What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings–and Life (A Penguin Special from Por tfolio) by Laura Vanderkam (PDF)

Description

Mornings are a madcap time for many of us. We wake up in a haze—often after hitting snooze a few times. Then we rush around to get ready and out the door so we can officially start the day. Before we know it, hours have slipped by without us accomplishing anything beyond downing a cup of coffee, dashing off a few emails, and dishing with our coworkers around the water cooler. By the time the workday wraps up, we’re so exhausted and defeated that any motivation to accomplish something in the evening has vanished.But according to time management expert Laura Vanderkam, mornings hold the key to taking control of our schedules. If we use them wisely, we can build habits that will allow us to lead happier, more productive lives.Drawing on real-life anecdotes and scientific research that shows why the early hours of the day are so important, Vanderkam reveals how successful people use mornings to help them accomplish things that are often impossible to take care of later in the day. While many of us are still in bed, these folks are scoring daily victories to improve their health, careers, and personal lives without sacrificing their sanity. For instance, former PepsiCo chairman and CEO Steve Reinemund would rise at 5:00 a.m., run four miles, pray, and eat breakfast with his family before heading to work to run a Fortune 500 company.What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is a fun, practical guide that will inspire you to rethink your morning routine and jump-start your life before the day has even begun.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Normally, I’d give a book like this a lower rating. It’s very short and states the obvious, but sometimes that’s just what we need.Basically, the entire point of the book, summed up in one sentence, is that we all have mornings: it’s just whether or not we choose to use them.Mornings are important, because we can get a lot stuff done that we couldn’t at other times of day. Since reading this book, I am actually trying to make a lifestyle change of waking at 5:30 a.m. to concentrate on my writing. I haven’t been completely successful at it yet, but I am now writing in the mornings first thing after coffee and breakfast. This really works for me, and this is not something I’d be doing if I hadn’t read this book.This can also be applied to working out or some other form of personal improvement. As aforementioned, it’s a great way for me to work on my books without being distracted. Besides, it’s kind of a cool feeling to be awake and getting stuff done while the rest of the world sleeps.The main message seems obvious, but I will say this book is worth the read. There are inspirational quotes and real life examples of successful people using their mornings to greatest effect. This is a great self-improvement book, and the only change you’ll have to make is perhaps going to bed and waking up earlier. You can read the entire thing in about thirty minutes.Also: I found Vanderkam’s argument that our willpower drains throughout the day to be very true. All the more reason to get those hard to do things done early before you are drained at the end of the day.

⭐So many books today outline great ideas about how to make our lives better. And so few of them offer real, concrete, actionable behaviors that help you get you there. Not so here. In this accessible, intelligent and readable book, Laura Vanderkam puts forth an old idea in a very modern light. Basically, that getting up early–and putting those hours to good, productive, enriching use–is a key driver of success for many people. Moreover, she provides compelling evidence for why this is and outlines doable things we all can apply if we want to experience this in the real world.Now, let me share my own proclivities: I am not and never have been a “morning person.” I tend to be more of a night owl and do some of my best work in the evening hours. Vanderkam references the differences inherent in what she calls night owls (a camp she identifies with) and larks (those who more naturally rise before dawn). But she also points out that most of fall in between these two dichotomies. My own morning routines tend to revolve around rising so that I have just enough time to do what I HAVE to do: coffee, hygiene, coffee, kids, transportation, coffee, get to meetings/work. Reading this book revealed thoughts about not only how others have found success through rising earlier (not news) but why this is so and specifically how we might apply some of these disciplines to our own lives. I found this level of detail refreshing, and liked her honest approach to habit formation (clue: it is NOT just a matter of willpower).In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and, more importantly, have started to actively apply many of its recommendations and precepts into my daily life. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to make time for the important, not just urgent, things in their lives.

⭐Easy to follow and apply. Simply plan out what you hope to accomplish and watch your life become better. I feel the biggest thing was simply waking up early and paying more attention to what habits and hopes you have for your life become more impactful as you squeeze them into your morning routine. For me it was Bible study, prayer, and working out from 5-6 a.m. All before my wife, children, work, etc pull me away. I’m checking reading her book on work habits and tracking time and planning seem to be the biggest room for growth for me there. I encourage you to simply commit yourself to the process.

⭐I am a morning person, but I am also easily distracted and frustratingly interrupted. Add to this lethal cocktail that I am an expert procrastinator, you may resonate with that all-too-frequent, “The day is over already?! What have I achieved? ” reflection. Well, now that I have invested this brief but insightful book it’s time to apply it and experience that “day well spent, job well done” realization. Thanks for the guidance, Laura! 30 days and counting to a transformed day!

⭐While this book may not be revolutionary, it’s a solid starting point for people who don’t know where to start on reframing their day to be more productive or who think they don’t have the time to accomplish something outside work with their days. For those of us who already tend to be productive, it’s value lies in helping refresh our motivation or get back on track.Critics who complain about it just being a “story about her family and life as a working mom” or who have no desire to do what she does with her day are really being overly harsh and short sited. They are missing the premise of her using her daily activities to highlight how it works when you reprioritize and reorganize your day to accomplish more things that matter more to YOU. I don’t have kids, but I have dogs, a roommate, and a significant other in my house, so I can appreciate the application of using the hours before the rest of them are up for focusing on tasks that would otherwise be interrupted at any other point in my day. Hopefully others will get the same from this.

⭐The idea behind this book was promising. Unfortunately the author takes a long time to start sharing any useful information. Most of the book feels like filler, but there are a few nugget of information that are worth reading.

⭐nothing I didn’t know, expected it to be less about exercising, more about organising my working life. good tips but hard to implement with young family and sleep deprivation.

⭐very practical steps suggested here which if I’m honest have appeared in various coaching hand books already. The difference with this book is the practical application of the suggestions which encourage you practice the steps and reap the rewards also!

⭐A really easy to understand and very simple points that will enhance your life and make you want to get the most out of the small hours before the rest of the world wakes up.

⭐Quite basic but profound stuff to make your day productive – could be more useful with more live examples of great people

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