While famed Architect Mies van der Rohe may have popularized the aphorism Less is More, these authors have written entire books on the subject!
The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential in Business and in Life by Leo Babauta shares how to identify the essential and eliminate the unnecessary to streamline your life. Learn about the power of less and how productive minimalism will refine your focus, increase your efficiency, and help you to create new productive habits.
Architect Sara Susanka is best known for her book The not so big house : a blueprint for the way we really live where she extols quality over quantity and cozy spaces over voluminous interiors. She moved beyond her architectural scope in The Not so Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters to help you to enrich the experiences in your own day-to-day life with less. Check out her entire series of ‘Not so Big’ books covering everything from creating a house, remodeling, details, and outside spaces and landscaping.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport. We often think of less in terms of objects, but this book ingeniously applies the concept to technology. Did a notification just pop up to distract you while you were reading this? This book isn’t about eliminating technology, but about how to only use technology in ways that bring value to your life. Following the advice in this book can be life changing.
Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less by Tiffany Dufu, the founder of a peer coaching company for women, is both a memoir and manifesto. Be inspired to reevaluate your expectations so that you can focus and devote your energy to what is important and meaningful.
Silence in the Age of Noise by Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge, who was the first person to reach the South Pole alone and unaided, seeks to answer the questions, ‘What is silence? Where is it? Why is it more important now than ever?‘ In this short powerful book he shares the observations of poets, artists, and explorers as he recounts his own experiences. The ethereal blue images perfectly compliment his expressive writing style.
It is likely you have heard of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo, but did you know she has two additional books? Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up features step-by-step folding illustrations, and drawings of drawers and closets organized to perfection. In her most recently released book, Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life she moves from transforming your personal home life to your professional life.
Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge that Proves Less Really is so Much More by Courtney Carver focuses on you wardrobe to inspire you to dress with less, while selecting from a small curated collection of your favorite pieces for a more simplified life.
The Joy of Missing Out: Live More by Doing Less by CEO and productivity expert Tonya Dalton is all about how doing less is actually more productive. Although this may seem counter-intuitive, she provides all the information needed to shift your perspective. If you feel overwhelmed by an insurmountable list of tasks, this book will teach you where to begin so you can forge ahead with ease and confidence.
While there is an abundance of books that could be added to this list, in keeping with the theme we’ll stop here.
Written by Linda, 8/17/20
