoughts.

Here is a summary:

• What can I cut out from my life or schedule?

• Start to schedule blank space into my calendar in addition to thinking time. I have become so religious about time blocking and programming my day that I don't leave any time for creativity or spontaneity.

• Dedicate a clarity break to this question: Where are three areas I would like to improve in my life/family right now?

• Dedicate a clarity break to this question: What is getting in the way of me achieving what is essential?

This book has inspired me to work on changing my mindset. Lee Brower continually reiterates the importance of changing "I have to" to "I get to." The essentialist approach takes it one step further to "I choose to." I have the amazing gift of agency and sometimes forget that for ALL my waking hours, how I use my time is my choice. Moving forward I want to use "I choose to."

I also have began to create a list of boundaries for the year, as outlined in Chapter 14 of Essentialism. I ended up deleting the LinkedIn app from my phone. In the two weeks since I've done that, I estimate I've saved about four hours of time. Embarrassing but true.

From my read-through, I have also been pondering the quote, "The way of the essentialist is to tune into the present." One of my five strengths from the Clifton StrengthsFinder is Futuristic, so I have a hard time being in the present. In many aspects, my forward-thinking can be a blessing, but in other ways, it can be a curse. I am currently motivated to strive to live in the present, enjoy the journey and focus on what is most important right now.

Essentialism remains on my top 5 list of most impactful books of all time, and I'm grateful for the insights I gained through my latest read-through.