Star

New Feature! Download infographics with key insights from bestselling non-fiction books

Download Now
Book Summary

Effortless

By Greg McKeown

15 min
Audio available

Brief Summary

Effortless reframes productivity as an exercise in design rather than endurance. The book teaches that success does not require relentless struggle, but thoughtful simplification. By removing unnecessary effort—mental, emotional, and structural—we free ourselves to focus on what truly matters. Ease becomes a strategic choice, not a lucky accident.

Ultimately, McKeown’s message is deeply humane. He reminds readers that energy is precious, rest is essential, and clarity is powerful. When life is designed to support rather than drain us, progress becomes natural. The most meaningful achievements often come not from pushing harder, but from choosing wiser paths.

About the Author

Greg McKeown is a business strategist, speaker, and author known for his work on focus, trade-offs, and sustainable success. He gained international recognition with his earlier book Essentialism, which emphasized prioritizing what matters most.

Through his writing and consulting, McKeown helps individuals and organizations reduce complexity and operate with intention. His work centers on the idea that clarity, simplicity, and disciplined choice lead to better outcomes than constant busyness.

Join over 100,000 readers!

Upgrade to Sumizeit Premium

Sign up for 3 free book summaries and upgrade for unlimited access


Get Started for Free

Save time with unlimited access to text, audio, and video summaries of the world's best-selling books.

Upgrade Now

More Like This

Gretchen Rubin
Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Greg McKeown

Learn Something New Every Day with Sumizeit

Try Sumizeit to get the key ideas from thousands of bestselling nonfiction titles. Listen, read, or watch in just 15 minutes.

High-Quality Titles

Highest quality content

Our book summaries are crafted to be unbiased, concise, and comprehensive, giving you the most valuable insights in the shortest amount of time.

New book summaries added constantly

New content added constantly

We add new content each week, including New York Times bestsellers.

Learn on the go while commuting, exercising, etc

Learn on the go

Learn anytime, anywhere - read, listen or watch summaries on IOS, tablet, laptop, and Kindle!

You can cancel your subscription anytime

Cancel anytime

Changed your mind? No problem. Cancel your subscription anytime.

Collect awards while learning

Collect Achievements

Learning just got more rewarding - track your progress and earn prizes using our mobile app.

Sumizeit provides other features as well

And much more!

Improve your retention with quizzes. Enjoy PDF summaries, infographics, offline access with our app and more.

Our users love Sumizeit

Join thousands of readers who learn faster than they ever thought possible

Trustpilot reviews
4.6
out of 5
5k+ ratings
Quality

People ❤️ SumizeIt

See what our readers are saying

Olga Z.

I love this app! As a busy executive, I don't have time to read entire books, but I still want to stay informed. This app provides me with concise summaries of the latest bestsellers, so I can stay up-to-date on the latest trends and ideas without sacrificing my precious time.

Chen L.

Very good development in last months. Content updates on a regular basis and UI is getting better and better.

Erica A.

Great product. Have used them for a long time. One of my favorite things about them is that they are able to summarize a whole book into just 10 minutes.

William H.

This app has been a lifesaver for my studies. Instead of struggling to finish textbooks, I can quickly get the key points from each chapter. It's helped me improve my grades and understand the material much better.