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43rd out of 60 books
—
18 voters
18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done
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 fro...more
Bregman works fro...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
September 28th 2011
by Business Plus
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I know I've had this on my currently reading shelf forever, but I swear I'm going to finish it, because it has some great ideas on how to stay focused on goals and not get off into the timewasters that will destroy the best-laid plans. Plus, a lot of it reinforces what I already do, which I enjoy almost as much as the new ideas.
Finished!!!
What did I take away from this book?
Mainly that I'm already a focused individual, and I'm on the right track. Really. But it's because I wandered around lost...more
Finished!!!
What did I take away from this book?
Mainly that I'm already a focused individual, and I'm on the right track. Really. But it's because I wandered around lost...more
This book with a cover in yellow and the title 18 Minutes in red lettering and the byline – Find Your Focus, Master Your Distraction and Get the Right Things Done – is a very well-written book on managing both life and work! It is a book on time management as well life management itself, time being the essence of life. The author, Peter Bregman is a consultant and uses many examples from his work to illustrate the concepts that he emphasizes. Peter is married and has three children and uses many...more
18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distractions, and Get the Right Things Done is a worthwhile read, especially for people who need not only to manage their time better, but also ensure their time is being spent on the right things. Too often, wisdom about the proper priorities of work, family, volunteerism, and so forth is won at the expense of years (even decades) of misdirected labor and focus. A thoughtful read of this book won't tell the reader what to do, but may cause the reader to think...more
A terrific book to motivate and organize yourself. I loved it so much I read through it twice, then bought it for two of my friends.
My favorite part of it dealt with not only understanding your strengths, but also taking a much kinder view of your "weaknesses," which might actually be just quirks that make you uniquely suited for particular types of business, art, and other activities. Recognizing those quirks and emphasizing them, rather than hiding and apologizing for them, might be exactly w...more
My favorite part of it dealt with not only understanding your strengths, but also taking a much kinder view of your "weaknesses," which might actually be just quirks that make you uniquely suited for particular types of business, art, and other activities. Recognizing those quirks and emphasizing them, rather than hiding and apologizing for them, might be exactly w...more
Peter Bregman is an author and business consultant whose book 18 Minutes provides a good way to focus on your life in the year ahead. Some of my key takeaways from this book.
1. Find your focus for the coming year by leveraging your strengths, embracing your weaknesses, asserting your differences, and pursuing your passions. Bregman says to focus on around 5 goals for the coming year, with a mix of professional and personal goals.
2. Prior to each day, you should review your plan to be sure you'l...more
1. Find your focus for the coming year by leveraging your strengths, embracing your weaknesses, asserting your differences, and pursuing your passions. Bregman says to focus on around 5 goals for the coming year, with a mix of professional and personal goals.
2. Prior to each day, you should review your plan to be sure you'l...more
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 d...more
To focus on the “right” things, Bregman encourages us to slow d...more
I am starting to notice that there is a lot of overlap in business/time management books. This one referred to several studies that I was familiar with from other reading (Jonah LehrerandMalcolm Gladwell particularly).
Some of Bregman's advice fits in with Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, some of it is challenging the premise that you can get everything done. I think the strength of Bregman's argument is in the area of choosing priorities. He suggests that 5 areas of focu...more
Some of Bregman's advice fits in with Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, some of it is challenging the premise that you can get everything done. I think the strength of Bregman's argument is in the area of choosing priorities. He suggests that 5 areas of focu...more
In 18 Minutes, Peter Bregman layouts strategies and tactics to help anyone break through menal barriers and blocks and increase their productivity. I really loved many of the strategies and espoused by Peter and will definitely see me incorporate more of them into my own personal working behaviors. A useful book for anyone who wants to be more productive
The Breakdown:
Peter structures the book into three basic parts that addresses the following questions:
- What is This Year About?
- What is This D...more
The Breakdown:
Peter structures the book into three basic parts that addresses the following questions:
- What is This Year About?
- What is This D...more
"There are many time management books out there that try to teach you how to get it all done. But that's a mistake. Because it's impossible to get it all done. And it's dangerous to try. You'll lose focus on what's important."
So with that statement, Bregman has written a book to help us make smart, thoughtful decisions about what is worth doing and what is not. The book is divided into 4 main sections. It teaches us habits and mindsets that will position us to see possibilities beyond those we n...more
So with that statement, Bregman has written a book to help us make smart, thoughtful decisions about what is worth doing and what is not. The book is divided into 4 main sections. It teaches us habits and mindsets that will position us to see possibilities beyond those we n...more
Admittedly I was a little bit doubtful about yet another book on Time-Management, Productivity and the best way to deal with the modern ever distracting environment. Fortunately my doubts were unreasonable, because this book is a gem.
Going beyond the usual concept of getting as much done as possible, which for example is something Allen's GTD concept results in, this is the perfect antidote for our time, not doing as much as possible, but doing the right things and how to focus. A lot of differ...more
Going beyond the usual concept of getting as much done as possible, which for example is something Allen's GTD concept results in, this is the perfect antidote for our time, not doing as much as possible, but doing the right things and how to focus. A lot of differ...more
I read this book because I was struggling with trying to do too many things at once and was making decisions to do things that were not priority or not the most important (appearing urgent doesn't mean important).
I am practicing my own version of what Peter suggests which is quite simple and I think effective. The book in a nutshell: Make a list of the things that matter most in life. Make a to-do list everyday and put them in those categories. Leave 5% of your day for miscellaneous things. Mak...more
I am practicing my own version of what Peter suggests which is quite simple and I think effective. The book in a nutshell: Make a list of the things that matter most in life. Make a to-do list everyday and put them in those categories. Leave 5% of your day for miscellaneous things. Mak...more
I hesitated in my choice of star rating for this book. I would say I personally got 10 stars of value out of it. However, for a book about finding one's focus it didn't half go on. It felt to me that the information conveyed in 253 pages could have been easily, and perhaps more usefully, condensed into half this number. It's all very folksy. If you are the sort of person who likes to have five examples illustrating the same point so you can get there yourself, then you will love this. Me, I just...more
I sought this book after hearing a radio interview with the author. The interview was great. The book? Not so much. I don't understand why so many writers of self-help books feel compelled to write in short, choppy, and annoyingly grammatically incorrect sentences. Do the publishers mandate this? Do they presume that readers of such books are illiterate morons with short attention spans? I start such books with such (admittedly naive) hopes: This will be the book to END all my PROBLEMS! But a fe...more
Bregman's writing style is very engaging, so I found this book delightful to listen to. He tells good stories and ties those into personal productivity.
The downside of the book is that Bregman's productivity model will probably only work for people who are in a similar situation as he is: the leader of an organization who has large control over the assignments he accepts. It would not work as well for someone who actually has a boss who gives that person responsibility whether that person wants...more
The downside of the book is that Bregman's productivity model will probably only work for people who are in a similar situation as he is: the leader of an organization who has large control over the assignments he accepts. It would not work as well for someone who actually has a boss who gives that person responsibility whether that person wants...more
In18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things DonePeter Bregman offers timeless wisdom for the possibly age-old question of how to get it (all) done.
Beyond Efficiency
Several productivitybooks that I've read this year look at productivity through the lens of simplicity. They're certainly not promoting a productivity that offers to cram as much into life as possible so that you can cram even more in every nook and cranny. Rather, doing less, focusing on just a few...more
I was surprised at how long it took to get to the part where it discusses what the 18 minutes are and should be used for, but I found useful information throughout the book. The setting of an alarm every hour and evaluating time spent in the previous hour and planning for the next is something I've started doing. It helps me stay on track (for the most part) during the day. I liked the conversation-style of the author's voice, that he shared his own failures openly, and the fun titles of each ch...more
I picked this up after listening to an interview with Peter Bregman about the book. Understanding that no one can get everything done, 18 Minutes provides a process for focusing the direction of your life (on an annual basis), for laying out your daily calendar, and for making decisions about what to do right now.
The book was timely and helpful. Bregman's narrative approach makes for an easy read, although I can imagine you might find it frustrating if you are looking for more systematic help in...more
The book was timely and helpful. Bregman's narrative approach makes for an easy read, although I can imagine you might find it frustrating if you are looking for more systematic help in...more
4 steps:
1) Zoom way back and look at the big picture. Slow down and see yourself as you really are (sounds like The Road Less Traveled at this point). Figure out your potential, your dreams and goals.
2) Identify five main priorities for the next year. Stay aware of what draws you away from these primary priorities.
3) Plan daily toward your priorities (He quotes Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird).
4) Check in hourly to make sure you're on track. He sets his watch to go off every hour so he checks to se...more
1) Zoom way back and look at the big picture. Slow down and see yourself as you really are (sounds like The Road Less Traveled at this point). Figure out your potential, your dreams and goals.
2) Identify five main priorities for the next year. Stay aware of what draws you away from these primary priorities.
3) Plan daily toward your priorities (He quotes Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird).
4) Check in hourly to make sure you're on track. He sets his watch to go off every hour so he checks to se...more
Really the only problem I had with Peter Bregman's 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction and Get the Right Things Done was that I kept expecting it to only take me 18 minutes to read it. I was impatient with some parts of the book, wanting him to get to the point already, so I could move on to other books in my list, to all the essential work this book was making me want to tackle. That said, I definitely think it was the right read for me at the right time and am recommending it in th...more
“18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done” by Peter Bregman
“18 Minutes” is written by Harvard Business Review’s Peter Bregman, It establishes a framework for “getting the right things done” in all obligations of life – family, work, and other commitments that often have you drinking from the fire hose. This book outlines a daily prioritization process requiring three steps that take a total 18 minutes over a workday:
“18 Minutes” is written by Harvard Business Review’s Peter Bregman, It establishes a framework for “getting the right things done” in all obligations of life – family, work, and other commitments that often have you drinking from the fire hose. This book outlines a daily prioritization process requiring three steps that take a total 18 minutes over a workday:
• Set your plan for the day...more
• Refocus ever
This is a very easy read. This book doesn't consist of an over-arching strategy in the same way that 7 Habits or Getting Things Done does. It's more a collection of tips to help you determine where you want to go and keep you on track in getting there -- that's not meant as a knock on the book; I think the ideas in the book are great. Each chapter starts with a fun little story to illustrate a point, and ends with a 1-2 sentence recap of the principle that was taught.
I don't read self help books often if at all, but since I'm on the search for one to recommend, I've started and put down a few. This one, though, I finished. It seems directed toward someone trying to do better in the workplace/office, but I found plenty of it useful for life in general --or as a CEO in my home :). I win no prizes in time management, and it had some useful ideas for me to find a focus and get moving. It was a pretty quick read. That always helps.
this book delivers on its promise. i don't think the approach is very everyone. it's for a super planner that wants to crank it out. although his exact methodology doesn't exactly work for me, there are some amazing nuggets of wisdom throughout the book. it's a stand out in terms of business books that feel readable, interesting and completely useful in your daily work. i'd highly recommend 18 minutes for anyone trying to find more focus (and happiness!) on the job. it's a quick read and complet...more
This book has some good ideas on how to be productive. The ideas are presented in a piece by piece manner so you don't have to buy into the whole system to find something valuable here. I found it helpful to read it in smaller chunks then take some time to think about what the author was saying.
I would have liked a bit better summary at the end but on the whole the book was worth the read.
I would have liked a bit better summary at the end but on the whole the book was worth the read.
Excellent book. The title doesn't do it justice. I thought this book would be just about organizing your workday to get the most accomplished. It's much more than this with great suggestions and examples on all parts of your life. Fast, easy read. I like the authors style and the ability to skim through sections and just focus on the summary or chapters if you want.
Perhaps the best self-help book I have read, and not once, but twice, and will continue to read. Bregman is earnest, and comes from a very down-to-earth perspective. He is incredibly effective, and makes sense at a gut level. I have seen him grow as a blogger and have seen one of his focus areas (writing and speaking) develop in front of my own eyes.
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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 well worth reviewing again.
Ok, I have to first admit that when I picked up reading as a hobby I really had my head in romance novels/dystopian trilogies....BUT one day I ran across a book (Women who love too much) & my reading literature changed drastically. Hands down the most profound book that I have come across since I picked up reading as a hobby,again. I had to systematically commit myself to reading this book but once I got started it was extremely impossible to put down. I no longer waste my time on situations...more
It is pertinent for so many roles in life, in all our capacities as leader, co-worker, and our personal ones in serving ourselves. You are at the steering wheel throughout the book owning your own process. Peter's attentiveness to draw lessons from his own circumstances, and self-honesty we witness through his inner dialogue that he shares, give the most precious and untitled tip for how to embrace change.
Even my 11 year old felt deeply engaged as we read three chapters together. It really spea...more
Even my 11 year old felt deeply engaged as we read three chapters together. It really spea...more
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Peter Bregman is the CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc., a global management consulting firm which advises CEOs and their leadership teams. He speaks, writes, and consults about how to lead and how to live.
He is the author, most recently, of 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done, winner of the Gold Medal from the Axiom Business Book awards, named the best busine...more
More about Peter Bregman...
He is the author, most recently, of 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done, winner of the Gold Medal from the Axiom Business Book awards, named the best busine...more
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21 de Mar 19:46