|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
Review
18 MINUTES is an intensely smart, insanely readable, and eminently practical guide to boosting our effectiveness and deepening our satisfaction. I've already benefited from the ideas in is book in my own work. So will you.
(Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind
)
Pick this book up and read it. Bregman's wisdom, humility, and ability to tell a great story run through every page of this gem. 18 Minutes is the best blend of a business book and a self-help book I have ever read.
(Robert Sutton, Stanford University Professor and bestselling author of Good Boss, Bad Boss )
Feeling in control of your time is a key element of happiness. In the thoughtful, practical, and often funny 18 MINUTES, Peter Bregman explains how to make sure we have plenty of time to do the things that matter most to us -- so that our lives reflect our true values and priorities. (Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project )
Bregman has taken the advice from his popular Harvard Business Review columns and turned it into a book for people who feel that they don't have enough hours in the day to do what they need to do. He offers straightforward advice: focus your priorities at the annual, daily, and moment-to-moment level; determine your goals; eliminate distractions that don't let you achieve those goals; and be firm regarding your boundaries. While the reader has no doubt heard this advice from other self-help books, Bregman's anecdotes are helpful and funny, his advice is sound, and his points are easy to grasp. Hopefully readers will find what he has to say useful and not just a retread of things they already know--multitasking is a myth, take time to refocus throughout the day, motivate your employees with fun--from other sources.
(Publishers Weekly
)
(Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind
)
Pick this book up and read it. Bregman's wisdom, humility, and ability to tell a great story run through every page of this gem. 18 Minutes is the best blend of a business book and a self-help book I have ever read.
(Robert Sutton, Stanford University Professor and bestselling author of Good Boss, Bad Boss )
Feeling in control of your time is a key element of happiness. In the thoughtful, practical, and often funny 18 MINUTES, Peter Bregman explains how to make sure we have plenty of time to do the things that matter most to us -- so that our lives reflect our true values and priorities. (Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project )
Bregman has taken the advice from his popular Harvard Business Review columns and turned it into a book for people who feel that they don't have enough hours in the day to do what they need to do. He offers straightforward advice: focus your priorities at the annual, daily, and moment-to-moment level; determine your goals; eliminate distractions that don't let you achieve those goals; and be firm regarding your boundaries. While the reader has no doubt heard this advice from other self-help books, Bregman's anecdotes are helpful and funny, his advice is sound, and his points are easy to grasp. Hopefully readers will find what he has to say useful and not just a retread of things they already know--multitasking is a myth, take time to refocus throughout the day, motivate your employees with fun--from other sources.
(Publishers Weekly
)
Product Description
Based upon his weekly Harvard Business Review columns (which is one of the most popular columns on HBR.com, receiving hundreds of thousands of unique page views a month), 18 MINUTES clearly shows how busy people can cut through all the daily clutter and distractions and find a way to focus on those key items which are truly the top priorities in our lives.
Bregman works from the premise that the best way to combat constant and distracting interruptions is to create productive distractions of one's own. Based upon a series of short bite-sized chapters, his approach allows us to safely navigate through the constant chatter of emails, text messages, phone calls, and endless meetings that prevent us from focusing our time on those things that are truly important to us.
Mixing first-person insights along with unique case studies, Bregman sprinkles his charming book with pathways which help guide us -- pathways that can get us on the right trail in 18 minutes or less.
Bregman works from the premise that the best way to combat constant and distracting interruptions is to create productive distractions of one's own. Based upon a series of short bite-sized chapters, his approach allows us to safely navigate through the constant chatter of emails, text messages, phone calls, and endless meetings that prevent us from focusing our time on those things that are truly important to us.
Mixing first-person insights along with unique case studies, Bregman sprinkles his charming book with pathways which help guide us -- pathways that can get us on the right trail in 18 minutes or less.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Do you need a FIND ME button for your life? Look no further.,
By
This review is from: 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done (Hardcover)
I have been following Peter Bregman's HBR blog posts for several years and consider him one of the most thoughtful and most eloquent of commentators on the contemporary business world. You can thus understand my eagerness as I began to read this book. Others have their own reasons for admiring this book. Here are three of mine. First, Bregman is a diehard pragmatist with an insatiable curiosity to understand what works, what doesn't, and why so he that can then share what he considers most important with those who read his columns and now this book. He suggests (and I agree) that "we steal time from ourselves constantly" because I do every day. He offers practical advice that I began to follow as I proceeded through the narrative. All of his advice makes sense but it will work only if I give it a fighting chance. For example, slow down the pace at which I proceed from one task (completed or not) to another (completed or not). I now sprint for 12-15 minutes, then stop for 3-5 minutes and listen to selections from my favorite classical music from CDs such as "The Only Classical CD You'll Ever Need" and Pachelbel Canon and Other Baroque Hits," selections that have a calming effect. Bregman also suggests starting over in the sense that, if I could, would I commit to [fill in the blank] again? Reconstructing one ill-advised decision helps to avoid making another. I also appreciate Bregman's heavy emphasis on improving the process by which to ask questions. Only then, when answering them, can priorities be determined, goals and deadlines set, and non-essentials eliminated. For example, what is really important in each domain of my life (i.e. personal, domestic, career, and community)? What must be done within the next hour? What must be done by noon? By day's end? By week's end? Realizing how difficult it is to master that process, Bregman devotes several chapters to helping his reader sharpen critically important skills. Specifically: Part Two (Chapters 8-20): Fine Your Focus, Part Three (Chapters 21-28) Get the Right Things Done, and Part IV (Chapters 29-40) Mastering Distraction [by Mastering Your Initiative and Mastering Your Boundaries]. Here are a few of the chapter titles that caught my eye: What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do (#8), Bird by Bird (Deciding What to Do, #22), Wrong Floor (Deciding What Not to Do, #23), and An 18-Minute Plan for Managing (Creating a Daily ritual, #28). FYI, the material is organized within 45 brief but substantial chapters. Finally, I admire how skillfully Bregman establishes and then sustains a direct rapport with his reader. This is one of o0blky very few books that, after I've read it, I have the feeling that it was written especially for me. Bregman has developed what Hemingway once characterized as a "built-in, shock-proof crap detector." (Alas, it did not always recognize it in his work.) So many self-help books fire aphorisms and admonitions at the reader that resemble arrows at Agincourt. Bregman apparently views himself as the reader's personal coach, sharing what he has learned from his own struggles with external distractions, multi-tasking, indecision, haste, anxiety, and frustration. For many people, this could well be the most important (non-religious) book they ever read.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (68 customer reviews) 51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Inspirational Handbook for Improving Performance in Just 18 Minutes a Day,
By Todd Cherches - BigBlueGumball - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done (Hardcover)
Having just finished reading Peter Bregman's new book, "18 Minutes," I am simultaneously invigorated and exhausted.(Actually, "read" is not the right word - "devoured" is more like it.) I am INVIGORATED in that this combination business book and self-help book has inspired me to start looking at, thinking about, and doing some things differently...starting with the simple reminder that we need to regularly stop -- to pause, reflect, recharge, recalibrate, and refocus - for just 18 minutes a day (5 minutes at the beginning; eight 1-minute check-ins during the day; and 5 minutes at the end). Leveraging his engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking talent for storytelling (as exhibited regularly in his HBR blog posts), Bregman provides readers with a variety of tools, tips, and techniques intended to help us enhance our productivity and maximize our potential. And why am I "EXHAUSTED"? Because, in addition to my head spinning from the numerous impactful and memorable stories that I want to remember, the refreshing new insights I gained, and a short list of simple-but-meaningful actions I now plan to take, I started reading the book around midnight last night and couldn't put it down until I finished the entire thing, in one sitting, at four a.m. this morning (luckily it's a Saturday). Seriously, reading this book is like having a personal and professional life coach standing right beside you -- providing success tips, keeping you focused, and cheering you on along the way. UPDATE: I just re-read this book in greater detail (as mentioned above, the first time I read it I whipped through it in four hours because I couldn't put it down due to the great storytelling). But this time I focused not just on the INSIGHTS I gained, but on the ACTIONS I want, and need, and plan to take -- both personally and professionally, including the creation of my own personalized/customized version of the Bregman "Six Box Planning Tool" (page 118). If you take nothing else from this book (and I doubt that would happen), this tool alone will help you organize your to-do list, focus, and get things (the right things!) done. But like any tool, it's all about the using. Good intentions and proper planning will get you started; dedication, execution, follow-through, resilience, and a commitment to excellence is what gets results. I just upgraded my rating from 4-stars to 5-stars for this terrific book. 38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Check in with yourself to make sure you're on the right path,
By Tina - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done (Hardcover)
Drawing from his Harvard Business Review columns, Peter Bregman offers advice to those of us who have too much to do. He points out that paying attention to every single thing we come across takes time away from focusing on the things in our lives that truly matter. Many of his tips - such as not responding to things immediately - seem to be common sense, but how many of us truly apply this when we're caught up in our daily activity?
To focus on the "right" things, Bregman encourages us to slow down. By delaying reactions to demands, we can make sure we're reacting the right way and taking on tasks that align with our goals. Think through things carefully and react to the desired outcome instead of the event. What's the ultimate result you want? Later in the book, he explains his title, "18 Minutes". We need a discipline to stay focused on our day. His 18 minutes refers to five minutes planning at the beginning and end of the day, and one minute per hour (assuming an eight-hour work day) to stop and ask if you're on track. Reflect on the day. Did you do what you expected? What needs to change? If you're not monitoring your progress and checking in with yourself regularly, it's hard to stay focused. Many time management books focus on how to get things done in less time. I agree with Bregman that maybe what we really need is to do less. As we find our focus, our days can be more manageable. And I definitely agree that working 24/7 keeps us from living a balanced life since we're obviously not leaving space for the other parts of our lives. Whatever your goals, don't forget to enjoy the ride. At the end, no one wishes they worked more. Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Hachette Book Group. 23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A guide for planning your hour, your day, your year, your life,
By Joyce R. - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done (Hardcover)
I highly recommend picking up a copy of Peter Bregman's new book. I'm a bit skeptical of the self-help genre in general, but what makes this book different from other time management books is the author's grasp of the big picture. Other books on getting organized are only useful if you're absolutely confident in what you want to accomplish. At the other extreme, find-the-meaning-of-life gurus generally don't have much to say on managing your inbox. The book follows a "zoom in" logic from the largest questions of life--Who am I? What do I value? What are my strengths and weaknesses?--to the most minute details. The titles of the four parts are: I. Pause, II. What Is This Year About? III. What Is This Day About? IV. What Is This Moment About? The idea is that by always keeping in mind what is important and what is not, you can avoid falling into the trap of mechanically checking off to-do lists without regard for the content. The stories that Bregman tells to make his points are beautifully written, genuine, and thoughtful. You will not find any gimmicky acronyms or corporate buzzword babble. My only criticism is that at times there seems to be a lack of recognition of how difficult it can be to implement change in one's life. Then again, it would be a bigger problem if the author of this kind of book wasn't optimistic. All in all, reading has been a thought-provoking experience that is helping me focus on my priorities and plan my days accordingly.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
