The Power of Less

I enjoyed it very much

I have enjoyed all the chapters.The book is comprehesive and all the techniques are very practical if you feel overwhelmed in your life.The advice how to de-clutter your office and home and how to organize your email are helpful and effective.I was surprised by the advice how to stay motivated and achieve your goals-the list compiled here contains some special items and is very compresive.I loved also the performance by Fred Stella.I recommend warmly! It can change your life!

A series of blog posts does not a book make.

Listy, redundant and padded with common-sense that is more common than sensible, this book falls flat. Sure, there are some good ideas here, and some solid advice. But the good is overshadowed by the bad editing and lack of any kind of narrative. Mr. Babuta would have done better to cite some other experts on the subject while delivering some real-world examples and success stories. Instead, what we get is a lot of his own opinions base on his own experiences, many of which contradict one another. Perhaps most aggravating of all is the fact that the author spends only a little time supporting the title's premise and then goes off on tangents of dieting advice and decluttering one's desk.

Great material does not make a good audiobook.

The material is great, but the production for this is lacking - making me wonder if its even the type of thing that should be an audiobook. i found that the speaker/audio editor/whomever of this did not allow enough space between things to really allow a separation of content. the idea of different sections, chapter, and parts are not effectively communicated through effective use of pauses or emphasis. it all flows together too much and interferes with concentration on what is being said. i found that to be such a problem that i went ahead purchased the kindle for pc version so i could process this more efficiently. its a short book and i feel that the material is best presented that way. one way or another check out the material because its great, but you have been forewarned...

Less is more. Simple Life

What made the experience of listening to The Power of Less the most enjoyable?

Understanding that less is better. We buy so much and waste so much money, energy on things we don't need.

What did you like best about this story?

Understanding that we can live with less and that by doing so we get rid of a lot of stress it causes.

Have you listened to any of Fred Stella’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did then listened again.

Any additional comments?

We should all do this. Live with less. Be more in present and use what we need and not waste so much.

Really Helpful

What did you love best about The Power of Less?

Great for time management, stuff management and life management. Very straightforward and to the point (as a book so titled should be!). Detailed steps for how to get from here to there.

Worth having

I was already familiar with some of the concepts written by Leo Babauta, but in this audiobook the ideas are presented in a larger context. It's a refreshing book and addresses many situations that are familiar to anyone trying to get things done. The book will pay for itself manyfold when you act on its recommendations.

Dear Leo, thank you for this book!

Dear Leo, I love this book and your blog. Thank you.
If you feel overwhelmed by tasks, work, or if you're just curious how doing less actually means doing more, definitely check this book out.

Could be an Essay

Like 90% of non-fiction these days, a simple essay would deliver the same idea just as effectively as an entire book. Same here... great ideas, but no need for a book. 1 to 2 chapters could have done it.

A fair review I think

Would you try another book from Leo Babauta and/or Fred Stella?

The narration was okay - it was the material I had problems with.

Any additional comments?

I could never give anyone a 1 star review - a person gets 2 stars in my book just for getting up in the morning and earns three for attempting something like writing a book.The book's recommendations can be summed up in a short phrase "Reduce the things you do to 3 things", which I have done for years - but primarily because it was intuitive that much more than this would dilute my effort. As someone who's been a practicing Buddhist for about 20 years, much of what the author was offering was basically some really simple Buddhist practice. I won't fault the author for that as a large amount of self improvement books are basically Buddhist practices without crediting the source, but the author lacked much understanding into the depth of it - or at least failed to communicate it - and in my opinion on some subtle points was just wrong. All in all, I try to give every book a fair shot - and listen to them all the way through and try to do it without passing judgement - often some great dharma presents itself after hours of filler - but this was so painful I just couldn't wait for it to end and alas left me with unfulfilled hopes. If you are of similar experience to me in Buddhism or meditative practices - keep walking - make the author happy by not leaving reviews like this - and press on to find more useful material. If not, maybe you will find the material not so simplistic and obvious.

Completely unoriginal

I always like a pep talk, so I knew going in that some of the material in "The Power of Less" would be familiar. But I wasn't prepared for Babauta's "gee-whiz, look what I discovered about myself" naiveté. It's like he's the first person EVER to notice the power of living in the present. His insights were so banal as to be useless. I already know multitasking is a myth. I've already streamlined my life. Of course organization is important. I couldn't finish listening to this book, sorry.