Peter Bregman

This was one of those personal development that was full of good but basic, familiar advice. The key takeaways were to structure your goals around annual focuses (~3-7 of them), spend some time each day planning and reflecting, and take occasional pauses to make sure you're focusing on what's important. One thing I did appreciate it was that these goals were supposed to cover all of the areas of your life. So for Bregman, he sets 5 annual focuses. Two are personal (be present with family and take time to recharge and energize himself), two are related to his business, and one is in between -- take time to express himself creatively through writing. By forcing you to consider all parts of your life when setting your priorities, it avoids the common problem of having too many or only work priorities.

All-in-all though, while this wasn't a waste of time -- reminders are good -- I'm glad that it took only a few hours to listen to the whole thing.… (más)

The book centers on a good principle: we need to often take several seconds before speaking or replying to an email, especially in tense situations, or before we embark on a course of action. It is a simple principle, not earth-shattering, but would probably be extremely helpful for those just beginning their careers or who feel that things are out of control with their relationships and life. Taking a short time of reflection will often save a lot of frustration or wasted effort. A lot of the material can be found in other productivity books or blog articles but the collection of principles in the context of taking time before acting is useful.… (más)

The book centers on a good principle: we need to often take several seconds before speaking or replying to an email, especially in tense situations, or before we embark on a course of action. It is a simple principle, not earth-shattering, but would probably be extremely helpful for those just beginning their careers or who feel that things are out of control with their relationships and life. Taking a short time of reflection will often save a lot of frustration or wasted effort. A lot of the material can be found in other productivity books or blog articles but the collection of principles in the context of taking time before acting is useful.… (más)