Book review of LifeStyled by Shira Gill

Getting the latest book by a professional organizer whose breakthrough concept is minimalism may seem a little counterintuitive, but hear me out: LifeStyled: Your Guide to a More Organized and Intentional Life might change your life. At least, that’s what Shira Gill aims for. LifeStyled takes Gill’s well-established minimalist organizational principles, which she laid out in 2021’s Minimalista, and applies them to areas like health, relationships and finance. “To me, minimalism doesn’t refer to the lack or absence of something,” she writes. “It’s about having the perfect amount. Just enough without the excess.” The step-by-step guide is thorough and filled with useful insight and practical advice. For example: If the idea of yearly resolutions makes you anxious, consider setting mission statements by season. The book’s first section lays out a tool kit: adjusting volume, creating systems and implementing habits. The second section puts those tools into practice. It’s refreshing to read a lifestyle book that asks you to intentionally lower the bar, then tells you how to get there with grace. Gill shows that she has as much in common with self-help coaches like James Clear as she does with Martha Stewart. This is an elegant, down-to-earth handbook that is as pragmatic as it is inspiring.