The book The Power of Less by Leo Babauta arrived on my doorstep and not a minute too soon. I just completed my first book, was freelance writing to hourly and daily deadlines, blogging daily, twittering occasionally (via 2 accounts, mind you) and my email kept crashing because it is overloaded and exhausted.

Me too.

I don't read how-to books except when it comes to productivity, organizing and managing my time, because I always feel like there's improvement to be made there in my fun but crazybusy life.

And now more than ever.

And while author Leo Babauta (creator of zenhabits) does not really say anything that hasn't been covered before, this way that he presents is makes all the difference in the world.

First of all, The Power of Less is a slim volume (170 pages) , there's a lot of white space on the page and the chapters are small and manageable.

But perhaps it's that he's not using management, corporate speak that makes it such an easy read. It's more like a friend suggesting that you take more time to do what's important to you than formulas and charts to follow, like most simplfying books I've read before.

It may also be that it's these principles on the page that turned him around from an listless overweight smoker to an avid runner and successful writer and daily blogger. It worked for him, you think to yourself. Maybe it can work for me too.

And really, by breaking down your goals into manageable tasks and focusing on only a few tasks at a time, as he suggests for example, you know that's going to get you farther ahead than the crazy scattered way your working right now.

Normally I'm very organized and methodical, but lately, it's all just been piling up to where I feel like I can't get a handle on everything. Though I kept on doing what I was doing, over the few nights that I read Leo's book, I started to feel better and more in control - like somehow I could manage it all now.

And I think that's the gift of this book. It's that moment to step back and have someone else guide you when you can't see what's what.

We all know the principals - set limits (chapter 2), start small (chapter 6), declutter you work space (chapter 15), slow down (chapter 16) - but sometimes it just takes being reminded of them, of being nudged in the right direction.

And that's what I appreciate about Leo's book - it's a gentle nudge and a voice of calm and reason.

Ahhhh.

It's instant relief, despite the pile of papers and emails and phone calls awaiting your attention.

In his introduction, Leo writes:

"Each chapter of this book is designed to teach you how to focus on less and to use that focus to be more powerful in different areas of your life. You'll learn to simplify what you do, to reduce the volume of your task and projects and communication and information. You'll learn to reduce the clutter in your life so that you're less stressed and more productive. You'll learn how simplicity can be extremely powerful and how to use that to accomplish your goals, one at a time."

And thanks to his suggestions of setting limitations, simplifying, focusing and doing what's important first, I am happy to say that I am back on track. I still have the same problems that you are probably tackling too - too much coming in - email, voicemail, work, etc - and trying to manage it all at once, but I have been wisely reminded that this never works.

It's funny because now I have more work today than I had yesterday, but Leo's words ring in my ears and I pick up one piece of paper at a time, finish one thing before moving onto something else and somehow I've worked through much of my to do list and made plans to do things I've wanted to do for months.

All I needed was some wise words and a little nudge to get back into a routine that keeps me sane and on top of the never-ending in-pile.

Thanks, Leo. I couldn't have done it without you.

Get it now in book form or for your Kindle.