Your Brain at Work

Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long

By: David Rock

Narrated by: Bob Walter

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Emily and Paul: The parents of two young children, Emily is the newly promoted VP of marketing at a large corporation while Paul works from home or from clients' offices as an independent IT consultant. Their lives, like all of ours, are filled with a bewildering blizzard of emails, phone calls, yet more emails, meetings, projects, proposals, and plans. Just staying ahead of the storm has become a seemingly insurmountable task.

In this book, we travel inside Emily's and Paul's brains as they attempt to sort the vast quantities of information they're presented with, figure out how to prioritize it, organize it, and act on it. Fortunately for Emily and Paul, they're in good hands: David Rock knows how the brain works - and more specifically, how it works in a work setting. Rock shows how it's possible for Emily and Paul, and thus the listener, not only to survive in today's overwhelming work environment but succeed in it - and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Your Brain at Work explores issues such as:

• Why our brains feel so taxed, and how to maximize our mental resources
• Why it's so hard to focus, and how to better manage distractions
• How to maximize your chance of finding insights that can solve seemingly insurmountable problems
• How to keep your cool in any situation, so that you can make the best decisions possible
• How to collaborate more effectively with others
• Why providing feedback is so difficult, and how to make it easier
• How to be more effective at changing other people's behavior

©2009 David Rock (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

superb audio book

David Rock has written an excellent book that consists of solid neuroscience examples and cute analogies that is neatly tied to real world examples about how brain responds to different office situations. I have a reasonable neuroscience background and thoroughly enjoyed his description about various brain areas and how they function. With these insights it becomes much more easy to apply various strategies to excel in office environment (and school or other competitive environment). The speaker was quite pleasant to listen after initial adjustment period. A MUST listen title.

Fantastic

There is some practical advise here. I enjoyed it very much. The only audiobook I have listened to twice. It is very well formatted, blending ideas with stories to guide the listener to greater understanding. I found the information is very relevant and the listening quite enjoyable.

Great Brain Insight

I keep listening to brain books. This was really well laid out and fun to follow!

Charlie Seymour Jr

Great ideas, occasionally monotonous

Rock presents an exhaustive and well researched list of "actions" to take to improve several aspects of cognitive function. In today's overloaded, e-connected, 24/7 access there are some great tools for getting things back under control.
Part 1 was abundent in advice, yet part 2 seems little distracted, although you'll still find jewels of wisdom and helpful nuggets of insight in the second part.
The narrative, while emphatic tended on the monotone by the time I got around to Part 2. If you need a vivacious, dynamic, narrator to keep you engaged this could be a difficult book for you.

Interesting but bad narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator

What was most disappointing about David Rock’s story?

The narrator, and to may biological terms.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

No, awful narration and voice.

Did Your Brain at Work inspire you to do anything?

To analize better how to react on certain circumstances.

Any additional comments?

The information is good, but the narrator makes you go to sleep. Its to much informaticion for an auditobook, with to many biological terms.

Great organization, data, and examples.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I recommend this book for anyone who has to communicate at work, manage time, organize projects, or maintain client relations.

What other book might you compare Your Brain at Work to and why?

Without an exact book, I'd compare from the subjects of management, nueroscience, and psychology books

What does Bob Walter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Bob Walter's tone introduced human speech perception to the characters which wouldn't be as easy to induce from written text. He certainly does a better job at this than my mind would.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I had to let the information process.

Any additional comments?

A great method to improve self awareness of internal processes while planning, evaluating, reviewing, and inputting information.

fantastic

great book with very interesting and applicable content. the reading/performance is well done as well

Great, life changing ideas

The ideas in this book should be taught in schools. They are basic and eye opening. Furthermore they are explained by an excellent narrator. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Really found this audiobook enlightening!

Learned so much! Really made me think! Good insights on how internal narratives running through our heads can affect our behaviors!

Amazing F---ing Book!

What did you love best about Your Brain at Work?

After listening to this; you better realise why some tossers behave as they do and what corrective actions you need to take....

What did you like best about this story?

That we are all ultimately machines....