We may earn an affiliate commission when you visit our partners.

Effortless

Greg McKeown

The New York Times bestselling author of Essentialism takes on the holy grail of human performance: How can we make it easier to get the right things done?

Is there a goal you want to make progress on, if only you had the energy? Do you assume that anything worth doing must take tremendous effort? Have you ever abandoned a hard but important activity for an easy but trivial one? Are you often overwhelmed by the complexity that's expanding everywhere?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you might be making life much harder for yourself than it needs to be.

In the New York Times bestseller Essentialism, Greg McKeown urged readers to eliminate nonessential activities and focus on the few that truly matter. He's since talked with thousands of readers about the challenges they face in putting those ideas into practice. The problem, he's found, is that the complexity of modern life has created a false dichotomy between things that are "essential and hard," and things that are "easy and trivial." But what if the trivial tasks became harder and the essential ones became easier? If the important projects became enjoyable, while the trivial distractions lost their appeal entirely?

In Effortless, McKeown offers proven strategies for making the most important activities the easiest ones. For example:

- Streamline your process by mapping out the minimum number of steps.

- Prevent problems later by solving them before they happen.

- Let Go of perfectionism by finding the "courage to be rubbish."

- Accelerate your learning by leveraging the best of what others know.

By making the toughest tasks just a little bit easier, we can accomplish more of what matters, without burning out.

Read on Amazon
Listen to this for free when you start a 30-day trial

Save this book

Create your own learning path. Save this book to your list so you can find it easily later.
Save

Share

Help others find this book page by sharing it with your friends and followers:

Amazon Buyer Protections & Purchase Guarantee

Protected by Amazon A-to-z Guarantee & generous return policies

Amazon A-to-z Guarantee
Buyer Protection

Amazon A-to-z Guarantee

Every book purchase is protected by the Amazon A-to-z Guarantee. This guarantee covers both the condition of your book and its timely delivery, providing full buyer protection whether you purchase directly from Amazon or from third-party marketplace sellers.

Return Policy

Generous 30-Day Returns & Free Shipping

Generous 30-day return policy on physical books. Amazon makes returns effortless with self-service return labels, drop-off at thousands of local locations (Kohl's, Whole Foods, UPS Stores), and free return shipping on eligible book purchases.

Savings & Discounts

Great Savings & Member Discounts

Maximize your savings with competitive pricing, deep discounts on new and used marketplace copies, bundled textbook rentals, and exclusive member savings through Amazon Prime with free fast delivery.

Formats & Programs

Kindle, Audible & Physical Formats

Read your way across versatile digital and physical formats: instant delivery via Kindle eBooks, unlimited reading with a Kindle Unlimited subscription, audiobook listening with Audible (often featuring a 30-day free trial), or traditional paperback and hardcover editions.

Amazon Purchase Protections & Benefits
Amazon A-to-z Guarantee covering third-party & direct purchases
Generous 30-day return policy with hassle-free drop-off options
Kindle eBook editions with instant delivery on any device
Kindle Unlimited program with access to over 4 million titles
Audible audiobooks with free trial eligibility
Competitive discounts across new, used, and rental copies
Amazon Affiliate Partner Protections Policy details last reviewed: 2026-10-22
Our mission

OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.

Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.

Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.

Affiliate disclosure

We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.

Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.

Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.

© 2016 - 2025 OpenCourser