18 Minutes

Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done

By: Peter Bregman

Narrated by: Peter Bregman

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Based upon his weekly Harvard Business Review column (one of the most popular columns on HBR.com, receiving hundreds of thousands of unique page views a month), 18 Minutes clearly shows how busy people can cut through all the daily clutter and distractions and find a way to focus on those key items that are truly the top priorities in our lives.

Bregman works from the premise that the best way to combat constant and distracting interruptions is to create productive distractions of one's own. Based upon a series of short bite-sized chapters, his approach allows us to safely navigate through the constant chatter of emails, text messages, phone calls, and endless meetings that prevent us from focusing our time on those things that are truly important to us.

Mixing first-person insights along with unique case studies, Bregman sprinkles his charming audiobook with pathways that help guide us - pathways that can get us on the right trail in 18 minutes or less.

©2011 Peter Bregman (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Captivating beyond what you imagined

If you could sum up 18 Minutes in three words, what would they be?

Captivating and Motivating
(18 minutes in 3 words - that's funny) for reference purposes; I read the 'audiobook' version of this text.

What other book might you compare 18 Minutes to and why?

Though some similar books are out there, I've not found one this compelling. I like the style in which the material is presented. It is not bullet points, but arranged in such a way that I imagine an ordered structure was applied to the outline. Bregman narrates it himself in a 'story telling' like way - very easy to listen to.

Which scene was your favorite?

There are some good 'story' examples in the book. The ones I remember most are because they appealed to my odd sense of humor more so that the rote illustration of a point.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction.

Any additional comments?

The material is highly accessible which is very nice to find. I'm now on my second read-through. By "compelling," I mean that the content is not only captivating but merits more than a cursory review. I'm applying several of the techniques personally, and I'm presenting it as a part of a MeetUp I chair this weekend.

Finally a book about getting important things done

Most books try to get you all geared up to basically spend 18 minutes or more per day just trying to decide how to get EVERYTHING done! This books says screw getting everything done and let's focus on what is important to get done and DO IT!

So many times I had to smile and just think...yep that is me.

This book is for EVERYONE who wants to start making some progress on things that truly matter vs just feeling busy.

l

Marvelous Book!!!

Where does 18 Minutes rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a great audio book since the author does a really good job of providing real-world examples.

Any additional comments?

Overall a wonderful audio book to listen to. Very inspirational, uplifting & most importantly real-world. Most of the motivational books focus too much on theory and not even practical knowledge but not this book. Peter brings his experiences to light with such vivid details. Kudos!!!

Easy to follow

Was great to listen to and follow. brought a lot to my attention and where I need to change. I will be listening to it again.

Waste of time

No real tools or steps just saying the same thing over and over. Don't bother

Not worth the price

Mostly obvious life lessons wrapped in cliche allegories. This book should be tossed into the $0.89 bin where it belong. It would be like paying $20 for a hot dog to a street vendor, ridiculous.

Not for everyone

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

18 Minutes offered interesting ideas on how to get through the day, but the ideas cannot be applied to all jobs. Only those who have the choice of what work is assinged to them can really use the suggestions.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed Bregman's enthusiasm for his book but had a hard time following at times. It was difficult to tell where one chapter ended and another began.

Bore you to sleep!

Wasted time and money, do not recommend and would not give to a friend, unless they had a sleeping issue.

First 80% of book was spent convincing reader time management is important

I could tell from the content that the author is a good guy. However, I'm frustrated that over 80% of the book the author tried to convince the reader that time management is important. After listening to the first 4 hours of him 'convincing' me that working more efficiently is a good thing I just wanted to yell "I know! That's why I'm listening to this book!" Plus, in my opinion, the 'advice' content in the remaining two hours was dull and not worth the wait. I generously give this a two star rating.

not so good

I feel like I just waisted my money listening to this person. if their is a refund I will be glad to apply for it to get my money back. he is so boring and you don't get no benefit from his idea or writhing.