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leahalbina's review against another edition
1.0
A very long winded way to say that the way to better your life is:
1. Sleep
2. Work out
3. Eat better
1. Sleep
2. Work out
3. Eat better
jnmph76's review against another edition
5.0
Profound. It's on my list of books I reread every few years. Author talks about managing energy cycles and how corporate culture is working against our natural cycles.
cactusnow's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastic content, but really took me awhile to get through. Tony is brilliant and right on with the approach. I love his work and the models for energy management. The writing and or presentation didn't work for me. If I didn't like the message so much, it would have been a 3 for me.
niniane's review against another edition
5.0
1. Take a break at least every 90 minutes, so that your brain can go into deep concentration during those 90 minutes.
2. Not sleeping enough depletes willpower which makes you more likely to eat unhealthily, procrastinate, etc.
3. If you wake up after sleeping less than 7 hours, lie quietly. You might fall asleep again.
4. An afternoon nap of 90 min between 1 to 3pm leads to twice the amount of learning.
5. Feeling respected is the most important aspect to our emotional stability. Feeling personally criticized takes the greatest toll on our health.
6. We can do our best work when we feel connected, not one-up or one-down.
7. Multitasking leads to worse performance.
2. Not sleeping enough depletes willpower which makes you more likely to eat unhealthily, procrastinate, etc.
3. If you wake up after sleeping less than 7 hours, lie quietly. You might fall asleep again.
4. An afternoon nap of 90 min between 1 to 3pm leads to twice the amount of learning.
5. Feeling respected is the most important aspect to our emotional stability. Feeling personally criticized takes the greatest toll on our health.
6. We can do our best work when we feel connected, not one-up or one-down.
7. Multitasking leads to worse performance.
caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
Good advice about balance and moderation that could have been conveyed in a long magazine article. Yet again, meditation is recommended as a way to stay sane...
piabo's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
So this book is good! It is very basic: we all know information in here: we all know that productivity and happiness at work will be higher if we take care of ourselves first.
This book just brings it all together with a bit of background information. I think books like this are great, and I think generally everyone who reads this does not lose anything, but rather gains a new perspective on their work and possibly motivation to change.
In short: sleep, move, eat, take breaks, reflect, and have integrity.
What I don't love about this book is how sometimes correlation is mistaken with causation. For example, it will say that people who sleep more are better leaders. I think the casual connection is logical, we all think that more sleep is beneficial. But this is a purely observational result and was not tested in a casual effect (RCT study!) and it gets more problematic when it comes to statements on eating habits, movement, or mental health practices.
Of course, the author might have better casual evidence and just not used it in text. There are a lot of sources at the end of the book! But all of them are further books, rather than peer-reviewed studies. So it is hard to check.
I know I have high standards for this book. My classmate is praising it so much, that I thought it will be perfect. But hey, I am still giving it 4 stars! It is good.
Another thing I did not love, is the general assumption. But to be fair, the premise of the book is pretty clear, I should not have picked this book up, if I did not want to hear about productivity and high-achievers only.
I just wonder where are consideration of privilege? What about people who can not easily make changes to their own habits or the company because of external factors. E.g. a lack of money, lack of influence due to belonging to a marginalized community. Why would the author not talk about sexual, racial, ableist discrimination at the work place and how that affects productivity and mental health. Why do we assume that people have nothing else going on in their lives but work and maybe family?
Again, there was more potential to this book.
This book just brings it all together with a bit of background information. I think books like this are great, and I think generally everyone who reads this does not lose anything, but rather gains a new perspective on their work and possibly motivation to change.
In short: sleep, move, eat, take breaks, reflect, and have integrity.
What I don't love about this book is how sometimes correlation is mistaken with causation. For example, it will say that people who sleep more are better leaders. I think the casual connection is logical, we all think that more sleep is beneficial. But this is a purely observational result and was not tested in a casual effect (RCT study!) and it gets more problematic when it comes to statements on eating habits, movement, or mental health practices.
Of course, the author might have better casual evidence and just not used it in text. There are a lot of sources at the end of the book! But all of them are further books, rather than peer-reviewed studies. So it is hard to check.
I know I have high standards for this book. My classmate is praising it so much, that I thought it will be perfect. But hey, I am still giving it 4 stars! It is good.
Another thing I did not love, is the general assumption. But to be fair, the premise of the book is pretty clear, I should not have picked this book up, if I did not want to hear about productivity and high-achievers only.
I just wonder where are consideration of privilege? What about people who can not easily make changes to their own habits or the company because of external factors. E.g. a lack of money, lack of influence due to belonging to a marginalized community. Why would the author not talk about sexual, racial, ableist discrimination at the work place and how that affects productivity and mental health. Why do we assume that people have nothing else going on in their lives but work and maybe family?
Again, there was more potential to this book.
ptaradactyl's review against another edition
3.0
I think my review should be taken with the caveat that I'm already very familiar with mindfulness, having learned about it in my personal life and brought it to work with me. I've also read lots of Daniel Pink's work on motivation. As a result, I didn't find much new or groundbreaking in this book. It was more of a summary of what I already try to do.
That said, there were some very good tidbits to put to work, like going out of my way to help my coworkers feel secure. And I could see it being completely revolutionary to business book readers who are less well-versed with the touchy-feely-softer stuff than I am.
I also really appreciated the summary of Big Ideas at the end as helpful refreshers that are easy to share.
Overall, a worthwhile read, and I think my rating would have been much higher three years ago.
That said, there were some very good tidbits to put to work, like going out of my way to help my coworkers feel secure. And I could see it being completely revolutionary to business book readers who are less well-versed with the touchy-feely-softer stuff than I am.
I also really appreciated the summary of Big Ideas at the end as helpful refreshers that are easy to share.
Overall, a worthwhile read, and I think my rating would have been much higher three years ago.
go_jan's review
4.0
This book gives great insight into what changes to everyday life can greatly improve work efficiency; the main one being taking time to renew your energy. Some of the ideas might be considered obvious, others counter-intuitive, but reading the anecdotes describing how such changes were implemented by companies and individuals is really inspiring.
I would suggest reading this book for your own benefit, then giving it to your manager to read and keep passing up the management ladder to improve the organisation as a whole.
I would suggest reading this book for your own benefit, then giving it to your manager to read and keep passing up the management ladder to improve the organisation as a whole.