For this issue of The Performance Report, we were lucky enough to meet up with Leo Babauta, author of The Power of Less and the creator and blogger at www.zenhabits.net, a Top 100 blog with 80,000 subscribers — one of the top productivity and simplicity blogs on the Internet.  I feel even more fortunate to bring the interview to you, since Babauta is considered by many to be one of the leading experts on productivity and simplicity, and has also written the top-selling productivity e-book in history: Zen To Done: The Ultimate Simple Productivity System. It has sold thousands of copies and has reached tens of thousands of readers.

Babauta is a former journalist and freelance writer of 18 years, a husband and father of six children, and lives on the island of Guam where he leads a very simple life.

He started Zen Habits to chronicle and share what he’s learned in his life transformation that started in 2005. In two years, he changed a number of habits through the effective habit-change techniques he shares in The Power of Less.

Here is our interview with Leo:

"Simplify" has certainly become a mantra for our times, and your life story (and writings) are great examples of that concept.  Do you think the current economical climate has played a role in your success?

I started Zen Habits before the economic recession, and the message of simplicity that I wrote about then caught on pretty well. I think with the increasing complexity of our lives and the technological world around us, people are craving a message of simplicity, no matter what the economic climate.

That said, in a time when people are being forced to scale back, there has undoubtedly been a surge in interest in my message.

 How has your daily life changed--and your own 'zen habits' since your blog and book have become so wildly popular?

I am incredibly lucky because the success of my blog and book have allowed me to do something I'm truly passionate about, for the first time in my life. I've also taken my newfound freedom, in being able to work for myself, to be able to live a life I really enjoy, to make more time for my family, to be able to pursue projects I really love doing.

My habits haven't changed much -- I still seek simplicity, I still exercise and eat well, and so on -- but my working style has changed greatly. Now, instead of working on things because other people tell me to, I work on what I want to work on. I do things as I get excited about them. That's a huge change.

With all of your interactions on a daily basis, do you see any microtrends or changes in the "simplicity" movement?

When I first started reading about the simplicity movement, it was more focused on frugality and doing things with the least impact on our environment. And while those are still important topics in the movement, there is definitely a trend toward finding ways to slow down and do less and avoid being overwhelmed by technology and information overload.

There is also a trend towards finding ways to use simplicity to achieve your goals, which is something I've been able to do.

Of all the articles you have written (and now two books and various ancillary materials), what would you say has been the most impactful message for your readers?  Does that change with the kind of reader (demographic)?

Every reader is looking for something different, but there seem to be two messages that seem to resonate most for the majority of my readers:

Focus on one thing at a time and clear away distractions to become more effective; and

Focus on what you're doing now so that you enjoy it more fully and enjoy life more.

Both, of course, are related messages -- different sides of the same coin.

With all the development that has happened for you in the last couple of years, what are you thinking about at this juncture?  What is coming up for you in the short and long term?


I'm not much for long-term planning these days. There's no way to see what opportunities will arise in the future, so how can you know which ones you'll choose? I'd rather wait and see what comes up and decide when the time comes.

That said, right now I'm working on two projects: one is a teleseminar for people who would like help implementing The Power of Less in their lives -- a hands-on approach -- and the second is an online seminar for bloggers, helping them to create amazing content and grow their readerships.

Beyond that, we'll just see what happens. I hope to be able to continue doing things I really love.

Thanks for your time, Leo.  Find out more about Leo Babauta's new book at www.thepowerofless.com