18 Minutes

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

Business Plus, 2011

15 min read

10 take-aways

Audio & text

What's inside?

If you find it impossible to get anything done, start with the 18-minute cure.

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Editorial Rating

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Innovative
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Recommendation

Business consultant and blogger Peter Bregman writes from an entirely distinctive viewpoint in his self-help book on time management. Some of his delightfully irreverent concepts: Your weaknesses can be your strengths; achieving imperfection is always better than wasting time shooting for perfection; what you ignore doing is as important as what you do; and distractions actually can keep you on track. You will learn a lot from Bregman’s idiosyncratic text, which presents his cheeky yet practical ideas with great aplomb and in small, delectable chapters that include many instructive case histories. getAbstract recommends Bregman’s book to anyone who wants to get more out of each day and have some fun in the process.

Summary

Time Is Ticking Away

Your most precious asset is your time. Though you can recoup money, your career and your relationships, you can’t recover your time once it is gone. So spend your time as productively and mindfully as possible. If not, you will end up asking yourself: “Where did that moment go?” as well as “Where did the day go?” and “Where did those years go?” If you fail to answer those questions soon enough to change your time management tactics, you’ll be left wondering where your life went.

Don’t spend your life racing around, trying to accomplish everything on your agenda. Accept that “it’s impossible to get it all done.” Instead, focus on your most important goals, and plan how you’ll achieve them. Start by managing your year, then your days and finally your moments. Stop to take a look at your life, think about what to do differently and introduce the change you need. Make sure that you are on the right path all the time.

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Often people need to take a step back from their lives to see where they are standing and where they are going. Take a tip from Google Earth and “hover above your world” to check if you’re living the way you want to...

About the Author

Peter Bregman is the founder of Bregman Partners, a global management consultancy. He also wrote Point B: A Short Guide to Leading a Big Change and is the co-author of five other books.

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N. V. 6 years ago

Made me rethink where my life is heading after reading this..
D. B. 1 decade ago

Hard to tell from a summary about the irreverent and idiosyncratic style that is admired here, but I agree with perfect is the enemy and drags many perfectionists to inaction. It sounds like the examples may be entertaining, but an alarm every hour, really?? A well placed pause, pacing, dealing with your characteristics, all sound pretty good. I wish there was some state between a page and a book to scan. You do you have me intriqued.
R. D. 1 decade ago

Mr.Bregman's concept is helpful...www.ronalddestra.com

Peter Bregman

18 Minutes

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

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Summary

Time Is Ticking Away

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