The satisfaction of cleaning out our inbox can be enormous-except the result is that we didn’t write the article that was significantly more important. At the end of the day, however, we may not be doing what matters most. Our brains get enormous satisfaction when we check items off the lists-when we get closure. I love my to-do lists-and Duhigg points out why that’s not always serving me.

Setting Goals-SMART is Not Sufficient 'If you’re being constantly told to focus on achievable results, you’re only going to think of achievable goals.' - Smarter Faster Better, location 1938 Productivity, according to Duhigg, is about thinking differently.įor me, this opens up ways of thinking about how I work and live that I hadn’t considered before and new ways to define and measure my productivity. In fact, there is waste and there is messiness. Productivity isn’t, as we might think, about efficiency. It’s about how we frame our decisions-and it’s about our mindsets as we work and live.

It’s about who we bring in and how we engage them. Productivity isn’t only about how we use our time, it’s about how we approach our work and our lives-alone and together. In a book with so many disparate topics-many of which are seemingly disconnected from one another-the thread that sits behind all of them is that we make choices-all the time. The way we choose to see our own lives the stories we tell ourselves and the goals we push ourselves to spell out in detail the culture we establish among teammates the ways we frame our choices and manage the information in our lives.' - Smarter Better Faster, location 4360 It’s about making certain decisions in certain ways. Productivity is About Choices 'Productivity is about recognizing choices that other people often overlook. This is a fun and engaging book to read-so even if there’s a topic or chapter that you might not initially think applies to you-you’ll probably enjoy reading it and walk away with a valuable insight nonetheless.

And, the book is quite actionable.ĭuhigg is a terrific journalist and writer. And, while some of what he shares is familiar, there’s enough that’s new-and that provides a unique and counterintuitive perspective-to be interesting and provocative. Each topic-or chapter-is rich with stories, data and insights. How do we make the most of our lives? The topics he explores include creating focus, setting goals, working in teams, managing others, making decisions, innovating and absorbing data. Instead, Duhigg looks at productivity holistically. Unlike many books on productivity, Smarter Faster Better is not a book of tips or systems to become more efficient. 'Productivity, put simply, is the name we give our attempts to figure out the best uses of our energy, intellect, and time as we try to seize the most meaningful rewards with the least wasted effort.' - Smarter Faster Better, location 80

Smarter faster better book review