I love this article by Ryan Holiday. And I needed it too. I read Essentialism by Greg McKeown. I felt it took too long to say what it needed to say, but the lessons were good all the same. Ryan asks ‘is it necessary?’ and quotes Marcus Aurelius and Greg McKeown, and it actually sunk in.

The past few days have been hectic for me. I’ve been trying to catch up on a number of projects. I’ve been in the back seat, kind of letting them get ahead of me. It’s my own fault though. I said I would do these things, and now I have to; a common pattern in my life.

But now is the time to change. Now is the time to ask, is it necessary? Because you know what, a lot of it isn’t. A lot of it is getting in the way. And I think I’m going to stop it. Time to focus on the important. Time to remove the superfluous. Time to do the necessary. What’s important? What’s necessary? The answer is what you’re going to do.

Now all I need to do is remind myself of this day after day. When I’m about to make a decision over how to use my time, I have to remember, is it necessary? Is it necessary?