Essentialism: Revisited

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bethcast: Periodically Productive. It’s just me, Beth, as ever—solo parent, disability campaigner, and your sometime tour guide through the wild, sometimes wobbly, world of real-life productivity. If you’re joining for the first time, big welcome, and if you caught the last episode where I revisited ‘Getting Things Done’ through a sort of humanist lens, well, today we’re building on that. Not because I’ve cracked productivity—I mean, if you listened to episode one, you know that’s, like, not a thing in my house—but because I keep asking, how do we make time and progress for stuff that really matters, especially when our time and energy is a bit...periodic? Very much in short supply.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

Now, in the spirit of honesty—I’m always on the hunt for something less frantic, more sustainable, and, honestly, a bit kinder to myself. That’s what led me down the path to this whole idea of “humanist productivity.” Which, if you haven’t heard me go on about it yet, is basically a fancier way of saying: productivity that puts actual humans first. I built it around three things: authenticity—trying to integrate what matters rather than chase perfection, community—meaning you don’t have to do it alone, and sustainability—so, like, not burning out just to feel productive.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

And let’s be honest. The minimalist productivity trend is everywhere. Maybe you’ve read ‘Essentialism’ or ‘Effortless’—they’re bestsellers for a reason. They promise exactly what so many of us crave: relief. That feeling of, “If I could just do less, but do it better, wouldn’t life be easier?” Trust me, I have absolutely had that fantasy, lying awake after a long day of managing solo parenting, disability admin, and whatever campaign fire’s come up. The wish for permission to just... stop. Or at least slow down. To say, “My to-do list does not own me.”

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

So I picked up ‘Essentialism’ at a time I was overloaded. It gives you that permission to choose—reminds you capacity is not infinite. The whole “less but better” thing? It hit home for me, especially as someone whose energy is kind of up and down, depending on the day. And when ‘Effortless’ came around, it felt like it finally acknowledged what a lot of other productivity books ignore: sometimes things are just hard! Sometimes rest is actually necessary! The idea that work doesn’t have to be about endless grind—it was honestly, well, a relief.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

You know what? Both books, at their best, really do reduce the shame. ‘Essentialism’ challenges the myth that everything matters equally, and that if you can’t do it all, you’re the problem. That’s quite freeing, especially if—like me—you’re carrying a lot, and you’re tired of feeling like you’re failing standards you never chose. There’s something so quietly radical in valuing rest and play and the tiny wins. And ‘Effortless’ pushes this idea even further, questioning why we think everything that matters must be difficult or sacrificial. It talks about teamwork, trust, necessary simplification, and sometimes, I think, it even gets close to the heart of what real, relational progress could look like. It’s not always about pushing yourself harder, it’s about making changes that suit actual human limits. Sounds good, right?

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

But—because there’s always a but—when I look at these books through that humanist lens, I can’t help noticing where things get a bit wobbly. Let’s start with authenticity—which for me is about integration, not perfection. Both books have this ideal—the calm, decisive figure, who knows what really matters and has the space to just go after it. And, you know, for some people, maybe with flexible jobs or steady support, that could be a reality. But honestly, for disabled folks, solo parents, neurodivergent people, or anyone just stretched thin, that clarity and intention can feel impossible to sustain. It’s another layer of pressure: if only you could choose right, you’d be sorted. If you fall short, maybe you’re just not doing it “the right way.” I don't know about you, but that’s not the freedom I was looking for.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

Here’s where I say, keep the permission, drop the purity. Choosing one essential thing—that’s enough. And ease isn’t some shiny reward for getting your productivity perfect. You don’t have to earn rest by ticking off the right boxes. Integration is about work, life, care—they all blend together, often messily, and that’s okay.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

The next big gap for me? Community. Both books, if you really break it down, focus almost exclusively on the individual. You decide, you eliminate, you take charge and redesign your day. Even when they do mention teamwork, it’s really about making your own life a bit smoother—not changing things for everyone. And you know what’s missing? Hmm—let’s call it power. Not everyone actually can say no, even if a book tells you to. Boundaries aren’t always safe, and flexibility is usually rationed, not given out to everyone equally in workplaces. Most of us live and work in systems where “essential” gets handed down from the top, and if you try to redraw those boundaries alone...well, it doesn’t always end well.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

When productivity advice skips over these realities, it pretty much encourages us to blame ourselves for exhaustion, instead of recognizing, “Hey, maybe there’s a bigger problem here.” So a more human approach? Ask different questions. Who’s really benefiting when something is labeled “non-essential”? Who gets to decide? Sometimes change needs allies—not just another round of willpower or personal resolve.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

And then, there’s this last bit: resilience. Both ‘Essentialism’ and ‘Effortless’ say sustainability matters! But, strangely, they still end up kind of tangled in that classic productivity paradox. Tools to lighten your load, sure, but they don’t always ask why the load’s so heavy in the first place. ‘Effortless’ is all about pursuing ease, but then it gets turned into a new benchmark—if things are hard, maybe you haven’t “simplified” enough, or figured out the magic process. Resilience, the way I see it from disability and lived experience, means working within your actual limits, accepting that there’ll be times when capacity is low, and knowing when the system—not just the individual—needs to adapt. Sometimes even “rest” isn’t enough, because the way we work just doesn’t line up with what people need.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

So, let’s bottom line it. There’s a reason books like ‘Essentialism’ and ‘Effortless’ resonate. So many of us are hungry for more breathing room. For work that’s meaningful and not quite so... relentless. And from a humanist, more compassionate perspective, I honestly think they offer some real gifts: language that reduces shame, permission to rest, a push toward intentional choices.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

But—oh, and I said this last time with GTD—they can only take us so far. They tend to centre the hero journey of the individual, while side-stepping those messy, complicated realities about power and systems. They value ease, but don’t always ask, “Well, who gets to access that ease?” or “Who’s carrying extra weight so someone else can have it easier?” Collaboration is there, but it isn’t community in the richer sense—it’s not the kind of mutual aid or joint problem-solving that’s kept me afloat in my hardest seasons.

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock

In the end, I guess my advice is basic: take what helps, soften what harms, always check in with your own context. Ask yourself and maybe your people: Who does this work serve? And, what’s the cost? Sometimes just asking those questions is the most productive thing we can do. Thank you for joining me here on Periodically Productive—a small space for big reflections. Until next time, I hope your hours are filled with purpose, and your days are shaped by what matters most to you. I’ll see you next time.