Effortless

Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most

By: Greg McKeown

Narrated by: Greg McKeown

New York Times Best Seller

A Times (UK) Best Book of the Year

From the author of the million-copy-selling Essentialism comes an empowering guide to achieving your goals. It all starts with a simple principle: Not everything has to be so hard.

"In a world beset by burnout, Greg McKeown’s work is essential." (Daniel H. Pink, author of When, Drive, and To Sell Is Human)

"At a time when fear, uncertainty, and our ever-growing list of responsibilities have come to feel like much too much to handle, Effortless couldn’t be timelier, or more necessary." (Eve Rodsky, author of Fair Play)

Do you ever feel like:

• You’re teetering right on the edge of burnout?
• You want to make a higher contribution, but lack the energy?
• You’re running faster but not moving closer to your goals?
• Everything is so much harder than it used to be?

As high achievers, we’ve been conditioned to believe that the path to success is paved with relentless work. That if we want to overachieve, we have to overexert, overthink, and overdo. That if we aren’t perpetually exhausted, we’re not doing enough.

But lately, working hard is more exhausting than ever. And the more depleted we get, the more effort it takes to make progress. Stuck in an endless loop of “Zoom, eat, sleep, repeat”, we’re often working twice as hard to achieve half as much.

Getting ahead doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it. No matter what challenges or obstacles we face, there is a better way: Instead of pushing ourselves harder, we can find an easier path.

Effortless offers actionable advice for making the most essential activities the easiest ones, so you can achieve the results you want, without burning out.

Effortless teaches you how to:

• Turn tedious tasks into enjoyable rituals
• Prevent frustration by solving problems before they arise
• Set a sustainable pace instead of powering through
• Make one-time choices that eliminate many future decisions
• Simplify your processes by removing unnecessary steps
• Make relationships easier to maintain and manage
• And much more

The effortless way isn't the lazy way. It's the smart way. It may even be the only way.

Not every hard thing in life can be made easy. But we can make it easier to do more of what matters most.

©2021 Greg McKeown (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“An empowering guide to achieving your goals without wrecking your health, your sanity, or your relationships.” (Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes)

“Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most...gives us the much-needed permission to take the path of least resistance.... In a society that expects hard work, but then rewards hard work with more hard work.... Effortless is profound in its simplicity.” (Vice)

“Based on behavioral economics, philosophy, physics, and neuroscience, in his new book, Effortless, Greg McKeown unveils tips to working smarter, not harder. They are simple yet brilliant strategies, and therefore easy to apply.” (Ruth Gotian, PhD, Forbes)

put it on your list!

a perfect pair to essentialism! loved how summaries were given at three points making it effortless to remember the key points. implemented a few of these key points already while listening to it ❤️

Wow! Such an insightful book!

Read this book until the end!
It's full of gems and insights, and with Greg's personal story at the end.
The ideas in this book may not be new, but Greg organizes and collects them with special additions.
Very much recommended, and astounding narration.

A blueprint for an effortless life

The book is exactly what it teaches; effortless. It is an effortless listen! I don’t have to fear myself up for it. I listened to the whole thing in 2 days and I have been rewinding specific chapter ever since in order to apply them to my life. McKeown understands me. I’m a school teacher with two children under 5. I’m always in need of ways to simplify my life. His book is very simple and practical with knowledge I have been able to instantly apply. Thank you for your effortless efforts in writing this book!

Unexpected tears and healing from a “business” book!

I have no words. But I’ll try. I read at least 2 to 3 books a week. So Effortless was simply the next in line that sparked my interest. I am overwhelmed by the message which continues to the very last sentence of the acknowledgements. Thank you Effortless Team. Thank you.

Favorite and no disappointment book writer

Short, sweet and strait to the point. Got three hours to spare? Pick this one. I recommend it.

Simplemente increíble

Pensé que no iba a encontrar algo mejor que Essentialism, pero me ha encantado.

100% recomendable

What a profound impact book Content

It’s so nice when a author is profoundly committed to deliver and help others, certainly I will be going back-and-forth listening to this book. Thank you very much.

Helpful and easy to understand. Now to apply...

If you've read Tiny Habits or Atomic Habits then some of these concepts will be familiar, but I enjoyed the new context and additional examples.

Also, I enjoy how he summarizes things for you. It brings back the key points and emphasizes them, which really helps me with the audio especially because I am usually listening while doing something else and can't take notes.

Terrific and effective. Well written. Well read.

A wonderful work woven with wisdom. Whether you’re working through a tough problem, stuck in a rut, or feeling like Sisyphus and his rock, this book is surely to help. Effortless distills it’s principles efficiently and provides examples of how they can change how you work and live. Be ready to turn your daily slog into feeling like you’re pushing a cart downhill.

Great Resource for Streamlining Life

This book provides simple steps to eliminate the hurry and stress from life while achieving success.