Content tagged with “productivity”

“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…”

“ 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. ”

“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…”

“ 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. ”

“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…”

“It’s ironic that I haven’t written a review for this book yet (I’m writing these words fully six months after I read the book). 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…”

“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…”

“I enjoyed this book, but understand that it’s not a simple book of techniques or direction. The author goes deep into the human mind – the swear, the first chapter is a lesson in neurological anatomy. You’ll read more about the human brain than you probably care to know. The book is interesting,…”

“I read Tiago Forte’s Building a Second Brain some time ago, and I remember it being a little underwhelming. It might have been because it was an entire trade-length book about a very simple concept. This book is better, because it’s much shorter and concentrates on a very basic method. It claims we…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“This is the second of John Mark Comer’s books I’ve read in the last month. They were both recommended by my daughter. This is what I would call an ‘inspirational title.’ Meaning, Comer isn’t telling us anything that we don’t already know, he’s just trying to prompt is to do something about it. We…”

“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…”

“I’ll basically read anything Cal Newport writes. After So Good They Can’t 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…”

“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 (1) find passion through the expression of that…”

“ Nice reading, but I don’t know that I learned anything particularly new. She makes a case for taking time away from work, and has chapters about things you can do and why they matter, but I’m not sure I’m any better off for having read it. ”

“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 (which clearly isn’t the book’s fault). Deliberately follow the advice of the book, and you will clearly improve your life, both personal and…”