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lyratorg's review against another edition
4.0
Though I was initially not very interested in this book, it grew on me - to the point where I'm actually thinking about purchasing a copy so I can spend more time with it.
nola1222's review against another edition
4.0
This book is really applicable to your life in the sense that at the end of each chapter, the author gives you an exercise to do and to apply to your life. I really recommend this book for people who are just starting to get into self-help/productivity books.
sarawalker's review against another edition
1.0
I listened to the audio-book in one day while doing laundry, ironing, cooking, and cleaning. It's the only good use I know for this type of book.
Good for you dude bro! Congrats on all the accomplishments and your support network.
BTW, James Clear has written about habits WAY better!
Good for you dude bro! Congrats on all the accomplishments and your support network.
BTW, James Clear has written about habits WAY better!
t_shaffner's review against another edition
3.0
In some ways I feel bad for giving this book only three stars. The content overall was quite thought-provoking, and as a survey of a fairly wide variety of topics related to or touching on productivity it was fairly effective! Ranging from meditation to biorhythms to energy management to scheduling to caffeine intake to sleep, the topics covered were fairly comprehensive. And I have to say a number of points in the book I found inspiring or thought provoking or useful!
At the same time, as evidenced by how long it took me to read the damn thing, it just didn't particularly grip. Sections would be inspiring now and then but it didn't all flow together and a fair number of the exercises were uninteresting or left me rolling my eyes a bit in the way the self-help genre often does.
This is a bit unfair I think because much of becoming more productive is really about the accumulation of small changes. As a particularly useful section near the end discussed, making small changes to habits is likely a far more effective approach long-term than much else one might do, and the accumulation of all these things is likely where real value lies! This fact means that gripping quick-fix changes aren't really possible, detracting from the enjoyment a bit. This is a somewhat unsatisfying fact though so to some extent the frustration with the book is likely just a frustration with reality.
That doesn't change the end result though, which is to say if you want a survey of topics related to this that's relatively good and thought provoking but hardly a speed-read this will do. And the treatments of the various topics will be quite good but you won't encounter anything earth shattering in this, and the end result is still that many factors matter in conjunction.
A few thoughts on the most useful takeaways:
1. The habits section is particularly good, with one of the main takeaways being mentioned above.
2. Similar to [b:How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life|17859574|How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big Kind of the Story of My Life|Scott Adams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1369823209l/17859574._SY75_.jpg|25002298], this book advocated a particular focus on energy as one of the more useful metrics to focus on. I continue to find this a useful idea as it collapses many different important things into a single factor that is useful.
3. Building on 2, the author discussed high and low energy points throughout the day, and I must say this is one of the most useful concepts I took from the book. A recognition of these points, the impact they have on ability to think clearly or be productive, and the impact adjusting to understand this biorhythm effect and accommodate it is large! For this reasons this book merits the diverse-interesting-learning shelf despite being only three stars.
For these and a few other topics I might even come back to this book at some future point, and I'll be curious to follow the author in his future work as well.
At the same time, as evidenced by how long it took me to read the damn thing, it just didn't particularly grip. Sections would be inspiring now and then but it didn't all flow together and a fair number of the exercises were uninteresting or left me rolling my eyes a bit in the way the self-help genre often does.
This is a bit unfair I think because much of becoming more productive is really about the accumulation of small changes. As a particularly useful section near the end discussed, making small changes to habits is likely a far more effective approach long-term than much else one might do, and the accumulation of all these things is likely where real value lies! This fact means that gripping quick-fix changes aren't really possible, detracting from the enjoyment a bit. This is a somewhat unsatisfying fact though so to some extent the frustration with the book is likely just a frustration with reality.
That doesn't change the end result though, which is to say if you want a survey of topics related to this that's relatively good and thought provoking but hardly a speed-read this will do. And the treatments of the various topics will be quite good but you won't encounter anything earth shattering in this, and the end result is still that many factors matter in conjunction.
A few thoughts on the most useful takeaways:
1. The habits section is particularly good, with one of the main takeaways being mentioned above.
2. Similar to [b:How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life|17859574|How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big Kind of the Story of My Life|Scott Adams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1369823209l/17859574._SY75_.jpg|25002298], this book advocated a particular focus on energy as one of the more useful metrics to focus on. I continue to find this a useful idea as it collapses many different important things into a single factor that is useful.
3. Building on 2, the author discussed high and low energy points throughout the day, and I must say this is one of the most useful concepts I took from the book. A recognition of these points, the impact they have on ability to think clearly or be productive, and the impact adjusting to understand this biorhythm effect and accommodate it is large! For this reasons this book merits the diverse-interesting-learning shelf despite being only three stars.
For these and a few other topics I might even come back to this book at some future point, and I'll be curious to follow the author in his future work as well.
bluebonnetreads's review against another edition
4.0
Practical advice that seems sound, and engaging enough to keep my attention.
dareiai0us's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
It's a little bit of a grindset book, but it does teach about mindfulness and regaining control of your focus, which is a good advice if you haven't already listened to it 100 times before
mchester24's review against another edition
3.0
So I started this book a number of years ago, fell out of my reading habits, and recently picked it back up to finish. I realize the irony that I essentially procrastinated in reading this book, but what I found when I revisited it and finished it was that it must have been effective, since many of the tips and tricks Bailey harps on I had adopted into my daily habits without recalling that's where I got them! So that's a pretty good endorsement I'd say.
Some of the science is a bit wishy washy, which is OK because he's a blogger more than a social scientist, but without diving into the specifics of scientific papers he references that takes some of the value away for me. It also does feel like he writes from a pretty self-important and vague standpoint so at times that put me off.
But overall, some great insights, suggestions, and I feel everyone who reads this that wants to get more out of their work day can find something small here and there to adopt that will be helpful. So in the end, a helpful book.
Some of the science is a bit wishy washy, which is OK because he's a blogger more than a social scientist, but without diving into the specifics of scientific papers he references that takes some of the value away for me. It also does feel like he writes from a pretty self-important and vague standpoint so at times that put me off.
But overall, some great insights, suggestions, and I feel everyone who reads this that wants to get more out of their work day can find something small here and there to adopt that will be helpful. So in the end, a helpful book.
stroberry's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Good book that somehow helped me to relax and fall asleep
mazerbeams's review against another edition
3.0
There were a few good points, but nothing I couldn't find on pinterest...kind of a waste of money in my opinion. (Especially since he has a whole blog about all of this. For free.)