This is the best book I have read so far this year, and it's going to be difficult (if not impossible!) to top. I've read so many books and articles with "life hacks I need" or "the best morning routine for everyone", and none of those suggestions have worked. Now that I've read this book, I see why: the systems that work for someone else's life and priorities aren't always going to work for mine.
Kendra Adachi's tagline in her blog, podcast, and now book, is to be "a genius about the things that matter, and lazy about the things that don't," and this book helps you do exactly that. After you identify what matters to you, Kendra guides you to craft an approach to your life that supports what matters and doesn't waste time and effort focusing on what doesn't. Instead of telling you to do life the way she does, in this book Kendra gives you thirteen principles to help you create your own systems that reflect what matters to <i>you</i>. Some of these principles might seem fairly straightforward (like "start small"); others are going to change your life ("go in the right order" has made me feel so much more relaxed about my to-do list while still getting a lot more done).
Each principle is explained in Kendra's funny, insightful style, which listeners of her podcast (The Lazy Genius Podcast) have come to love. She gives plenty of specific examples of how one might apply the principles, but what makes this book so brilliant is that, ultimately, YOU are in the driver's seat. Once you understand the thirteen principles, you can apply them to your own challenges and circumstances and create an approach to life that supports what matters to you. Kendra never made me feel like I was doomed to fail if I didn't get up at 5 o'clock in the morning, follow a seven-step daily routine, and follow a strict, robotic schedule. Instead, she has kindly encouraged me to identify what matters and has given me a toolkit so I can create my own systems, routines, and strategies that work for my unique personality, situation, and priorities.
I genuinely believe this book will work for everyone. It's the only book I've ever read that gives strategies actionable enough to start using right away but flexible enough to handle changing life seasons, stressful circumstances, or even the energy fluctuations that interfere with so many of our attempts at productivity and intentionality (hello, 2020). So far, this book has encouraged me that I don't need to get up any earlier to have a successful morning routine, nor do I need to resign myself to chaos if I abandon perfectionism. Instead, Kendra has given me thirteen principles with which to craft a to-do list that focuses on what matters, pull myself out of slumps when 2020 wedding planning inevitably overwhelms me, and keep my home reasonably tidy without feeling like I'm spending all day doing something that, frankly, is low on my priority list during this season. This book is, without exaggeration, the one tool I need to get myself through the rest of 2020 intact, sane, and thriving. 100% recommend.
The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done
4.7 | 4,059 ratings
Price: 13.78
Last update: 02-25-2025
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