Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More [Kindle Edition]

I've read many books on productivity and self improvement. Some great, some not so great. This book was brilliant.

Most books leave me feeling like I need to start a whole new system to make any changes - not the most productive way in my mind! This book is different - it takes you from where you are today and gives you principles and ideas for making changes straight away. It's not about subscribing to a way of working, it's taking how you work and looking at it with a new perspective and a new philosophy.

The book is really well written, with real life examples and exercises for you to reflect on as you go through each chapter. I was scribbling away and really taking time to review how I organise my day and work.

There are some great concepts - realising how much time we have in a day and what that means - 96 chunks of 15 mins - really helps you focus on how you spend your time. Always Be Ready - I now have a list of things that I can do if a window of time opens up - now I don't see a delay as a problem, but an opportunity to gain some time on my tasks. Focus - not only on what you are doing, but also what you won't be doing.

There are also a whole lot of resources to support the book - a really comprehensive website, some fantastic podcasts (bite size chunks - taking concepts from the book and bringing them to life) and a weekly email.

The book feels really interactive. It has some great chapters on networking and mentoring and asks you to look at the team around you and make those key connections. There are many points in the book and the podcasts when Jason asks people to get involved. I dropped Jason an email on a topic and I got an email reply and a call - really inspiring.

This is more than just a one read book - it has really opened up a journey of improvement. A must read - well worth your time and investment.

In the film What About Bob (1991), Richard Dreyfuss plays the role of Dr. Leo Marvin, a psychiatrist and author of a bestselling book, Baby Steps, in which he discusses emotional disorder theories and how he treats his patients and their phobias. I thought about that film as I began to read this book because both Leo Marvin and Jason Womack believe in the value of steady, consistent, sharply-focused incremental progress. They also believe in the importance of concentrating on what is most important while ignoring any distractions that threaten that concentration.

The business world is a busy world in which many people confuse activity with productivity. They need help and in the Introduction, Womack offers this assurance: "Your Best Just Got Better shows you how to gain clarity, develop structure, and build momentum as the Architect of Your Experience. It will lead, inspire, and motivate you to walk the oath of persistence, moving you toward a better you. I am confident these experiences will support you along the work." I think the material [begin italics] can [end italics] be very helpful. However, whether or not it [begin italics] is [end italics] helpful depends entirely on a reader's ability -- and willingness --to apply effectively the information, insights, and counsel that Womack provides in abundance.

These are among the passages of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to suggest the range of subjects that Womack explores with rigor and eloquence:

o Focus on Making Your Best Better (Pages 9-11)
o Maximizing Your Limited Resources (19-23)
o Slow Down to Speed Up and Create Lasting Change (31-35)
o Three Influences on Our Productivity (65-70)
o How Do You Build Self-Efficacy? (79-80)
o You Are Your Network (98-102)
o Three Kinds of Conversation (104-106)
o If You Can Track It, You Can Change It (110-113)
o Maximize our Limited Resources (Re-read 19-23, then read 117-120)
o The Layering process (140-142)
o Is Your Approach to Work Working (157-159)
o Creating Big Feedback, Quickly (167-169)
o Key Ingredients of Effective Feedback (177-178)
o Focusing on Making More (182-184)
o Three Decisions That Change our Focus, and, The Real Reason to Focus on Completion (196-200)
o What Is Important to Practice (218-221)

I commend Womack on his skillful use of various reader-friendly devices that include dozens of bullet-point checklists of key points as well as step-by-step explanations of various initiatives that, over time, can achieve incremental progress. Womack aptly characterizes this process as "iterative improvement." In this context, it is worth noting that Alice Schroeder selected Snowball as the title of her biography of Warren Buffett because when he was a child, he observed a ball of snow becoming larger as it rolled down a hill. It was then that he recognized the power of compound interest. What Womack advocates is compound personal development and in this book, sharing just about everything he has learned about how to achieve it.

No brief commentary such as mine can possibly do full justice to the scope and diversity of material in Your Best Just Got Better but I hope that I have at least suggested why I think so highly of it and its author. Also, I hope that those who read this commentary will be better prepared to determine whether or not they wish to read the book and, in that event, will have at least some idea of how the material provided by Jason Womack could perhaps be of substantial benefit to them as well as to their own organization.

Most people can imagine their ideal day, but what would it take to make your perfect day - or parts of it - come to life? Jason W. Womack, an executive coach and workplace performance trainer, tells you how to change your habits and make your ideal day a reality. Womack identifies some commonsense ideas about how to "work smarter, think bigger and make more." While few of his ideas are revolutionary, they add up to a compelling prescription for breaking through barriers that hold you back. getAbstract recommends Womack's well-constructed collection of sound, practical, life-improving advice to anyone seeking increased efficiency and productivity.