The Joy of Doing Just Enough

by Jennifer McCartney

For anyone who’s ever heard a motivational speech and immediately vomited, a guide to ignoring society’s obsession with success

Sit around, leave sh*t all over the place, drink, forget about deadlines . . . being lazy is pretty easy. The real art in being chill is when someone without any real ambition can fly under the radar, and live unscathed by the never-ending reams of self-help and inspiration rained upon anyone who just wants to watch Netflix. The magical place where doing what comes naturally keeps the do-ers at arm’s length. Rather than doing less, do just enough. So screw TED Talks, Instagram images of a beach that say "Fail Better" in gold cursive, marathon training, tips for keeping plants alive, and all self-aggrandizing social media. Ninety-nine percent of people on this planet are just pretty average. We're doing our thing. Trying to get out of bed in the morning. Hey, are you awake right now? Reading a sentence? You know what? That's success in my book. Being a person is hard enough without all the pressure to be good at it. B&W illustrations throughout

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Self Help, Humor, Business, Philosophy

1 pages, Audio CD

Published April 28, 2018

About the author

Jennifer McCartney is a New York Times bestselling author. She is the author of numerous books including The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy, the novel Afloat; Cocktails for Drinkers; The Joy of Leaving Your Sh*t All Over the Place; and Poetry from Scratch. Her writing has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and appeared in The Atlantic, Vice Magazine, Teen Vogue, Curbed, Globe and Mail, and Publishers Weekly, among other publications. Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately this one wasn't great for me. I think it was supposed to be sarcastic and funny, but I wasn't a fan.

non-fiction challenge

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was hilarious, absolutely useless, but hilarious!

"What you are good at is watching TV and films and reading books. You're a successful consumer. And good for you! Your viewership keeps thousands of people in the industry employed."

"If you want satisficiency in your relationship, try not to be an asshole."

"A 2014 study from Harvard shows that out of 10,000 middle and high school students almost half said that "achieving at a high level" was more important than happiness or caring for others. What the fuck society?"

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short read. While the general concept might be useful to some, I wasn't a huge fan of the delivery format. If you hate numbered lists so much, why keep using them??

A good quick listen that you can take as seriously as you choose.

Audiobook version feedback - I really wish the narrator hadn't alternated between speaking at a regular volume and speaking in a whisper quite so much. Overdone, it lost any impact it might have had and made it hard to get the volume right in my car.

[Mackenzie Lauka · Rating 1 out of 5]

At first it was funny and seemed like she knew my life, but then it was almost sad because it was mostly sarcasm and I could see some people who pick up the book thinking its real advice. Funny for a really quick read, but nothing special.

[Clare Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things I enjoyed about this book:

This book is full of laughs. In our society we definitely do not live in the culture of “The are of doing just enough.” Our culture is surrounded by doing EVERYTHING Pinterest perfect, owning the most lavish material goods, and trying to cram everything in. So I liked being reminded that I can do the bare minimum and I’m awesome.

The Things I Didn’t Enjoy:

The constant swearing and the vulgarity. I know that this was a book of humor, but I don’t think those things are humorous by any means, just crass. I also didn’t enjoy the pet chapters- though small- were obnoxious.

MRS BIRDS WORDS REVIEW

Jennifer McCartney deserves 3 out of 5 feathers. She made me laugh quite a few times and reminded me of the importance of not doing too much. I often find myself wanting to make everything PERFECT and it exhausts me, frustrates me, and turns out being worse than what the bare minimum would have been. Despite the swearing and vulgarity, I did enjoy the overall message. While some of the suggestions were over the top and not realistic, it will give you a good laugh.

Parent’s Guide:

TONS of swearing and talks about sex.

More Reviews at www.mrsbirdswords.com

[Joana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a small book, I'd say for people who can't really commit to reading something large. The writer ends it by saying she wrote 'just enough' and that's about right. The book tries to relieve the reader from the pressures of always having to succeed in every area of their lives, be it work or feeding themselves. So it goes through the many subjects where the world demands our excellence: parties, holidays, beauty, even death(!) and tries to convey some simple advice. A lot of it seems to involve drinking. It is quite funny and I was nodding and saving quotes throughout. It manages to slag off at least 3 successful self-help books in the first page. Is it life-changing? Probably not, but does it even propose to? As for the advice, much of it is a little debatable. Yes, 99% of us are mediocre and just blah, but does that mean we have to stop trying to be creative or good at something? It's a quick, fun read and not to be taken too seriously. Just enough with a just enough rating.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short enough that I read on my lunch break. I didn’t know much about the book before I downloaded it, so didn’t go in with many expectations. I chuckled a few times but I am definitely not the target audience - from how I am a high achiever at my (tech) job, to how much I enjoy cooking “fancy” meals, to how often I travel, and how much I actually like to read...I found that all of my hobbies and interests were considered to be the things that the author says not to bother doing. It’s light and funny enough, and there seemed to be some actual data sprinkled in that I enjoyed reading, but overall I was hoping for the poignant points she made to be expanded upon. But this isn’t the book for those looking for deeper reflection on societal norms and values.

[Simone]

Does reading 2/3 of this count as doing just enough? I'm very much on board with the idea of letting go of ambition for the sake of ambition, so this sounded like a good read, but I just can't be bothered. There's nothing new here and actually some pretty bad advice. Like not making lists, ever. There's lazy and then there's plain stupid. I wanted this book to be about changing your mindset to not constantly want to be perfect, but this was not that. So never mind, I guess.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can read this little book in one sitting & get a few chuckles out of it. It's sort of a middle finger to our Instagram culture and I appreciate that. There, that's just enough.

[JP · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do as little as you can away with?

[to'c · Rating 4 out of 5]

The top five reasons why you should read this book:
1) You work too hard at things you don't really need to work hard on.
2) You need to lighten up and really, really enjoy yourself more.
3) Ms. McCartney has discovered the true secret to doing just enough.
4) Come to think on it, three reasons are adequate.

Yeah, you really need to read this book. Hey, I'm a lazy guy. I've always done just what I thought was enough to achieve my goals and maintain my happiness and high quality of life. Compared to McCartney I was a sweat hog overachiever, putting way too much energy into it all. Now I can sit back and really get into doing as little as necessary.

And with the help of another book of hers, Cocktails for Drinkers, I can put even less effort into relaxing more!

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book for anyone who guilt trips themselves about all of the things in life that they "should" (strike this negative word from your vocab. Or don't. There is no "should".) have/do/be. It just adds up to additional, worthless stress and ultimately robs you of appreciating your life. I've always compared my ambitions and achievements (and amount of dirty dishes) with those of other people. Self-improvement books generally don't appeal to me, but this tiny, conversational volume offers tips that can be easily implemented into your day-to-day.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfunny. Mind you, that’s different than “not funny.” Unfunny is when a book tried, but fails so spectacularly at being funny that it actually creates a deficit of funniness in the reader. It sucked out any other funny thing I experienced today and I cannot get that back.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious! A quick read that is also a good reminder to not take life so seriously.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book in which I saw myself.

[Lanmreading]

Sau một khoảng thời gian ngụp lặn trong đam mỹ, manga bla bla cuối cùng cũng quay ra đọc sách bt =)). Em nó siêuu hợp gu mình, chắc tại vì mình không thích cố gắng, chỉ muốn làm mọi thứ vừa đủ đạt chỉ tiêu là được. Nói chung cuộc sống đủ mệt rồi, tôi không có nhu cầu mệt hơn nữa nên cũng chỉ đến thế thôi...

[J. Lee Hazlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has a few pretty funny moments. Quite short. Kind of felt like it was just verbal vomited onto the pages, but there were a couple of good points to be had. Not ground-breaking, but good enough.

[Nadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a fan of the constant profanity and the author's attitude of 'no fs given' which was funny and lighthearted and didn't take herself too seriously but I'm happily an overachiever so this book really didn't relate to me.

[Kim Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

made me laugh and makes some good points

[Natalie Breton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just enough.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious and proof that we are just blips in a larger universe....lots of stuff we do does not matter. Be happy.

[Heather Larcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny in parts (quizzes, I'm looking at you), entertaining throughout, and (perhaps accidentally, perhaps not) full of actual good advice tidbits.

[Chicky Poo · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai apprécié, il faut avoir du second degré pour tout apprécier, mais ça reste une lecture divertissante et amusante.

[Rukhsar (rukhsandbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to read this book all over again but that would be doing more than just enough.

I’m so glad I experience this book via pages and not audiobook because it was so worth it.

I’d write a full review but again that would be doing more than just enough.

Such a good break from all the “you got this” and “strive for more” stuff out there.

Definitely the perfect book when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Also I happened to read a majority of this book on Siblings day and happened to find this coincidence hilarious. (Note: I did not post a siblings day picture/post. I have a sibling and that is enough)

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing with a few astute observations, I realised I am already an expert at doing just enough.

[Nea Britto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an average read. I did enjoy some topics in the book, but I wouldn’t take this book very seriously overall. It will depend from person to person.

[Agnes Roantree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun, I laughed. No more takeaways.
Listened to this because it was narrated by Emily Woo Zeller who puts her heart into her work.

[Nele Dierckx · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a laugh, loved the sarcasm in the book.
But if you don’t read it, you will miss nothing.

[K Chang · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty useless but funny. Felt like a bunch of newspaper comics just smashed into one book. Or those instagram meme pages satirizing shitty roommate situations or procrastinating for an upcoming final.

[Brandon Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a funny read. TL;DR: don’t take life too seriously and have a little fun.