Today I’m going to take a little time to think about editing. In the context of my life. I’ve always been ‘editing,’ but there’s always room for improvement; to do it a little bit better.

According to McKeown in ESSENTIALISM (bold emphasis mine): An editor is not merely someone who says no to things. […]

With zero-based budgeting, accountants use zero as the baseline, and this means every line item in the proposed budget must be justified from scratch. Not using last year’s numbers as the baseline for next year’s projection (usually the practice). Zero-based budgeting is more ‘cumbersome,’ but it forces scrutiny and provides clarity.

I had applied “zero-based budgeting” in my own life when I moved to Sweden […]

If it isn’t a clear yes, then it’s a clear no.

I’m thinking of the standard I set for myself. Let’s say the job market, for example. I’m thinking about what makes me a clear choice for the role over the other person. In other words, a HELL YEAH! (copying Derek Sivers). […]

Look: See what really matters. It’s not about regurgitating the facts but about figuring out the point (in the case of journalism, for example). It means making those relationships and connections (between the set of facts) explicit. McKeown says:

In every set of facts, something essential is hidden. […]