Unlock Your Productivity Potential: How Resting Can Help You Accomplish More

HK: Although it is based on an important principle - that you can't work all the time, and that people doing 'deep work' such as writers can only be productive for a few hours a day - I found this book infuriating to read. Even though it is about rest, the book is still centred on the idea of boosting productivity at work, Everything seems fixated on productivity and self-improvement - rest more effectively so you can work harder and better! - rather than resting in order to actually enjoy being alive in the short time we have on Earth.

Virtually all the examples in the book of high achievers who carve out hours of their day for uninterrupted rest activities are men, with the exception of a few women that are used to highlight the principle that you can't work productively for more than a few hours a day, and many are not from the modern era. I wonder how much rest time their wives got, or how much they had to pay for nannies or other domestic staff to enable them to take time out?

The author seems to have quite a narrow focus of what are considered 'restful' activities (chess, mountain climbing, music...) and little mention of nurturing activities like cooking,...

United Kingdom on Oct 05, 2023

Bakari Chavanu: I agree with the author’s thesis about rest, but he focused too much on talented workers, creatives, leaders, and military generals. But what about ordinary workers? They, too, deserve time away from work. Everyone should get a mandatory four weeks of vacation time per week and month-long sabbaticals throughout their life. The government should provide the funding for this to happen. Also, I wonder why the author didn’t suggest ways for people to plan rest and vacations.

I use my digital task manager to reward myself with rest and time off after accumulating points for a specified number of tasks and projects completed. Luckily, I have control over my work and time, but I realized I wasn’t spending enough time away from my computer. Getting away from my daily work helps fight depression and can rejuvenate one’s life.

United States on Sep 05, 2023

Baur: "Rest" touches on the hidden epidemic that is rampant in the modern societies - burnout.

This book would be perfect for people who have never experienced burnout before. I guess I can compare it to the vaccination. If you read it before your burnout you will get a lot of benefit.

However, if you are struggling with burnout for some time, most of the concepts in the book are just to generic. You probably already know all of them. Hence, you might not get anything new from this book except of the well-written stories and nice format.

Having said that I need to emphasize that book is written well and has a lot of stories and examples.

United States on Aug 12, 2023

Orlando: The book is great. The advice given is invaluable. However, I believe that the first chapters could be more succinct. The last chapters are much better.

Mexico on Jun 25, 2023

Karl: If you're driven (like me), but also severely lack energy (also like me), this book is helpful for getting things done. Be as productive as possible within your abilities. Life does not need to be a rat race.

Canada on Dec 13, 2022

UK: Strongly recommend to buy. Very insightful and well written. No fluff Here. Except for th sabatical part, I am aligned on everything else.

India on Oct 03, 2021

JAYABRATA DAS: In today's age, when rest is being seen as an anti-productive thing, this book will provide you a different perspective. I liked the book became of its well researched content. Especially, the section about creativity and role of rest in sustaining creativity are insightful. If you wish to become more productive as well as creative, you must pick up this book.

India on Apr 12, 2021

Wally Bock: If you do creative work and control your own schedule, you'll find lots of things to try Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. If that’s not you, there are still good ideas here, but you won't be able to put many of them into practice. Without the ability to control your schedule, this will be an interesting read, but not a particularly helpful one. 

The author thinks that rest (which he calls “deliberate rest”) is a skill. That means you can get better at it. And he's convinced that we should spend time thinking about how well we rest just like we do about how well we work. Here’s the money quote.

“Rest is not work’s adversary. Rest is work’s partner. They complement and complete each other.

Further, you cannot work well without resting well. Some of history’s most creative people, people whose achievements in art and science and literature are legendary, took rest very seriously. They found that in order to realize their ambitions, to do the kind of work they wanted to, they needed rest. The right kinds of rest would restore their energy while allowing their muse, that mysterious part of their minds...

United States on Aug 18, 2020

Ian Mann: If living excitedly and hurriedly would only enable us to do more, then there would be some compensation, some excuse, for doing so. But the exact reverse is the case. That was the opinion of William James, the philosopher, psychologist and physician in 1899. I wonder what he would say of our 24/7, always-on world, where the concept of turning off is an anachronism?
Many business people today treat stress and overwork as a badge of honour, and will brag about how little they sleep and how few vacation days they take. However, as Dr Soojung-Kim Pang shows it is a mistake to think of rest as nothing more than the absence of work. Rest is work’s partner that, when correctly understood, improves output exponentially, and the quality of our lives commensurately.
We have made astounding discoveries in sleep research, psychology, neuroscience, organizational behaviour, sports medicine, sociology, and other fields over the last couple of decades. These discoveries have shown the critical role that rest plays in strengthening the brain, enhancing learning, enabling inspiration, and making innovation sustainable.
The book reviews the achievements of world-class musicians, Olympic...

United States on May 03, 2017