I loved this book! I had first heard about it on the Currently Reading Podcast and the. I saw this title on Netgalley and was lucky enough to get an ARC.

Kendra Adachi talks about principles we all kind of know but sometimes just need to hear again. I have been thinking about some of her life lessons and will definitely try to apply some of them in my life. This is also a book I would gladly reread in a few years time and will recommend to my girlfriends.

I LOVE Kendra... Her blog and podcast have TRULY added so much value to my life, and this book did NOT disappoint! It is one I recommend for all my friends!

If you are looking for a book that tells you what to do in what order, a la Flylady, this is not it. Kendra Adachi reminds her readers, over and over again, that each one of us has different priorities in life. To make things easier for ourselves we first need to figure who we are and what's important to us. I know that other reviewers feel like this book is strictly for moms with young children at home but I highly disagree. Those people are projecting. The author is simply telling us what is important to *her* not that you should adopt her priorities in life. Having said that, I wish I had read something like this when my own son was very young. I would have given myself permission to be much kinder to myself.

The Lazy Genius Way left me with some great ideas to help simplify my life. My favorite tip was “decide once” for everything from meal planning to gifting to what to do with the dog leash! Some of the lazy genius suggestions are quite obvious, but Kendra proposes them in a way that make them seem novel and easy, all at once. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to implement the tips in my life!

Oh my word, I loved this book so much. It'll be included in my annual Summer Reading Guide in the non-fiction section.

Thank you to @netgalley and @waterbrookmultnomah for this free ebook. I first heard about the "lazy genius way" from @annebogel on her podcast #WSIRN. I was initially intrigued because we share the same name, but I was happy to read this practical guide to making your life easier. Kendra details 13 principles to thinking smart about your everyday life. The basic concept is the let what is important to you be important and streamline the rest. I found as I was reading that I had already begun applying some of these principles to my life all on my own, so I was happy to know I was already on my way to being a lazy genius! Kendra does a great job of explaining every principle, giving concrete examples in her own life, and then giving you one small step to take for you to set that principle into motion in your own life. I have already seen benefits!

The Lazy Genius Way is fantastic in it's detailed simplicity. Adachi has a way of giving you steps to simplify your life without being overbearing or seeming like a know it all. She addresses her own privileges and biases along the way and invites her readers to do the same. Even though I've read a million self-help books with similar advice, Adachi has a fresh take on actionable ways to simplify your life. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels like they're not living up on society's standards for them. I also highly recommend Adachi's podcast which breaks down many of the steps in her book for very specific situations.

This book contains good, straightforward advice on how to uncomplicate your life and focus on what matters to you. I found the forward and introduction to be tedious and unhelpful, however, so I recommend skipping them. I could also have done without the references to the author's religious faith and personal values throughout. If you can overlook those things, you'll likely find the book helpful.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

"You may be tired of waiting for whatever sits on the other side of the longing and feel exhausted by the guilt of longing for something else"

Loved the writing style of the author. All the advice is very practical and can be followed in small steps as the author intended. I could really identify with the circumstances mentioned.
I had the digital copy and so the postscripts did not make sense to me.

I got an ARC for an honest review on the book.

Kendra gets it. She gets that life is busy, and that we want to spend our energy on the things that matter to us. She gets that there are a million voices out there with complicated ideas about ways forward to the life we dream of, and she wants to add a calm voice to that cacophony.

I, for one, am a fan of the lazy genius way and I think it may just be the best way.

I really enjoyed The Lazy Genius Way, I was looking for something motivational to read during this Pandemic to assist me with pumping myself up to just do the regular things that seemed to be so hard todo during these times. I love the steps they were easy enough to do and made me feel great to make some progress on my procrastinating. Easy to digest and fun to read.

I tried to read this and had to DNF. I don't know if I am already a lazy genius, but I didn't feel like the tips were revolutionary. I think I was just not the right audience for this book.

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.