Do Less

by Kate Northup

A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Ambitious Women

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Lifestyle, Audiobook, Business, Productivity, Personal Development

Audiobook

Reviews

[Moira · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this book. It very rare for me to not push through a book. I had a visceral (negative) reaction almost from the outset and could not persist. The whole ‘look how amazing I am, earning 6 figures and doing less work’ is something a lot of people do not have the privilege of being able to do.

[Stephanie Affinito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ironically, I’ve been working quite hard to do less and turned to this book for a better way of how to do so. As Kate also experienced, I’m in the middle of a challenge forcing me to slow down in ways that I don’t want to, but have come to embrace this as an opportunity to lead a better life. I was drawn in by Kate’s stories, utterly fascinated by Egg Wisdom and now have strategies for leaning into a new way of life where I’m not just doing less, but doing only what truly matters most.

[Cristy Jimenez-Shawcroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. It’s written primarily for working mothers. I like a lot of the ideas and suggestions; she gives you 14 doable experiments to do, and I like that kind of concrete structure. However, I found it hard to get through the first part of the book (philosophy and the first experiment) since it was a little too “woo woo” for me.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was way too “woo woo” for me. I appreciated the idea that work happens in cycles, but aligning my work with my menstrual cycle?

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a mother or entrepreneur but I think a portion of her advice is still applicable to my life. I do enjoy her writing style and I liked how she tied everything back to her personal life, which gave more of a narrative element to the book. Overall, I think that some of what she says will help be gain control over my life, but a lot of the book just felt like filler to hit a certain page count.

As other reviewers have noted, her advice can be pretty unorthodox: especially her belief that the lunar cycle and menstrual cycle are linked. However, I think that there is validity in adjusting one's schedule based on how mentally/physically/emotionally available someone is during a given time period.

I think a lot of the advice she gives is important but she doesn't always provide ways to apply it to one's own life. For example, she dedicates two chapters to learning to ask for help, without offering concrete steps on how to actually do so.

Also, I think a lot of her advice exudes privilege. She talks a lot about learning to live in the moment and learning to delegate tasks that you don't need or want to do. Both of these are great pieces of advice but not necessarily possible for people working on a rigid schedule or without the financial means to have people working for them. It's also worth noting that she runs her own company and made a lot of her money in multi-level marketing. So, she has more flexibility in her professional life than most working individuals do, and inherently makes a lot of her money off of other people's work.

[Kayt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would truly rank 3.5 stars, but can’t truly round up to 4.

Themes I liked: thank you for telling women it is not about “leaning in” to accommodate a man powered workplace. I am not a feminist, I am a realist that our biological makeup is different. Women have their methods of success, and the discussion around our cycles and the moon phases made that click in to place. And discussions on parenting and social media spoke true to my heart without a self righteous air.

Themes I struggled with: while I appreciate personal experience in coaching through discussions, I appreciate more the touching on that without an emphasis on “my way works, so you should do my way”. This was prominent more toward business/work themes in the book. I appreciate more the research and discussion behind these items for discussion, with personal success anecdotes. And I still prescribe to the belief you can get a point across without inserting a choice word (which was not a common theme of the book, but happened more than once).

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Some real goodness but didn't provide as much as I was hoping it would.

I wouldn't say this approach is revolutionary... listening to tour body when you work... but it is true that most women don't and should. This book didn't apply to me so was less useful. I am not an entrepreneur per say or online worker. I also found it lacking in real details other than hey pay attention to these fourteen areas of your life.

I do like the idea of honoring your menstrual cycle more, thinking of time as a circle/continuum versus line, honoring seasons, the worksheets, and aiming to do less when you can.

[Jadzia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad she changed the title to 'management for ambitious women' , or I never would of picked this up! I have definitely taken some things from this book that I will implement and also learnt some new facts. I did think it dragged towards the end and a few experiments seemed very similar but over all this book really clarified things I know i needed to accept. I was questioning my friends on some of the questions and sharing parts of it. A good read.

[Bronwen Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can wade through the mysticism, new age and overtly feminist content, then there are some interesting and applicable insights. This book is most suited to those who are self-employed, with tons of support and with ownership of their own time. I enjoyed the authors voice and mannerisms - she was lovely to listen to and her thoughtfulness really shone through.

[Trishwah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some good ideas. Although I appreciate the idea of allowing yourself rest or fallow time, I'm not so sure about tying it to your menstrual or moon cycle. There is a big dose of well-off privilege about just doing less and outsourcing things. Doesn't always work out for those of us that don't own our own business and have a lot of resources.

[Abby Barras · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. As a wife, homeschool mom, recent grad student, and freelance designer, I have a lot of varied and often competing priorities on my plate. Kate reminded me why I do what I do, what my priorities are, and how not to apologize for them. It’s so refreshing to read a book about success and productivity by a woman whose priorities line up with my own.

[Cadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars really, but it’s hard for me to give 2 stars. Are usually don’t even finish books with the slow rating so I guess that says something. This was just a very strange book that was not at all what I was anticipating. It seem to be very all over the place and the theme of doing less wasn’t really clear throughout. Not for me, but maybe you’ll get something out of it.

[Graham Pocta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw a review of this book that described it as woo woo. That’s pretty spot on. A lot of the premises of this book are not things that I would agree with, like the universe guiding us, and cosmic forces. But overall it had some good things to say about slowing down and listening to our bodies, our families, and our friends.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish this book. I was about half way through when the author stated that because women don’t always listen to their bodies this perpetuates rape culture. Nope. I couldn’t read it after that.

[Janin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall an enjoyable read and easy to follow! Some thoughts and ideas come from a very privileged place which bothered me while reading but I think everyone can take away something from it and I learned a few new things, so I liked it.

[Kaus Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to understand & simplify your life based on your feminine energy. Using energy as the compass to live better. I also found a lot of resources that I'd explore as I'm trying to do less and be more. This has simple exercises. Not really that contributing but it helps to get you started.

[Kendal Clouse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finally figured out how to make a dnf shelve so I can start keeping books I didn't finish on my shelf. This was one of them. I just didn't like it from the start and didn't want to waste my time on something I wasn't enjoying.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some interesting ideas in here and it hooked me enough to finish it.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too much nonsense to be of any use.

[Shianne Gundersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, learned a little. Mostly felt like it was a compilation of common sense but good reminders nonetheless.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good suggestions for making life easier and why you shouldn't feel guilty for doing less. Probably better suited to people who run their own business, but would recommend to most women.