Content tagged with "productivity"

Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential
Deane’s Library
Book Review
July 3, 2022
314

“Tiago Forte has been selling an online class with the same title as this book for years. I’ve always wanted to take it, but it was expensive and there’s always a waiting list. So, I was happy to get this book. Now, it’s a good book, but, honestly, this is ‘Getting Things Done’ by another name. And…”

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 21, 2019
57

“A re-read. I first read this 7-8 years ago. Absolutely brilliant book, mainly about the use of simple checklists in surgery and aviation, but relevant to any discipline. One of the best business books I’ve ever read.”

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Deane’s Library
Book Review
June 16, 2018
90

“Deals in the generalities of working deeply, without distraction. It spends a lot of time trying to prove the value, which I didn’t think was necessary. And it seemed short on details or concrete plans. It had four principles, which were valuable, but I looked at the book more as motivation or focus…”

Do the Work
Deane’s Library
Book Review
January 17, 2014
50

“Came highly recommended, but I didn’t get it. It was very stylized – a la Tom Peters – but the content was obvious, and there we precious few good pieces of information in among the rhetorical flourishes.”

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Deane’s Library
Book Review
May 26, 2017
99

“Not what I expected. I’ve been exposed to the author’s research in business contexts and thought the entire book would be about applicability to business, but it’s not. It’s an almost quasi-religious exploration into happiness in general. The book seems to be more philosophy than science, with…”

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 2, 2023
418

“It’s ironic that I haven’t written a review for this book yet . This book might have affected my life more than any other. I have recommended it to thousands of people via social media, and dozens of people in multiple countries have told me they read it because I recommended it. I bought a…”

Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
Deane’s Library
Book Review
May 13, 2021
137

“This was recommended, but I didn’t love it. It’s a ‘cookbook’ of sorts – each chapter is a short ‘hack’ to try to keep your attention span on track. There’s nothing new here. You’ve probably seen all these before. The author does try to fit everything into a four point framework. Master internal…”

Ploductivity: A Practical Theology of Tools & Wealth
Deane’s Library
Book Review
November 22, 2021
281

“This book is an attempt by Douglas Wilson to convey a ‘theology of work,’ and explain how any work is blessed and sacred. The book is promoted as more of a celebration of working slowly – plodding away at something, rather than trying to rush through it. Wilson is a theologian. He’s very prominent…”

The Power of Focus
Deane’s Library
Book Review
February 19, 2014
84

“Didn’t really care for this. I thought it was a book about personal focus, and specifically how to focus better on tasks. It…wasn’t. It was about self-awareness and mindfulness and systemic thinking, etc. After the first few chapters, there was nothing about attention span. It was well-written with…”

The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy
Deane’s Library
Book Review
April 22, 2019
105

“There’s nothing new here, and if you read a lot of productivity or self-improvement books, you won’t get much from it. But if you don’t, and you need to pick one, this would be a good one. The gimmick is that this guy spent one year of his life performing every hack he could think of to improve his…”

Singletasking: Get More Done One Thing at a Time
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 22, 2015
123

“This book was perhaps inspiring, but not much else. The author spends a lot of time explaining why multi-tasking is bad, which is fine, but I think we all know this. Did I learn anything practical from the book? Probably not. But it was inspiration to get me to try and single-task more. I…”

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout
Deane’s Library
Book Review
June 5, 2024
156

“I’ll basically read anything Cal Newport writes. After so-good-they-cant-ignore-you and Deep Work, I was just hooked on the dream he offers – deep work, without interruption, toward tangible, consistent results. Mind you, it’s a dream I’ve never quite been able to reach, but I keep reaching for it….”

So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love
Deane’s Library
Book Review
April 13, 2015
176

“Absolutely brilliant book that anyone in their 20s or who is just starting out their career should read. It lays waste to the idea that we need to ‘pursue our passion,’ and instead promotes the idea that we need to ravenously acquire skill and either find passion through the expression of that…”

What To Do When There’s Too Much To Do: Reduce Tasks, Increase Results, and Save 90 a Minutes Day
Deane’s Library
Book Review
August 10, 2014
126

“Solid, practical book full of tips to help you get work done. Of course, it’s up to you to implement this stuff, and this is where most people will fall down . Deliberately follow the advice of the book, and you will clearly improve your life, both personal and professional. But therein lies the…”