Less Doing, More Living Book Summary - Less Doing, More Living Book explained in key points
Listen to the Intro
00:00

Less Doing, More Living summary

Make Everything in Life Easier

3.7 (1109 ratings)
21 mins

Brief summary

Less Doing, More Living by Ari Meisel offers tips and techniques to help readers optimize their productivity, minimize stress, and create more time for the things that matter. It emphasizes the importance of outsourcing, automating, and simplifying tasks in order to achieve more with less effort.

Table of Contents

    Less Doing, More Living
    Summary of 9 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 9

    Track your life to learn where you can start saving time.

    Do you know about the 80-20 rule? If you don’t, here’s a recap. The 80/20 rule states that 80 percent of what you accomplish results from just 20 percent of all your time and energy. And this rule is the case for pretty much everything you do – this includes your studies, your work, and your exercise routines. 

    As the rule suggests, you should spend most of your focus on this vital 20 percent. But how do you figure out what 20 percent of time and tasks you need to focus on?

    You need to start tracking. By tracking your work and your time, you’ll get a good idea of where it’s being spent well and where it isn’t.

    Now, this sounds great! But who’s got time to live their busy schedule and observe it at the same time? Luckily, there are a few resources which can make tracking your time much easier.

    First, there’s RescueTime. It’s a program that monitors what you’re actually doing on your computer all day. If you use it, you’ll be able to spot which websites or applications are stealing your day away. RescueTime will then help you block access to them. Problem solved!

    RescueTime is a great way to track your productivity. But, what if you want to track your health as well?

    One great way to track your health is to go back to basics with an old-school paper journal. In your journal, record everything you eat during the day. As well as this, you could get your hands on a pedometer or smartwatch to count all the steps you take and you should also make an effort to weigh yourself each day. It might seem like a lot, but the more you know about your health each day, the sooner you’ll be able to improve it. 

    When you’ve tracked your life, and gained an idea of where you’re spending your time wisely and where you’re wasting it, it’s time to optimize it. But how do you do this? How do you craft a daily routine that works? Well, you should think of it as optimizing your processes. For a role model, look to IKEA. Each IKEA product comes with highly optimized instruction manuals for assembling each product, whether it’s a coffee table or geometric lamp. These instructions have been boiled down to their very essence – a few language-independent, easy-to-follow steps. 

    Approach your life like IKEA approaches its manuals. Whatever the task, whether it’s writing emails or organizing meetings, you should minimize the fuss and get it done in as few steps as possible.

    Want to see all full key ideas from Less Doing, More Living?

    Key ideas in Less Doing, More Living

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is Less Doing, More Living about?

    Less Doing, More Living (2014) guides you through nine fundamental steps on your journey toward becoming more effective. In these blinks, the author shares his favorite tools and techniques for optimizing, automating, and outsourcing everything on that pesky to-do list, thus giving you time for the things that are most important in your life.

    Less Doing, More Living Review

    Less Doing, More Living (2014) by Ari Meisel is a book that offers valuable strategies for optimizing your life and increasing productivity. Here's why this book is worth reading:

    • It provides practical techniques and helpful tips that can be implemented immediately, helping you streamline your tasks and free up more time for the things you love.
    • By focusing on the concept of outsourcing and automating, the book empowers readers to delegate tasks and effectively manage their workload, leading to increased efficiency.
    • Meisel's personal experiences and examples bring the content to life, making it relatable and engaging, ensuring that the book is far from boring.

    Who should read Less Doing, More Living?

    • Anyone who feels like they’re losing time
    • Personal trainers
    • People who want to lead a happier lifestyle

    About the Author

    Ari Meisel is an author and entrepreneur. He advises businesses, leaders, and others on how to add value to both their endeavors and lives by employing effective time-management strategies.

    Categories with Less Doing, More Living

    Book summaries like Less Doing, More Living

    People ❤️ Blinkist 
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked these summaries

    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    34 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    10+ years
    Experience igniting personal growth
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial

    Less Doing, More Living FAQs 

    What is the main message of Less Doing, More Living?

    The main message of Less Doing, More Living is to streamline your life and optimize your productivity to create more time for what truly matters.

    How long does it take to read Less Doing, More Living?

    The reading time for Less Doing, More Living varies depending on the reader's speed, but it typically takes several hours. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.

    Is Less Doing, More Living a good book? Is it worth reading?

    Less Doing, More Living is a valuable read for anyone looking to optimize their productivity and lead a more fulfilling life. It offers practical strategies and insights to transform your approach to work and life.

    Who is the author of Less Doing, More Living?

    The author of Less Doing, More Living is Ari Meisel.

    What to read after Less Doing, More Living?

    If you're wondering what to read next after Less Doing, More Living, here are some recommendations we suggest:
    • How to Decide by Annie Duke
    • How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen
    • Beyond Order by Jordan B. Peterson
    • The Free-Time Formula by Jeff Sanders
    • 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam
    • The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
    • Start Now. Get Perfect Later. by Rob Moore
    • Mindsight by Daniel Siegel
    • What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam
    • Electra by Sophocles