Awesome book for pursuing self-discovery and personal growth. Very insightful, detailed and actionable!

A terrific book for women no matter where they are in their life. An easy to read book where Tonya lays it all out. How to be successful, reduce your stress, and make sure you're not overfilling your plate with a never ending to-do list.

You'll establish your mission, your vision, and create your own core values to keep you on track. As the creator behind inkWell, she definitely knows how to keep you on track for success.

Helpful advice in terms of productivity and purpose.
Would recommend if you feel your schedule is dictating your life rather than you dictating your schedule. While I found the book helpful I would say that the title doesn’t particularly reflect the content.

I really liked what Mrs. Dalton had to say about simplifying life and finding your north star. She had a lot of great suggestions for getting your life to where you need it to be to be happy and even had me contemplating going back to a hand written planner. Her stories were all very inspirational and it was great to hear that other women are going through similar journeys.

A joy to read.

"Happiness is not a limited resource. You are not going to use it all up. If anything, it's a resource that exponentially grows when cultivated. Happiness spreads. Your happiness isn't defined by others - it's defined by you and the daily choices you make. Living a life centered on your priorities is making a choice to be happy, and it's okay to choose happy."

I have read quite a few books on intentional living and this quickly became one of my favorites. I had not heard of Tonya Dalton prior and knew nothing about her podcast or planners. I saw this book advertised online, added it to my reading list, and was fortunate enough to receive a free copy from Nelson Books.

Tonya provides a lot of useful information with an outline of how to practically apply it to your life. Her voice on the subject of slowing down and prioritizing your life is a breath of fresh air and doesn't sound like many others do on this topic, which can more often than not come off as pretentious and condescending. She writes like a friend - kind, genuine, and humble. I may not have known about her prior to reading this book, but I definitely added her podcast to my audio library shortly after and I know I will reread and reference this book in the future.

I enjoyed this true story about being overwhelmed. In our society these days it is so easy to be overwhelmed and in Dalton's case being a mother on top of everything else. I like raw and real stories and she certainly was. I think she accurately nails it on the head of what being overwhelmed is when she said "...[she] was spinning like a top but in slow motion." I also really enjoyed that she was blaming herself for being overwhelmed instead of blaming other things or other people. She says, "Thought I didn't know it at the time, I was the cause of my own overwhelm." Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. I know a lot of people who should read this and understand that it is okay to slow down.

Great manual on what how to slow down and figure out what is really important in life! Easy to read and broken out into four main sections: Pursue Discovery, Find Clarity, Create Simplicity and Achieve Harmony. If you are overwhelmed and need to simplify your life, this is the book to read!

This book shines on every level: sentence after sentence is beautiful and precise. The characters are complicated and sympathetic, the ideas are sweeping and profound, but are never too overt. It’s a rare novel that is as accomplished in its meaning as it is in its storytelling while also succeeding wildly on the language level as well! A novel to lose yourself in and then reflect upon again and again.

The Joy of Missing Out is a great manual for anyone looking to slow down and focus on the items that are truly important to them. Dalton provides step by step methods on how to find your North Star and narrow your focus to truly bring light and grace into your life.

I really enjoyed this book and the way it made me think about my life! Dalton writes very clearly and outlines great strategies for examining priorities.

I liked the concept of this book and it was good in places but just far too mom-focused - not every woman has or wants kids and people without kids are busy juggling too! I understand you write from your perspective but it was like the only thing that made productivity a problem and became SUCH a narrow focus that I couldn't relate. Not for me.

As a working mum, with two jobs it is really hard to focus. You always got the feeling you are letting someone down, and that you are not giving 100 % because you can't get everything to work as you plan.

And like so many I am stuck in that vicious circle. The Joy of Missing out is a great way, to focus and share you have to be strict and try not to be nice to everyone and yes to every task people bring to your doorstep.

But I think it is a good opportunity to work on myself and become a better me.
Because I learned that, when I am happy all the people around me are also happy, specially the ones I love very much.

I'd like to thank the publisher for the chance to read this great book.

There are interesting ideas and tips to take away but with the stories and how it is structured not for me. Others may really like it.

I enjoyed this book. It’s about productivity but also about learning to say no to doing too much. It seems like it is geared towards working moms but I am not one and I still found some things to take away from this. How to prioritize better at work and home, how to say no to committees you don’t have a desire to participate in, how to value your own time. Even though it is published by a Christian publisher, it is not preachy. I would recommend it to those wanting to learn some systems for managing their time more effectively and essentially for stopping to focus on being busy all the time.
Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dalton is known for her LiveWell productivity platform - podcast, website, planers, etc. I appreciate her new book and the simple, but effective, ideas she presents on how to live a more intentional life. I plan to implement ideas that resonated with me right away!

(Also posted on my GR account)

Solid 4 stars because The Joy of Missing Out lived up to my expectation.

The book itself is divided into four sections and I recommended every reader to take their time to savor the writing. Tonya's writing is easy to follow and filled with meaning. When she set an example (from a client, herself, or a friend) and I wanted to challenge her thinking, she refuted my own argument the very next page.

I'm particularly liking the north star concept and even made one for myself. It's such an important foundation and I wonder why I felt like I'm just wandering the earth. This is definitely adding more values into my future plan.

I definitely need to find the joy in missing out! This book wasn't really what I was expecting but messages did resonate - I understand the feeling of being overwhelmed. I think I'm perhaps slightly further along in my journey than the audience this book is aimed for.

This book wasn't exactly what I thought I was getting when I requested it. The book was just so-so for me. Mostly aimed at busy parents, it had some good suggestions but wasn't really relevant to me and my situation.. Overall, it was just not what I was expecting. Thank you for the advanced copy.

I have read quite a few productivity and organization books, as well as the Youtube videos and podcasts that I listen to so a lot of what was in this book wasn't new to me, but I enjoyed it a lot. I found that Tonya laid out this book very well and organized her tips into easy to digest pieces. I liked that she ingested pieces of her life into the book to show how she stays productive.

Her tips and life seems real, especially in showing that her ideal morning routine doesn't happen every morning, nor does it need to. One of the biggest things I took away is that each day won't necessarily be balanced, but try and make it so that your week is.

My one disappointment in this book is that she mentions things from her other materials and courses without a lot of context and as I haven't read or done any of those things I was a bit lost in those moment, but overall this is a book that gave me some good ideas as well is not too overwhelming.

First sentence from the introduction: OVERWHELMED. It was a beautiful spring morning, but I was too busy to notice the trees beginning to bud or the clear blue sky.

First sentence from chapter one: Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe. OPRAH WINFREY

Premise/plot: Dalton hopes to connect with her readers who feel overwhelmed and stressed in her new book, The Joy of Missing Out. What does she mean by the phrase 'joy of missing out'?
Noun 1. The emotionally intelligent antidote to busy; intentionally choosing to live in the present moment by embracing open spaces of unrushed time 2. An intense feeling of delight and happiness caused by centering your life on what is truly important and letting go of the “shoulds” and “have to’s” in life. SYNONYMS: unhurried purpose, intentional, priority-centered ANTONYMS: busy, hustle, frazzled, knock stuff out, having a full plate
The book falls into the 'self-help' genre though it is published by a Christian publisher. It's a book about productivity, effectiveness, goal-setting, and priorities. It's a super-practical book packed with cultural wisdom. It guides readers step by step on discovering their own unique 'North Star' and discovering their own core values that will help shape their vision.
Productivity is not about doing more—it’s doing what’s most important. We need to stop trying to get more done and instead reset our focus on our own priorities. When we do that, our ideal life can become our real, everyday life.
When we treat everything as equal, it means nothing is a priority. It all gets jumbled together and we begin to lose sight of what really matters.
You have more time left in your life right now in this very minute than you will have an hour from now. There is not another point in your lifetime when you’ll have the luxury of the amount of time you have right this very second. If there’s something you really want to do, today is the day to start. It’s possible for your future to look brighter, for you to focus on the things that are important to you. But to do that, your priorities have to take priority.
While we may not be sailors, we still need a constant in our life to help guide us through the darkness. Here’s the hard fact: we don’t just find ourselves on a fulfilling, deeply satisfying path—we create it for ourselves. The clarity comes from within us.
My thoughts: If The Joy of Missing Out was NOT published by a Christian publisher, would I be surprised--even shocked--by its contents? Probably not. In fact, I know I wouldn't. This is exactly what I'd expect to find in any self-help section.

But the fact that it is in fact published by a Christian publisher, well, it shook me a bit. Why? Because the word "God" only appears once. The word "Bible" only appears once. I believe the words "church" and "Sunday School" appear once in the same story. And prayer might accidentally be mentioned two or three times even. Perhaps. But there is not one Scripture verse quoted or even alluded to. The book (the Bible) that is supposed to be the one and only authority in our lives is completely and totally missing. (As is all mention of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.) Oprah is mentioned more than God. Think about that. Think. About. That.

Priorities, goals, mission statements, core values, visions...all without any reference at all to God the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit...without any reference to God's will...to His sovereignty...to the Bible...to eternity. There is nothing remotely Christian about this one.

There are plenty of quotes to be found in this one. All contemporary. All cultural. But not one of them is from a Christian theologian, author, or preacher.

I am conflicted in some ways. On the one hand, I think she's lacking a solid foundation, and I question her questions. The questions and framework she wants us to work with--start from--are not based on anything solid and lasting. They are build on cultural wisdom and pragmatism. On the other hand, it is very true we don't need all the things. Some of the conclusions she arrives at seem true enough. We do fill our lives with things that just don't matter, with things that we don't really want. Sometimes we do not know how to say NO. I do believe in using your time wisely and valuing minutes. But her process...well...I'm just not sure it's biblical enough to build your own system around.

If you're looking for a book where you are encouraged and pleaded with to put yourself at the center always then this one might be for you.