HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

by Harvard Business Review

IS YOUR WORKLOAD SLOWING YOU―AND YOUR CAREER―DOWN? Your inbox is overflowing. You’re paralyzed because you have too much to do but don’t know where to start. Your to-do list never seems to get any shorter. You leave work exhausted but have little to show for it. It’s time to learn how to get the right work done. In the HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done , you’ll discover how to focus your time and energy where they will yield the greatest reward. Not only will you end each day knowing you made progress―your improved productivity will also set you apart from the pack. Whether you’re a new professional or an experienced one, this guide will help you:

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Productivity, Management, Leadership, Buisness

184 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2010

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

How the fuck did I end up buying another collection of blog posts? I'm sure in the olden days, publishing had a term for these random compilations of non-fiction and they were seen as a wonderful thing, but for me they're just the fetid piles of textual bullshit littering the Amazon plains into which the unwary traveller will step.

That said, there was an article in there that stood out as excellent: "Who's Got the Monkey" by William Oncken Jr and Donald L. Wass. Google it and you'll find it online. It's formulated in manager/subordinate terms, but the basic idea is that "what do you think?" is a way of passing the buck. Once someone says it, now the monkey is on your back. The monkey is a magnificent way to personify obligation, and today's obligations come from email as much as from meeting requests or opinion requests. I don't know that I endorse the recommendations they have, but I am all about reframing email and social networks as obligations as well as boons. When you look at your inbox as a pile of obligations rather than opportunities, you can feel a lot better about culling.

The rest of the book is a mix of Gina Trapani's lifehacker todo list stuff (good, but seen elsewhere) and the shallowest tritest advice on the face of the earth (exercise for energy, avoid big pushes at the end of projects, etc.). Avoid this book, find the Monkey article elsewhere.

[Sry Puteri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A type of book that is easy to digest, very relevant to read it if you're currently in Work From Home setting because of the pandemic.

[Sadaf Matinkhoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of tips and tricks gathered into one book. The short-article style of the book made it very concise and easy to read.

[Nhung Pham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Với những ai đã quen đọc thể loại sách về quản lý thời gian, tạo lập thói quen tốt hay nghiên cứu về người thành công hẳn sẽ thấy những ý tưởng trong quyển sách này rất quen thuộc. Tuy nhiên điều đó không có nghĩa là nó không đáng đọc.

Bài báo về chú khỉ (phần 4: uỷ thác hiệu quả) là phần rất hay và thú vị, đặc biệt là với những ai đang làm ở vị trí quản lý hoặc cao hơn thế. Rất thường xuyên công việc vốn là của nhân viên bị đẩy khéo léo sang người giám sát vì đơn giản họ không biết làm như thế nào hoặc gặp khó khăn khi xử lý và cần sự quyết định từ cấp cao hơn. Một khi người quản lý nói sẽ suy nghĩ về vấn đề đó thì cv đã chuyển qua họ và nhân viên trở thành người giám sát. Hệ quả người quản lý bị thiếu hụt thời gian và chất đống cv trong khi nhân viên của ông ta được bonus thêm thời gian nghỉ ngơi chính đáng của ông ấy. Vì thế mà hãy tặng quyển sách này cho người thân (bố/mẹ/vợ/chồng/anh/em) của bạn nhé, và cân nhắc tặng nó cho sếp của bạn nếu bạn không muốn trở thành 1 nhân viên mẫn cán :p

[Artem Fedorov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has become a revelation for me. This is not a real book; it’s just a set of different Harvard Business Review articles about productivity, GTD, staying focused and etc. However, it’s a brilliant collection! Simple and understandable tips that you can begin practicing right now. Book without harangue, without unnecessary theories and discussions. This “HBR Guide” gives you a core of efficiency. If you get up on the way of GTD and productivity this book will be an excellent assistant for you. You can find good and helpful advices in this book even you have already know a lot about productivity.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some useful ideas and reminders. Was worth the read for me. But in other ways it’s a bit out of date.

E.g.
- some of the tech tools it recommends feel old or don’t exist anymore
- it has a lot of tips for managing email overload, which isn’t a big problem in Slack-oriented companies
- highlights importance of sleep, which i think has become more common knowledge in the past 10 years

Good insights on
- delegation
- prioritizing key objectives
- busting through procrastination
- working in concentrated bursts
But there may be other, better, newer resources with updated research backing them.

My copy was published in 2012.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful introductions to a number of productivity techniques and solutions, but ultimately feels like an advertising exercise for prominent HBR authors' books and blogs.

[Maryam Baslar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good advices, implemented some. Yet, I could have read a collection of articles online instead.

[Martin Omedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everybody is busy and busy is a good thing, right? It kind of demonstrates that you’re working, that you have a lot of things to do, that you’re moving things forward, that your work matters.

But being busy doesn’t mean that you are doing the right things. You can be busy doing things that don’t move the needle, or you can get hung up on details that no one cares about.

The ability to prioritize is a very important skill, to make sure that, when you’re busy, you’re focusing on the most important things, the ones that will have the biggest impact.

This book basically takes you through strategies on how to manage your time in an environment that seems very busy with loads of emails and filled up activity plans. Most importantly, it takes you through ways to focus on what matters in an activity - the outcome.

[Mikhail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Формат: Книга Язык: Русский
Достаточно компактная книга, содержащая скорее нарезку из блог-постов. Тем не менее среди авторов есть известные люди (вроде Стивена Кови).
В целом традиционно для такого рода книг достаточно много советов которые непросто применить на практике, но было несколько новых идей (идея об обезьяне, производительность через энергию, а не время и прочее) которые показались достаточно интересными.
В целом оценка где-то между 3 и 4-ре, но сегодня для разнообразия округлим вверх.
К перечтению - возможно, нужно еще подумать стоит ли перечитывание 1-2 жемчужин перемалывания оставшейся пустой породы.

[Ian Burrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a coherent strategy but a collation of articles, which form a number of suggested fixes to improve productivity and focus. Read through a pick out any that appeal, try them, if they work, keep them, if not, ditch them.

Not every fix will suit everyone, but there are enough here that there is bound to be something to help, be it effective to-do lists, getting those projects done, or taming your email.

The short articles are easily digested in small bites, and if any help it is worth reading.

[Perihan Aslı · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice guide to begin time management. Besides involving business themes like e-mail management or division of labour, the book also contains information about developing good habits while stopping bad ones and learning prioritization. Some tips were developed by experts of the relevant area and one may easily continue on reading their books on time management. The book has also one of the most general topics of the “HBR Guide To” series in my opinion.

[Eduardo Blandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro práctico, lleno de buenas recomendaciones tanto para quienes se inician en el mundo laboral, como para los más avanzados. Aunque muchos de sus artículos se basan en investigaciones, resultan a la postre textos encapsulados quizá para ser leídos con prisa, sin mayores aspiraciones para otros objetivos que no sean de ejecución. Recomendable.

[Ashfaque · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book if you are looking for basic tips to manage your work and life . Helps you build awareness on how to execute what is important instead of being all over the place. However the concepts get repeated and the book could have lesser chapters. The book also fails to provide any innovative hacks that deserve a wow. In summary a good basic book for prioritizing and executing your day at work.

[E G · Rating 5 out of 5]

La comunicación y la eficiencia de esta junto con el apoyo de plataformas o aplicaciones implementadas para ello aportan un flujo de trabajo mejor y mas productivo, aprender a delegar y a mantener el problema de colegas o asistentes igual es un factor crucial en la carga de trabajo ,conociendo esto uno puede aplicar los métodos descritos y sin duda funcionaran.

[Carlos Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually rating: 3,5/5
As with all HBR books, the message is clear, consistent, and easy to grasp. I didn't necessarily find new insights in this book but it was a reminder of keeping notifications off when working and in better planning what is important and what is not.
Honestly, it is a very short read that inspires the reader about getting more done while working less.

[Viet Dung Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Khá thú vị. Tổng hợp các chương khá ngắn, dễ đọc và áp dụng.
Quyển sách cover cả phát triển năng lực cá nhân và năng lực quản lý đội nhóm.
Cũng lâu rồi mới gặp 1 cuốn sách mà đọc xong 1 chương lại cuốn vào chương tiếp theo như vậy. Cuốn theo chiều gió th��� nào đọc hết cả quyển luôn mặc dù chỉ expect đọc 1-2 chapters mình cần.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty helpful. I started on this hoping to get a handle on my email problem. Got a number of good advices (e.g., if you don't want email, start by not sending one, ignore til it breaks...). I put them into practice and it is actually working.

[Satya Faturakhmat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read and act as a refresher if you have already read many books or articles about management or productivity. I found some interesting stuff on delegating and setting goals. You might find something too, if you decide to read this.

[Diego Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is very practical and well attends the reader who needs a focused guide on productivity. The content quality varies a lot depeding on the author. In general, a very good compilation about the theme.

[Alexander K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have been working on my project.



Haha. It was good but nothing new; just summaries of past articles and ideas that have probably run their course. I would suggest a deep dive into David Allen's Getting Things Done instead of this book.

[Dana Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is only "okay". There's some interesting tips here, but a lot of the things covered I already knew and there's not a lot of depth per chapter/article. Also, it's from 2012, so everything digital is obsolete now (Google+!).

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because the book is a collection of previously published HBR articles, the advice is dated. One of those books where you can take a couple nuggets and/ regroup on things you already know. Nothing revolutionary here.

[Aaron McKinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a collection of short pieces, this doesn’t get super granular on in-depth on anything. At the same time, that makes it a lot more concise and more action-focused than a lot of other similar works. Overall, there are some nice, actionable tips in here, but don’t expect much nuance or deep dives.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful

[sadiq · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reminder for anyone who constantly deviates from productivity plans. short, apt and actionable

[Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good book to collect recommendations and ideas of things to do if you like to improve your productivity.

Good collection of articles for HBR

[Litzerindandy Hanyusi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buenas técnicas para aplicar en temas de organización y liderazgo dentro de tu empresa. Un poco reiterativo y parecido a Organízate con eficacia de Stephen Covey.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Features the basics of time and effort management. A good primer if you are new to supervision/delegation or struggling to prioritize your work.

[Maria de Fátima Layme Del Solar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book talks about how to manage your time and step to step it teaches you how to recognize your priorities.