The Power of Doing Less: Why Time Management Courses Don't Work And How To Spend Your Precious Life On The Things That Really Matter

by Fergus O'Connell

A bright, subversive self-help book that asks a lot of interesting questions about life and work and provides even more interesting answers.

Remember the good old days of leisure time and guaranteed pension benefits--when working a nine-to-five job meant working from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with an hour lunch break? For those of us old enough to have lived in those halcyon days, the days before work burnout, sixty-plus hour work weeks and chronic fears of having our jobs outsourced, it all seems like a distant dream. What if you could recapture the feeling of control, ease and security of those days, and again become your own man or woman? Well, you can, and this book shows you how.
Covers overload and burn out, maintaining work/life balance, the philosophy of action, decision making, work-sharing and the social implications of toiling 'til you drop
Makes a powerful case that learning when and how to say no is the life skill you need the most in life
Packed with practical tips on how to get more from less, manage your time better and separate the work that works from the work that hurts
Full of entertaining quotes, revolutionary ideas, fun illustrations and disturbing statistics that will have you questioning the status quo in new ways

Genres: Self Help, Business

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2013

About the author

My mum read Treasure Island to me when I was four and I think that was when I decided to become a writer.

I used to think I’d like to spend all my time writing, but spending all day alone in a room with your imaginary friends isn’t necessarily the healthiest way to pass the time. (It’s easy to see why so many great writers’ best friend has been the whisky bottle!) So I also write books and teach and speak on project management. I’ve written sixteen non-fiction books and had seven novels published. My most recent, The Paradise Ghetto is now in development based on my own screenplay.

I’ve been shortlisted for prizes – the Kerry Ingredients Irish Fiction Prize for my first novel, Call The Swallow; in non-fiction, for my book on common sense, Simply Brilliant which was runner-up in the W H Smith Book Awards. My books have been translated into twenty-five languages.

So far, all my novels have been set during wartime but I don’t think of myself as a war novelist. I write about people caught up in great events and how they try to find love in the most difficult of circumstances.

I’m widowed, have two grown-up children and have lived in lots of places. Currently I’m living in England but that could be about to change.

Reviews

[Nik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m a bit disappointed as this didn’t seem to go anywhere beyond ‘say no to stuff’. Very work-centric & aimed mainly at office workers I would say.

[Michele Harrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the very fact that we live In a time where we are all so busy we find it hard to even get the time to read a book, that makes this one so imperative. We've all done it - gone to the time management courses, read all the books on 'being organised', yet again and again, we come back to having way too much to do, and so little time to do it. And we prioritise all the wrong things. This book was actually a little bit like a kick in the teeth for me. I don't really like getting those too often. But every now and then I have to face up to the fact that this one was deserved. So while my teeth feel a bit looser than I'd like, and the taste of blood in my mouth is a little disturbing - my take home messages are this :

1. I'm never going to get it all done. That big fat list of stuff that I want / must / should / hope to do? Everyone's got one - and the simple fact is, not one single human being alive, is ever going to get it all done. Get over it. Seriously, the stress release this has given me - I used to look at my bookshelves and worry - when the hell am I going to find the time to read all these books? Truth is - I'm not. I'm never going to read all these books. But I'll probably find the time to read a few more if I stop trying to nail a list of other stuff that isn't important to me.

2. Not feeling guilty : A Wayne Dyer quote just on page 104 fixed this one for me : "If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a past or future event, then you are residing on a planet with a different reality system". Worry and regret are two close companions of mine. I've never much liked them, but I've felt a little obligated not to throw them out on the street like the bludging over-stayers they are. This book has strengthened my resolve to send them packing.

3. I literally DROWN in obligations every day. Self imposed mostly, but staunch enough to blind-side me most days - I turn up, when I just want to sleep. I say yes, when my stomach is churning with the 'no, please, please dont's' I want to scream. This book didn't give me all the answers about how to stay afloat - but it really, really made me want to pay attention, so I can find out how.

I thought this book was a light and easy read when I first finished it. But it's dug it's way into the back my skull and into my brain - like some determined leech, insistent on a source of blood for survival. It's made me want to do so much more than just 'survive'..... I keep asking myself - if you KNEW you only had so much time left - what would you REALLY choose to do with your precious time? And THAT my friends has led on to a whole new range of questions......but that is another book altogether. One I just might find some time to write, if I can master the art of doing less of the shit that just doesn't matter to me!!! :-)

Read it, and grab your life back from the chaos!!! xx

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to another of his books: "Work less, Achieve more..." Still a good, quick read that stays on point throughout.

In a nutshell: do less, live life on your terms no matter what others think/say/do and don't regret anything that's worth it (to you). Spend your time on the things that count, nothing else matters.

[Rawan Baybars · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب خفيف ظريف

[Latifa]

من اسوء الكتب اللي قرأتها 🙂💔

[Dion Yulianto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pada akhirnya, kita memang tidak bisa menyelesaikan semua hal. Waktu dan tenaga yang terbatas tdk memungkinkan kita menjadi serba sempurna, dan memang seperti itulah alaminya manusia. Ketika kita mencoba menyelesaikan semuanya sendiri, bersiap siaplah untuk kolaps. Tapi, kita masih bisa memilih mana yang memang penting untuk kita selesaikan, mana yanh tidak begitu penting, dan mana yang memang tidak apa apa jika kita tidak melakukan atau menyelesaikannya.

Bukan membuat jadwal prioritas tapi jadwalkan untuk melakukan prioritas. Bukan menerima semua perintah, tetapi pilih yang memang kita benar benar bisa. Berani berkata tidak untuk sesuatu yang bukan kita, yang kita tidak ahli atau memang tidak mampu melakukannya, yang memang kita tahu kita tidak bisa menyelesaikannya. Kemudian fokus pada apa apa yg memang penting dilakukan, yang bisa kita lakukan dengan baik, dan sepadan dengan waktu yang kita habiskan untuk melakukannya.


Pekerjaan selalu ada, dapat dicari. Tetapi waktu yang hilang karena mengerjakan hal yang sia sia tidak akan pernah kembali lagi.

[Carpasmeencasiola · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saved some time by skipping the last chapters. Didn't know this book was a symbol for was the international kicking-in open door day.

Here Some tips from the autor if you want to do less - take a day of
- dance in the rain
- say ‘no’ to basicly anything
- don’t do it until it's essential/nececarry/until you get fired.

Can't imagine attending to his workshop and he turning on this crappy ass PowerPointpresentation -because that's the design of this €1,- book: stockphoto's with the biggest clichés from a goldfish jumping into a bowl with a splash, till the text ‘let it go' written in sand on a beach- and this guy telling you to do Less.

Less suck these nuts O’Connell.

[Ahmed Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

في البداية واجهت صعوبة في استيعاب الفكرة مما أقرأه وعنوان الكتاب. ومع استغراقي في القراءة وجدت نفسي أقفُ على بعض الطرق والأساليب التي تساعد في حل مشكلة انجاز الأعمال التي لا تنتهي.. لكن في نفس الوقت، شعرت أن الكتاب يدعو إلى التسيّب والاهمال عبر اهمال انجاز بعض الأعمال دون غيرها..
الكاتب يدعو في بعض أجزاء الكتاب إلى الاستمتاع بالعمل، فبدونه لن تنجز شيء، وإن أنجزت لن يكون لانجازك نكهة أو طعم، (أحب ما تعمل، لتشعر بحلاوة الإنجاز). فكرة الكتاب جميلة، زينت بمجموعة من الأفكار لتقريب الفكرة بصورة واضحة.

[iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

i rarely read non-fictional books, especially motivational ones because i honestly doubted they would successfully influence me, “se-hebat apa sih bukunya?”

but, not until i read this book. it only contains 155 pages, yet i felt like i was slapped by every page of this book while reading it.

i have finally found the root of my problem, more like a realization actually. it seemed like this book opened the blindfold that once covered my eyes.

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fergus O'Connell does have a habit of repeating many of the same things across his various books so I did feel as if I had read much of what he had said before.

Having said that, I enjoy his writing style and common sense so much, that wasn't a problem. As for the topic, it is exactly what it says on the cover - all about doing less stuff. One of those being long Goodreads reviews!

[Prihita Eksi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very simple book to have different POV on how we can simplify life and living it to its fullest. The content can be very practical even though there is a lot of repetition which is noticeable and quite bothering.

[Aisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب مبسط تدور فكرته عن أهمية التوقف عن الانشغال بإلزامية انجاز جميع المهام، وانه يجب علينا رفض ما لا يضيف لنا او لا يهمنا، او نعتقد انه مضيعة لوقتنا وجهدنا، وكذلك تطرق إلى أهمية اجراء فلترة للمهام قبل الشروع بعملها.
ايضا فإنه ينبهك الى ابرز ردود الفعل من المحيطين بعد ذلك وكيفية التعامل معها

[Voir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed

[Sajali Iqbal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bagus

[Zainab Kamal · Rating 4 out of 5]

هذا الكتاب علمني شيء من الحرية او كيف احصل عليها ، طبقت قليلا من مفاهيمه ووجدتني ازيح بعض المهام التي تسبب لي قلقا اذا لم اقم بها بالوقت المناسب .

[Abo-ismail · Rating 4 out of 5]

أعجبني الكتاب ، رغم سوء الترجمة ..
فكرته المركزية هي جدولة الأولويات و التخلص من المهام التي لا فائدة مرجوة من القيام بها ..
مما يعاب على الكتاب كثرة التكرار لبعض الأفكار ..

[Karrar Abudhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

If want to skip things and say no, you will find here an encouragement.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book would be very useful if I worked a corporate job.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you work a corporate job this book has the potential of being useful

[Morpheyy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, mostly for the good and strong main idea that this book puts forth - that if you have too much to do at work, you should be focusing on reducing the amt of tasks instead of just trying to do them faster. I felt that this book could have benefited a lot from more thoughtful editing and quality checks of suggested activities. Some parts could be my own subjective issues with stylistics, but in general I definitely feel that there was repetition in terms of the reasoning and certain activities. I have read and forgiven more drastic activities in other books, e.g. in The Four Hour Work Week, but I felt that the author could have spent more time addressing the obvious concern of readers in doing the activities, which would be - how do I reject tasks while keeping my performance grade/job/relationship? There were some suggestions on what to say but some were downright impractical (e.g. I have a headache), especially in my (Asian) culture. Overall, I feel that it's still worth a speed-read for anyone who is overloaded at work, just to get into the idea and mindset, but further reading is needed for a more holistic set of strategies and tactics to truly unleash the power of doing less.

[Fatoni M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bukunnya tidak terlalu tebal dan semakin menambah minat untuk membacanya. Di bagian awal ada dijelaskan kenapa kita selalu merasa sibuk dalam hidup tapi tidak ada perubahan yang berarti. Mungkin saja ini karena kita terlalu banyak melakukan hal-hal yang tidak penting bagi tujuan hidup kita. Well, bukunya terlalu bertele-tele. Dari seluruh buku intinya cuma satu: kita harus memilih hal-hal yang penting bagi tujuan kita, selain itu wajib kita singkirkan dari kehidupan kita. Tips-tipsnya juga tidak terlalu membantu. Tidak ada cara yang baru.

Setelah membaca ternyata aku tidak sedang menderita kelebihan pekerjaan, aku sedang menderita pemborosan waktu untuk hal yang tidak penting. Buku ini tidak direkomendasikan untuk orang yang sedang mencari tips manajemen waktu.

[Leader Summaries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde Leader Summaries recomendamos la lectura del libro El poder de hacer menos, de Fergus O’Connell.
Las personas interesadas en las siguientes temáticas lo encontrarán práctico y útil: habilidades directivas, gestión del tiempo y técnicas de productividad, y conciliar la vida familiar y laboral.
En el siguiente enlace tienes el resumen del libro El poder de hacer menos, Cómo pasar tu preciosa vida haciendo lo que verdad importa: El poder de hacer menos

[Povilas Korop · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really short book but to the point. It tackles my personal problem of too much work to do, so gave me a couple of really good insights and a little different perspective on the problem.
It's different from "Getting things done" and it's not about effective work - it's about, well, doing less.
Recommended to everyone who is overwhelmed with work and don't have enough time in life.

[Maj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Opened my mind up to how many needless things I am doing and gave some critical insights into how I can spend my precious time better :)

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some good questions to consider, but some parts were too simplistic. In particular, I thought that the section on job performance / reviews was not realistic.