Introduction:
If you are looking for a self-help book, it doesn’t get more self-help than you’ll be finding here, and the cheap Audible variety of self-help. The book is a string of cliches and buzz-words. The advice is scattered everywhere, and little of it is particularly useful. I recall one of the central pieces of advice the book: ‘Start with the end in mind.’ It’s a piece of good advice, and I read the book because my time was being wasted. This book does not show that it’s capable of delivering the promise. This is its main flaw. Some books, like Man’s Search for Meaning are not particularly self-help, but they serve that function much better than most self-help books because of their enthusiasm and sincerity, and their author’s mastery of the ideas presented. This kind of mastery is what we ultimately envy, which we wish to emulate in any author of a self-help book. It does not exist here, which makes this book unappetizing to boot.
Chapters:
The book is divided into ten lectures. The 1st lecture is mainly concerned with how to properly define our goals, and which goals are ultimately achievable (and by comparison, which aren’t).
The 2nd chapter is about arranging priorities so that we can best achieve our goals. In a similar vein, the 3rd and 4th chapters are about planning and thinking well about how to put down our plan on paper (writing down our goals to off-load our minds, a technique also advocated by the renowned social psychologist, Roy Baumeister). The chapters offer nice pieces of advice some of which helped a bit in organizing my time and schedule. But just like all other self-help books, there is really not much that could be done if we do not actively put in the effort.
The 5th and 6th lectures are a bit weird. The most used word in these two chapters is ‘clutter.’ And I would agree with the author that clutter is really bad for any work environment. I cannot work or study or write if my desk is not clean, and anything that might distract me will distract me. As for the 6th chapter, its overreliance on applications annoyed me. I do not like to use my phone to plan. I usually write what I want to be done on a piece of paper and stick it on any wall I would see every day. And as a testament to its futility, if it’s a tough task I do not want to do, I procrastinate or do anything but the assigned task. It is tough to make it work, and applications distract more than organize, in my humble opinion and in my experience.
The 7th to 10th lecture-chapters are the most interesting. They are titled, in order, Avoiding Procrastination, Maintaining Energy, Managing Distractions and Interruptions, and Developing Positive Habits. These are all perfect advice for someone who has not studied psychology. A lot of what psychology textbooks do is study these things. Motivation, procrastination, awareness, wakefulness, etc… That is, along with the major mental capacities and processes and on human physical and psychical development, and on the functions of the senses, and so on. The book would help those without a clue, but the book can do little to reform the actions of those who do not want to heed its advice and solutions. This is no fault of the book. But just as well, it will not serve those who want instant gratification in the form of changed behavior and attitudes towards work.
Criticism:
The book, quite frankly, is so boring. Not in its monotonic voice (as it is an Audible Audio Book), but in its monotonic style of writing. It may be a feature of a physics textbook to be succinct and straight to the point (although many physics textbooks are so fun to read even so). It is not a feature here. I think it is because the subject by itself is bland. A great novelist (pick Camus at random) can use banality in his favor. The author here doesn’t.
Another fault of the book is its shallow understanding of scientific findings. A survey, in general, can tell us what the average human being does. But we cannot so easily prescribe a solution to real (and not average) men these solutions. An example is due: Average people may find it restful to practice yoga after work, and they also might find it helpful to meditate. However, for someone who’s on a very tight schedule, that might not be a very good solution. It might really help him relax, but such a solution, though it works for the average man, does not work for him. Sometimes, it is good to be a little bit stressed. I do not advocate putting one under high stress. Stress can do a score on your body. But there is a function to stress that is often good for the short run, and if it’s manageable, for the long run, too, for achieving many goals in a short term. If stress, though it is harmful, is managed well, it can also be better for one’s health indirectly in that if I become rich, I can better take care of my health, and one way to do that (though it does not necessarily work in that manner) is to work hard and to constantly work. And best, to love such work. The shallow understanding of scientific findings comes from not looking too well into what stress is good, what isn’t, what cripples us, and what puts the perfect amount of pressure on us in the long run. In fact, not being put under stress on relatively easy days to prepare for the harder ones will put much greater stress on us, and a strain that might snap us in two.
Conclusion
I picked this book wanting a cheap read, and I got it. It’s a nice book filled with pieces of advice, a lot of which are relevant. But I would not advise anyone reading this book. In fact, if this book is good for anything, it is to tell us that the best way to be organized and productive is to choose to be organized and productive. We know what’s good for us. What remains for us is to do it. We play around because we do not want to do what we ought to do. But there is no escape if we do not want to do what we ought to do, and there are no simple solutions without trade-offs. Some advice, which can be found everywhere nowadays, is concerned with the little advice from psychology books. Put your notes somewhere where you can see them. Off-load your ideas on paper. Snap out of it when you procrastinate, and so on. Score: (4/10)