This was a really unique, quick, and great read! It was super easy to read and I loved Adachi's voice throughout. It truly felt like I was listening to a friend! While not all of her tips were relevant to me since I don't have kids, I can appreciate that they'd be great for busy moms! I really did like her ideas related to batching tasks and working to make decisions easier — it really made me think about areas of my life where I could try to fit them in. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. I think it would be great on audio as well!

What an enjoyable and enlightening little book this is! I read it in one sitting and really felt as though I can take quite a bit from it. Its basic stuff but makes so much sense in this busy world and its so relatable.

Its definitely one of those books that has stayed with me and I will absolutely be buying it as gifts for my friends.

Highly recommended and well worthy of 5 stars.

Thank you Waterbrook and Netgalley.

The Lazy Genius Way
By Kenda Adachi

I am not one for self-help books, but the concept of this book appealed to me. I am lazy and wanted to see if I could be a genius in my laziness. I am also getting overwhelmed by “stuff” and because I work from home full-time now, I am more motivated to do something about it.

I do not react well by being told what I “should” do. But according to the author, “Being a Lazy Genius isn’t about doing more or doing less. It's about doing what matters to you.”

Count me in!

The book outlines 13 “Lazy Genius” principles, which include things like “decide once,” “start small,” “ask the magic question,” “do tasks in batches,” and “schedule rest.”

Even with my aversion to self-help (I totally skimmed the relationship chapters – lol), I actually got a few useful nuggets from this book. I liked her process for deciding what to keep and what to let go. She says to ask the following questions: Does this item add value to my life? If so, does this item have a place to go?

To this, I added a dash of Marie Kondo: Does this item spark joy?

If something adds value to my life and/or sparks joy, and it doesn’t have a place to go, then I need to create space for it by getting rid of stuff that no longer adds value or sparks joy. This is also a useful exercise to go through BEFORE deciding to buy something.

I was also pretty pleased that I was already effectively “batching” chores before I even knew what it meant. (I should write my own book! Clearly I am a genius!)

Recommended if you need some practical advice for wrangling the chaos in your life.

QOTD: What is the area of your home that gets the most out of control?

AOTD: Mine is threefold: the kitchen (because too many mugs), the garage (because it’s a dumping ground for my husband’s stuff), and my bedroom closet (because I have waaay too many t-shirts). I actually just did a big closet purge using the value/joy method and it really helped! I got rid of so much stuff, especially shoes that brought me zero value or joy (I’m looking at you, heels).

I’m a huge fan of Kendra Adachi and listen to her podcast and follow her on Instagram regularly. The theme of her work is “Be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t”. Easier said than done. Her book gives us the tools to put this phrase into action. The most important thing we can do and the first step in her system is to “name what matters”. So many of us (myself included) run around trying to Do.All.The.Things and do them well. We never pause long enough to ask ourselves if what we’re doing even matters, is it important. In this book, Kendra walks through 13 Principles that will help us “lazy genius” our lives and homes. She shares plenty of examples of how the principles work in her life. My best takeaway is “the magic question”: what can I do now, to make later easier. This is a quick read with practical ideas that will easily fit into my life. The writing is fun and relatable, like chatting with a girlfriend over coffee. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for ways to improve what you’re doing without the traditional “self help” style of lecturing and overhauling entire systems.

I follow Kendra on IG and love her Genius Way of life. Great layout and ask yourself what matters the most and do it!

In a world of “self help” that teaches you how to become more like the author, Kendra has a refreshing way of helping you become more like yourself. With kindness, humor, simplicity, and grace, you too can become a lazy genius. I guarantee your life will be better for it (I know mine is!)

The way Kendra Adachi expresses her way of looking at the world and her life is so entertaining and motivating. While I don't find that this is exceptionally life-changing, Adachi has the ability to make you think you can do anything you set your mind to, and she gives some reasonable, practical advice. I already want to reread this so I can take in some of these concepts and routines more. There are some valuable takeaways from the book that you will want to start using right away and it will likely offer some sense of order and control in your otherwise chaotic life. I really appreciate the casualness of Adachi's tone and her inspiring words.

The Lazy Genius Way has me asking myself, "What matters to me?" I'm already on a path to minimize belongings, not drastic minimalization, but allowing us to not fill our house with stuff that doesn't matter to us so we can prioritize what matters to us.

Kendra Adachi is so relatable to a working mom. She bares her soul, how she reacted to certain times in her life, and moms can relate. What I love about this book are the questions she gives us to ask ourselves. I'm sure I've thought about some of these, but keeping these close at hand will allow me to look at situations and stuff differently. The main key, for me, is to start small.

I highly recommend this read to everyone! Don't let anyone tell you what to do or make you feel guilty for the decisions you make. You decide what matters and build from there.

Thank you to NetGally and WaterBrook & Multnomah for allowing me to read this, and I'm leaving my honest review in return.

I love Kendra so much! I really enjoy listening to her podcast and following her on Instagram. This book was so enlightening and helpful with everyday life. As Anne Bogel likes to say, this is "a book I wish I could download into my head".

I’m in love with this book. Even getting one thing out of this book is a win because each tip is that good. If you have any New Years resolutions, this text will be a HUGE help.

This was so encouraging and informative; I thought this was a great book for the pandemic and quarantine -- the basic principles are as follows:

DECIDE ONCE Lazy Genius Principle #1
START SMALL Lazy Genius Principle #2
ASK THE MAGIC QUESTION Lazy Genius Principle #3
LIVE IN THE SEASON Lazy Genius Principle #4
BUILD THE RIGHT ROUTINES Lazy Genius Principle #5
SET HOUSE RULES Lazy Genius Principle #6
PUT EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE Lazy Genius Principle #7
LET PEOPLE IN Lazy Genius Principle #8
BATCH IT Lazy Genius Principle #9
ESSENTIALIZE Lazy Genius Principle #10
GO IN THE RIGHT ORDER Lazy Genius Principle #11
SCHEDULE REST Lazy Genius Principle #12
BE KIND TO YOURSELF Lazy Genius Principle #13

I think being kind to yourself is a wonderful section as I often do not do that. I thought each was informative t the day to day that we do in lockdown and this pandemic. Outside of it, it is advantageous as well. Being able to have a book that teaches you that laziness is okay is encouraging. Most state how productive you always need to be, how you always need to be "working," which gives a nice reprieve. Instead of making it seem like "laziness" is a terrible quality, it allows you to understand that rest and taking breaks is vital. I think that is what makes this book fantastic and informative.

Kendra Adachi shows us it’s okay to be “lazy” about the things that don’t matter. And for the things that do matter? Find a way to be a genius.

“Telling yourself you’re better than someone is just as harmful as telling yourself you’re worse. . . .
Remember, it’s not all lazy or all genius. You get to choose.”

I love the simplicity and organization of this book. Kendra gives us 13 Lazy Genius Principles (along with a healthy dose of humor). She explains each principle and gives examples, then ends each chapter with a recap, plus “One Small Step.”

For example, the Lazy Genius Principle #3 is “Ask the magic question.”

“The Magic Question, put simply, is this: What can I do now to make life easier later?“

Kendra suggests we tend to the necessary before it becomes urgent. For her, the after-school schedule was chaotic. So to make life easier later, BEFORE she picks up her kids from school, she throws whatever food she has on a big plate and sets it on the kitchen table. When she arrives home later with her kids, there are no arguments about what to eat.

Kendra uses the magic question for lots of areas.

* What can I do now to make vacuuming the floor easier later?
Have a 60-second family floor pickup and pull the vacuum out of the closet.
* What can I do now to make writing my blog post easier later?
Collect ideas in a voice memo and put the computer on the kitchen counter for when I’m ready to write.
* What can I do now to make paying bills easier later?
Have a basket specifically for time-sensitive mail, and set an alarm on my phone to remind me to go through it every two weeks.

The “One Small Step” for this principle is:
“What’s up next in your day? Ask yourself the Magic Question and see what happens.”

Here are all 13 of the principles.

DECIDE ONCE Lazy Genius Principle #1
START SMALL Lazy Genius Principle #2
ASK THE MAGIC QUESTION Lazy Genius Principle #3
LIVE IN THE SEASON Lazy Genius Principle #4
BUILD THE RIGHT ROUTINES Lazy Genius Principle #5
SET HOUSE RULES Lazy Genius Principle #6
PUT EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE Lazy Genius Principle #7
LET PEOPLE IN Lazy Genius Principle #8
BATCH IT Lazy Genius Principle #9
ESSENTIALIZE Lazy Genius Principle #10
GO IN THE RIGHT ORDER Lazy Genius Principle #11
SCHEDULE REST Lazy Genius Principle #12
BE KIND TO YOURSELF Lazy Genius Principle #13

I’ve read several books in this genre lately, but The Lazy Genius Way may be my favorite.

My thanks to Net Galley, WaterBrook & Multnomah for the review copy of this book.

I heard Kendra Adachi on the That Sounds Fun podcast with Annie Downs, and remembered that I had downloaded The Lazy Genius Way to read a while ago. I picked it up to read and couldn't put it down! It was such a good read. So many books about productivity are overwhelming, boring and make you feel like you're missing the important things. This book was approachable, so relatable, and most of all DOABLE. All the suggestions here for creating a "system with soul" are so simple that you won't believe they work! Choosing things that matter to you seems so simple, but it's revolutionary. Plus, this book was really fun to read - which I don't often say on books about productivity! Highly recommend.

Who doesn't need to read this book?!?! I found it so encouraging and informative, and it doesn't feel like a fad, as so many of the home help books do anymore. It's practical and most important, Kendra's Adachi's advice is completely personal. It's all about what works for you and tailoring how you organize and care for your life and the people in it from that frame. She recognizes that what works for one person likely won't work for another person; instead, she provides principles that you will use to create your own organizational style. It's bomb.

I can't rave enough about the tone and manner in which she presents her information. She is absolutely NEVER judgmental, and she works in many of her own personal failures humorously. She talks to you as though she's talking to a friend or a confidante or a little sister. It's direct and easily understood. I think this is a fantastic book for its genre!

Pros: My favorite podcasters (Anne Bogel, Knox McCoy & Jamie Golden) all raved about this book, and I can see why after reading it! As a fellow Enneagram 1, I related to many of Kendra Adachi's anecdotes relatable and found her suggestions practical. Since reading this book, I've followed Kendra Adachi on Instagram and listened to her podcast! The one thing I will take away from this book is to choose once! It has simplified my life and helped stop me from overthinking things.

Cons: As I live alone (not married, no children), not everything in this book applied to my life.

I love Kendra so, so much. I am neither a stay-at-home mom nor a mom at all, and I still have found so much value in her principles and advice. Thinking about my own life the Lazy Genius Way has changed a ton for me, and I've actually read this twice now in its entirety.

The Lazy Genius Way is really a guide, an outline, to help readers figure out what matters most in their own lives, in the current situation or task at hand, and approach it in the best way possible. She has so many great ideas that apply in most situations. I meal plan like her, I "Decide Once", and super importantly, I now "Go in the Right Order". Her approach to figuring things out works every freakin' time, and has really freed up time for me to do more things I actually love instead of making sure my house isn't a disgusting pit all the time. It's all so simple, so straightforward, but somehow clicked for me in this big epiphany moment. I don't actually have to make things hard on myself and overcomplicate or wait til the last minute. I genuinely feel like Kendra has helped me optimize my life in such a comforting, simple, but profound way.

Like, for real, Kendra is a literal Lazy Genius. I've always gotten the Lazy part right, but with her sage advice, I'm now a Genius about it. Love her dearly.

I enjoyed this book and I feel that I can dip in and out as needed. Easy to read and process, there really is a plethora of advice and thinking points that are helpful wherever you are on your journey. I wasn’t so keen on the number of Christian references, I feel the boom would be more inclusive by either leaving religious comparisons out or by including a wider range of religions and how the method links to them. I appreciate the author is talking from experience but it’s just not what I personally enjoy. Saying that it was the only criticism I had because this book is great!

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC of this book.

I'm a huge fan of productivity books and podcasts, and I've listened to Kendra Adachi's related podcast for a long time now. But sometimes it's important to get into the nuts and bolts of the concepts, the actionable steps that you can refer to time and time again in order to regain sanity in your life. That's exactly what Adachi does in the book THE LAZY GENIUS WAY. She provides ample advice—everything from getting the house in order to "essentializing" your priorities and schedules. There's a wealth of advice here, and it's one that I'll keep returning to over time when I need refreshers on how to take control of the things that feel overwhelming in life.

Kendra’s The Lazy Genius Way is a book I’ve been following on social media for a while, and just now got around to reading. I’m sorry I didn’t read it sooner! What a breath of fresh air amongst all of the self help and self care advice out in the world! Perfect for the person like me who has burned out from trying to do all the things all the time. The concept of fixed decisions saves so much time and frustration! I constantly get stuck in what I call decision paralysis. Now I can’t wait to see how many of my decisions become easier thanks to the principles in this book! I could go on and on, because everything I had already heard about this book prior to reading it is true - it is genius!

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style and the way the chapters were laid out. It was easy to follow and I found myself nodding in agreement with the author. It is a helpful resource to reassess, recalibrate, and retool! Definitely recommend checking this out.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.