What the Most Successful People Do at Work: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Career

by Laura Vanderkam

The third mini-ebook by the acclaimed author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast reveals how a few simple changes can make you more productive and fulfilled in your career.In her bestselling mini-ebook What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, Laura Vanderkam showed us how to take advantage of our often ignored morning hours to achieve our dreams.Then in the sequel, What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend, she revealed why the key to a better week is a better weekend.Now, in the third mini-ebook of this trilogy, What the Most Successful People Do at Work, Vanderkam shows us how to ignite our careers by taking control of our work days.For many of us the typical workday makes us feel like hamsters on the proverbial wheel. Plagued by crises and distractions, we work hard all day.  But when we go home we’re not much closer to reaching our goals.But it doesn’t have to be that way. Vanderkam shows how successful people employ certain daily practices to make sure their work hours are invested, not squandered. Drawing on research and interviews with people as varied as children’s book illustrator LeUyen Pham, productivity guru David Allen, fitness personality Chalene Johnson, and former race car driver Sarah Fisher, Vanderkam shows how to take control of your career by taking control of your 9-to-5.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Productivity, Audiobook, Self Help, Personal Development, Professional Development

68 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 23, 2013

About the author

Laura Vanderkam is the author of several time management and productivity books, including:
The New Corner Office
Off the Clock
I Know How She Does It
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
168 Hours

Laura is also the author of a time management fable, Juliet’s School of Possibilities and another novel, The Cortlandt Boys, which is available as an ebook.

Her 2016 TED talk, "How to Gain Control of Your Free Time," has been viewed more than 5 million times.

She regularly appears in publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Fortune.

She is the host of two weekly podcasts, Before Breakfast and The New Corner Office and she is the co-host, with Sarah Hart-Unger, of the weekly podcast Best of Both Worlds.

She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and five children, and blogs at LauraVanderkam.com.

Reviews

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 Stars
This book offered some sound advice but mostly summarized ideas from the author's previous books. This one will most benefit individuals who have full control over their workdays.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping to gain a few tips or ideas to be more focused and productive at work, but I didn't find the author's suggestions relevant to my line of work. I don't have a flexible schedule or hours. This book would be more useful to people who work from home and/or make their own schedules.

[Quinn da Matta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as her previous books, but still an interesting read.

[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In What the Most Successful People Do at Work, Laura Vanderkam writes a short but highly useful guide to maximizing your productivity, effectiveness, and happiness with your work. Whether you work full time in an office, have a flexible career, or are a stay-at-home parent, I think you’ll find much more than $2.99 worth of helpful information in the book.

Unlike many e-books, which I tend to only recommend if they are free, I never have a problem recommending Vanderkam’s shorter pieces, because the writing is excellent and insightful and I get more out of her e-books than I do out of many full-length books on similar topics. If you’re pressed for time and need some work-related time management help, you’ll definitely want to invest in this one.

{Read my full review here}

Note: I received a free review copy of this book, but the opinions here and in my linked review are my own.

[Jenna Lenhardt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nuggets of insight, but fairly redundant to other books that dig deeper into this topic

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just okay. Turns out the "most successful" people have a lot more control over their schedules than me.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super quick little audiobook that I listened to in 5-10 min chunks over the past week. I am really enjoying ALL of Laura Vanderkam’s thoughts on time lately and really starting to think through and be extra intentional with my own time since starting to follow her.

[alisonwonderland (Alison) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this short book as a means of resetting my focus at work as we wrapped up our "busy season" for the year. Vanderkam briefly outlines seven disciplines for a more effective work life.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read with chapters outlining the basic tenants for success during the workday. If you read Ms. Vanderkam's other short books from her What the Most Successful People Do... series, most of those findings are repeated here.

Though this book is informative with an engaging, lively writing style and insightful research, I prefer her long-format books, All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending and 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think - they are meatier tomes full of advice on evaluating the value you place on money and time, respectively.

[Hallie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my least-favorite in the "What the Most Successful People Do..." series. It seems the advice would be particularly useful for individuals in entrepreneurial, business, or self-propelled careers, and a little less useful to careers with more built-in structures (e.g., healthcare with rigid appointment times). That's not to say this book doesn't have good information - it does - it just was not for me at this time given where I'm at in my professional development and typical workday structures. However, for people who could be looking to increase their work productivity and motivation, I could imagine this book meeting that need. I did particularly enjoy her point that living for the weekend is NOT a helpful way to approach work, as it provided inspiration to always consider and seek out fulfilling career/day-to-day work opportunities.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was short, to the point and provided some helpful advice.

This book is specifically geared toward people who have flexible schedules and a combination of short and long-term projects. It suggests analyzing time use, developing a plan and implementing it. I'm working on a dissertation and found many of the strategies described in the book very helpful.

In my favorite section, Vanderkam talked about recognizing which tasks are and are not "work," then reducing the time spent on those things because they don't advance you toward your goals. I've always suspected that checking my email many times per day and going to meetings were colossal wastes of time, thanks for confirming that suspicion!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know a book is good when you are disappointed that you've reached the end. I knew going in that this is a short book, and knew that my kindle's progress meter is misleading ... but still alarmed my kids with an "Oh no" when I read the last page.

Lots of good ideas in this book - some I already use, some new ones to try out. Enough interesting thoughts here to go back and write up a book "net out" for future reference. I'll also purchase Vanderkam's other titles in the "Most Successful People" series in the hopes that those are also thought provoking.

[Denise Morse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really short short e-book and I wished it was longer. I look forward to reading her other e-books. My takeaway is the planning and the stories from other people. I will make more of an effort to plan things that can be done today and not a huge long list of things that are not prioritized. I also think I waste too much time doing things that are not productive in general, and this book had some useful tips on how to be better. Also on how its ok to waste a couple of minutes online to get centered so that you dont end up wasting a whole day of bring unproductive

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Nothing revolutionary, but there are some helpful thoughts here. The book is mostly concerned with principles/disciplines that promote healthy careers, with some tactical advice sprinkled in. Vanderkam uses lots of examples to illustrate her principles, which means the book is really not very information-dense, but the few points she makes are pretty sticky. Sometimes she goes deep after more foundational ideas about what promotes satisfaction in work and life, work-life balance, etc., and I always appreciate her perspective there.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was written before Vanderkam's I Know How She Does It (which I just read and reviewed) so really there was nothing new here. If you're going to read about effective time management, that is a better choice as it's more comprehensive (and much of the same information outlined here).

So - just ok. Even if I hadn't just read her other, I feel like this would have only been a glimpse into a good time management system, and not a very comprehensive outline as a productive system.

[Vijay Varadan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book after the one about what successful people do before breakfast. Information herein is more actionable and overall the book is less anecdotal than the breakfast book. To me, it was worth a read to help get back on the self-organization wagon, which I've fallen off over the last few months.

[Sana Jivani · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book filled with great practical tips. The author, Laura Vanderkam has summarised her analysis and her research into one easy to read and interesting book. Her analysis are also then backed up with real life stories which make her findings more applicable to day to day work. Definitely recommend reading this short book!!

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed this trilogy and plan to implement Vanderkam's ideas as best as I can. I always have enjoyed her thoughts on time management and get inspired after reading one of her books. This book was no exception.

[Melina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked her other book, What the most successful people do before breakfast, for its succint message. This one was also short and outlined several critical points, however, I didn't find it as interesting or insightful.

[Edgar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read! I should do it again
I did it a second time
"Successful people constantly look at their days to evaluate what brings them pleasure and what does not, and they figure out how they can spend more hours pursuing pleasure and fewer hours doing what they don't really care about.."

[Annie Gauthier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise and makes a lot of sense

Nothing revolutionary but most of the secrets of life aren't, I suppose. Except that it sometimes feels like they are because we sometimes grasp just how simple it can be to live our best life. A good read that helps on the journey.

[Chris Olive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book that can be digested in less than an hour. The author relates time-saving and time efficiency mainly through the device of examples based on other successful people. Great little tidbits to be found in these stories.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really prefered her other book: 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Vanderkam's writing, and as a bonus she reads this book as well. Her What the Most Successful People Do series is short and sweet, making it a great listen. The downside is it's hard to take notes on what you want to implement.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy as much as the second book but that may be because I already practise a lot of the disciplines :)

[Ahmad Qassab Bashi · Rating 2 out of 5]

big disappointment after the first 2 books I did not think twice to buy this one but there is nothing that will WOW you it is only basic things and I really found it boring.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some interesting tidbits, but nothing earth-shattering. I think her 168 Hours book is much, much better.

[Tim Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, employable ideas.

[Kay Schenkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big Laura Vanderkam fan. Her common sense approach to how we use time really resonates with me. This was a good short ebook with information I'll use daily.

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finishing the trilogy.