Book SummaryDo Less, Get More, by Shaa Wasmund

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Do Less, Get More

Productivity culture comes at a cost—those who chase traditional paths to success often do so by sacrificing everyday happiness. So says Shaa Wasmund in Do Less, Get More (2015). Wasmund asserts that the happiest days of our lives are usually spent in childhood and retirement, but we work ourselves to exhaustion during the intervening decades because that’s what society says we should do. Happiness, when it comes, is fleeting: a weekend vacation, a dinner out with friends, or a brief walk outdoors on your break. Even then, happiness doesn’t stick, because there’s always a buzz in the back of your head saying that you should use your free time to be productive.

Wasmund says it doesn’t have to be like that. Happiness and fulfillment don’t have to exist just in dreams of the future or nostalgic memories of the past. You can enjoy your everyday life by denying the mandate to be busy all the time....

Do Less, Get More Summary The Price of Being Busy

Let’s start with what Wasmund says is the lie at the heart of workplace culture—that being busy and being productive are the same. This falsehood comes in two flavors: multitasking and extreme focus. When you take on multiple tasks at once, it can feel like you’re getting a lot done, when in fact you’re simply spreading yourself thin without moving the needle very far on anything. Likewise, if you focus too long on any single task, you’ll wear yourself out and still fall behind. The result of both paths is chronic stress, self-denial, and feelings of shame for not doing even more. We’ll look at each of these in turn.

The first and most obvious cost of staying busy is what it does to our stress levels. Nearly half of the medical problems that arise from work are directly stress-related, according to the research Wasmund cites. Stress is the first domino that leads to a host of other mental and physical health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, heart problems, and obesity. Nevertheless, productivity culture would have you believe that if you’re not stressed,...

Do Less, Get More Summary What Matters Most?

Wasmund proposes that most of the time and energy we spend is wasted because we’re constantly drawn away from the things that mean the most to us. The trick is to identify the goals and activities that actually give your life purpose. Once you accomplish that, you can do less of the things that distract you from that purpose and get more time and energy to pursue the things you love. To determine what matters most, Wasmund writes that you must unlearn the belief that “more” means “better,” make sure that what you do reflects your values, and accept that making yourself happy isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity for a successful life.

Wasmund is adamant that a meaningful life has nothing to do with buying, achieving, or earning “more.” While all of these have become our standards for success, that’s largely due to cultural conditioning, not because chasing after those things is in any way fulfilling. In fact, it’s the opposite: Though we imagine that wealth, accomplishment, and material possessions will bring us happiness, Wasmund argues that the pursuit of those things makes people drive themselves to physical and mental exhaustion. Meanwhile, the happiness you aspire to...

Do Less, Get More Summary Delete What You Don’t Need

Once you’ve done the work of identifying who and what matters most to you in life, then comes the hard part—getting rid of everything else. Wasmund cautions that that’s a big task, so don’t try to do it all at once. Instead, she says to pause your routine—take a day off if you need it—and think about where chaos, confusion, and busyness show up in your life. Then, pick one aspect of life to start on, and don’t be afraid to ask others for help. In this section, we’ll look at how to reduce the unwanted commitments, energy drains, and schedule crowding in any facet of your life by focusing on one project at a time, learning not to say “yes” to everything, and clearing the mental and physical mess that accumulates around you over time.

(Shortform note: In Minimalism, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus offer similar advice, finding meaning by stripping life down to its essentials. Instead of targeting energy drains, though, they focus on five specific areas of life to improve: health, relationships, passions, growth, and what you contribute to others. Like Wasmund, they recommend pausing to evaluate your life...

Do Less, Get More Summary Prioritize the Present

So far, we’ve talked about the importance of identifying what goals, activities, and relationships you value most, as well as how you can go about trimming the things you don’t need, so you can get more out of less. The next question, and one that may be giving you pause, is “When’s the best time to go about it?” Wasmund’s answer is an unequivocal “Now.” At any given moment (for instance, right now, while reading this guide) ask yourself if what you’re doing now is bringing you closer to whatever you want—whether that’s career success, more time with your family, or completing that novel you’ve always meant to write. Asking this question makes you think about your time as a resource that’s meant to serve you, not someone else.

(Shortform note: Despite reams of philosophical and psychological advice backing up Wasmund’s emphasis on living in the Now, it’s often hard to put into practice. In Your Erroneous Zones, Wayne Dyer explains why. He says that we often trap ourselves in the past by holding onto...

Do Less, Get More Summary Do the Right Work

So, as we’ve discussed, it’s time to get started. By now, you’ve thought about your top priorities, including the area of your life you’ll work on first, and you’ve considered several ways to make room for those priorities. Wasmund follows all this up with advice for what comes next: Set aside a specific time for what matters, make use of your strengths, and pick the proper tools for what you need to do.

Your Priorities Come First

Wasmund writes that whatever you’ve chosen as your most important goal has to be put on your schedule. If not, everything else will crowd it out by default. If your goal is to make progress on a project at work, schedule that first before you commit (or say no) to anything else. If your priority is to reconnect with old friends, schedule a time to meet up or at least give them a call. If your goal is to spend more time with your family, then schedule uninterrupted family time that nothing else is allowed to override. This calls back to Wasmund’s earlier discussion of values—just as your goals must reflect them, so too must your schedule. Anything that interferes with those values should spark the question “Do I really want to do...

Shortform Exercise: What Do You Need Less and More Of?

Wasmund writes that most of us are stretched thin from having taken on too many obligations and expectations, all thanks to society’s belief that being busy all the time is inherently good. If we’re to question that assumption, think about how that might show up in your life, based on what you value, what you can let go of, and what you’d like to do if you had more free time and energy.

Wasmund’s first step is to identify your values so you can know what motivates you the most. Without digging too deep, what would you say is the value that drives the activities that you find most meaningful? Do you feel that’s a true personal value or one you inherited from society at large?