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650 reviews for:
Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving
Celeste Headlee
3.87 AVERAGE
650 reviews for:
Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving
Celeste Headlee
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
I listened to this as an audiobook, right after listening to Jenny Odell's How to do Nothing, and found this one significantly easier to listen to. Both are worth reading because they both have different topics and ways of expressing things but circle around a similar topic. However Odell's was a lot more like a textbook that had very very long side tangents with a narrator that sounded like Siri. This one was like a breath of fresh air with the narrator speaking with a much more conversational cadence, the book was much more quickly paced and easier to follow, and finished with actionable steps.
No one single book is going to be applicable to everyone, this one had a lot of things that spoke to me, and several things that didn't, because I'm not in a corporate job. That said, I've been having conversations about this book, and have recommended it to several people. It's fascinating to learn a lot of the origins of some things and how life differed in times gone by.
No one single book is going to be applicable to everyone, this one had a lot of things that spoke to me, and several things that didn't, because I'm not in a corporate job. That said, I've been having conversations about this book, and have recommended it to several people. It's fascinating to learn a lot of the origins of some things and how life differed in times gone by.
slow-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
I liked the main ideas but a lot of the arguments just didn't sit well with me - especially the dogged insistence that face to face interaction is always better than online communication didn't age well in the two pandemic years. I also wish we would stop presenting pre-industrial rural work as some kind of bucolic paradise consisting of feast days and a bit of light gardening.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I loved the core conceit of this book. That every time a new technology promises to free up time, humans somehow get busier. The invitation to assess what drives happiness and cut out the clutter is great.
However, the examples on how to cut back were maddening. I appreciate the fact that one author can't address every balance of life, but at least try. All of the examples felt like a mix of "limit email/slack to 30 minutes per day, deep focus work without distraction for 2 hours, then spend the rest of the day walking your dog and reading books." What about people that work hourly? Or in client services?
However, the examples on how to cut back were maddening. I appreciate the fact that one author can't address every balance of life, but at least try. All of the examples felt like a mix of "limit email/slack to 30 minutes per day, deep focus work without distraction for 2 hours, then spend the rest of the day walking your dog and reading books." What about people that work hourly? Or in client services?
Oof. This book hit hard. She is talking to me. I listened to the first half of this book on a work trip. I listened to the second half lying on my deck under an umbrella. That’s my biggest endorsement for this book.
This felt like a great audio listen for the week between Christmas and New Years, and it was, but it felt repetitive. I learned some new things about the history of our harmful paradigms around work ethic and productivity in the US, and some good tools to prioritize leisure, but none of it felt earth shattering or unique.
I think I had expected [b:How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy|42771901|How to Do Nothing Resisting the Attention Economy|Jenny Odell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550724373l/42771901._SY75_.jpg|66525499] to basically be this book, and I'd kind of love a mashup of the two. While I totally agree with the thrust of this book, the writing itself was not very good, and if you're interested in this topic, you've likely come across just about all of the information before (but maybe it's a good smorgasbord for people starting out in this area). I thought the "data" were lackluster - for example, at one part when discussing the number of hours worked, part-time work seemed to be factored in, without accounting for people who may have multiple part time jobs, and not including why companies may push toward part time employees. Overall, pretty disappointing.
Super helpful and interesting book about the culture of efficiency and productivity in the US. Why it exists, the history, where we are now, how tech affects it, and the benefits of doing less and making more meaningful social connections. Very worthwhile read for everyone in my opinion!