Greg McKeown

But I'm like, if I hadn't defined it, there's no way I would have made any progress. Like we react. to either complete trivia, the trivial many, or maybe to important things, or maybe to urgent things. But the essential, the most important thing, the most important relationship, that is never the thing that happens first, unless you make it so.

So that's one reason that I think living reactively is suboptimal.

So that's one reason that I think living reactively is suboptimal.

So that's one reason that I think living reactively is suboptimal.

No, no, no. I'll say it further, and this would come close to another law. In essentialism, I call it the 90% rule. The 90% rule says, focus only on those things that are 90% or above important. That is, if it's not a clear yes, it becomes a clear no. So that's like an extreme rule to try and help us escape the tendency to do just the good stuff or the middle stuff is be more selective.

No, no, no. I'll say it further, and this would come close to another law. In essentialism, I call it the 90% rule. The 90% rule says, focus only on those things that are 90% or above important. That is, if it's not a clear yes, it becomes a clear no. So that's like an extreme rule to try and help us escape the tendency to do just the good stuff or the middle stuff is be more selective.

No, no, no. I'll say it further, and this would come close to another law. In essentialism, I call it the 90% rule. The 90% rule says, focus only on those things that are 90% or above important. That is, if it's not a clear yes, it becomes a clear no. So that's like an extreme rule to try and help us escape the tendency to do just the good stuff or the middle stuff is be more selective.

But over the last 10 years, something I have come to observe and believe is that we have only enough time left to do the 90% and above. And that's the tougher aha, because you say, oh, every time I'm doing something that's just good or completely trivial, I am making a trade-off I would probably not make if they were really placed in front of me as choices.

But over the last 10 years, something I have come to observe and believe is that we have only enough time left to do the 90% and above. And that's the tougher aha, because you say, oh, every time I'm doing something that's just good or completely trivial, I am making a trade-off I would probably not make if they were really placed in front of me as choices.

But over the last 10 years, something I have come to observe and believe is that we have only enough time left to do the 90% and above. And that's the tougher aha, because you say, oh, every time I'm doing something that's just good or completely trivial, I am making a trade-off I would probably not make if they were really placed in front of me as choices.

I mean, nobody on their deathbed says, oh, I just should have spent a bit more time scrolling on Instagram. That's what I wish I'd done. It's obvious. But this is the nature, I think, of the noise and the deafening nature of it is that we don't hear the signal in the noise.

I mean, nobody on their deathbed says, oh, I just should have spent a bit more time scrolling on Instagram. That's what I wish I'd done. It's obvious. But this is the nature, I think, of the noise and the deafening nature of it is that we don't hear the signal in the noise.

I mean, nobody on their deathbed says, oh, I just should have spent a bit more time scrolling on Instagram. That's what I wish I'd done. It's obvious. But this is the nature, I think, of the noise and the deafening nature of it is that we don't hear the signal in the noise.

And so everything starts to seem equally important where the reality is always, always that a very few things are, I mean, like something like this, infinitesimally important. small things, but infinitely important. And that's in every human system, in every set of data, in every set of tasks, there is something that is so much more important than everything else.

And so everything starts to seem equally important where the reality is always, always that a very few things are, I mean, like something like this, infinitesimally important. small things, but infinitely important. And that's in every human system, in every set of data, in every set of tasks, there is something that is so much more important than everything else.

And so everything starts to seem equally important where the reality is always, always that a very few things are, I mean, like something like this, infinitesimally important. small things, but infinitely important. And that's in every human system, in every set of data, in every set of tasks, there is something that is so much more important than everything else.

But you have to really work to get to it. It's a little like thinking that a lot of the productivity language and focus has been around, how do you do more? How can you be more efficient? And so on. And fine, okay, I don't think about what I do is like that. But

But you have to really work to get to it. It's a little like thinking that a lot of the productivity language and focus has been around, how do you do more? How can you be more efficient? And so on. And fine, okay, I don't think about what I do is like that. But

But you have to really work to get to it. It's a little like thinking that a lot of the productivity language and focus has been around, how do you do more? How can you be more efficient? And so on. And fine, okay, I don't think about what I do is like that. But

that's more like thinking you're in a coal mine your whole life and then waking up one morning and going, oh, I've never have been in a coal mine. It's always been a diamond mine. Well, how would that shift all of your behavior? I have to operate differently now.