Tidy the F*ck Up: The American Art of Organizing Your Sh*t
Messie Condo
Simon and Schuster
Nonficton, Humor/Organization
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: Let's be honest: your home is probably a mess. It's nothing to be ashamed about; messes happen to the best of us. Between work and family and a culture that trains us that buying shiny new things is the only way to happiness, everyone faces a rising tide of stuff, which must somehow fit into a finite amount of space. But whenever we look for help, we see self-appointed tidiness gurus whose solutions involve impossible lifestyle changes and/or infinite time or money to invest in proprietary organization systems. Here, at last, is a practical approach to actually getting a handle on the clutter creep and reclaiming a little living space.
REVIEW: This quick-reading title is both a jab at popular organization fads and franchises and a practical, down-to-earth way to declutter and organize one's life. Emphasizing that everybody needs to decide for themselves what they consider their ideal habitat and that organizing should involve using what one already has before shelling out money on baskets and boxes and totes, the author offers tips and tricks as well as a good, often humor-laced explanation for why everyone really should put in a little time and effort to tidy up. It's as much about psychology as it is about practicality, and it often takes a little psychology to convince ourselves that, yes, we really can let go of those movies we never watch or the clothes we never wear or that ceramic clown figurine collection left to us by Great-Aunt Maude that we can't stand but we feel guilty about even considering parting with. The lessons here can apply to pretty much anyone.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Habit Fix (Eileen Rose Giadone) - My Review
Unf*ck Your Habitat (Rachel Hoffman) - My Review
Showing posts with label organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organization. Show all posts
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Friday, February 1, 2019
Fast Focus (Damon Zahariades)
Fast Focus: A Quick-Start Guide To Mastering Your Attention, Ignoring Distractions, And Getting More Done In Less Time!
Damon Zahariades
Amazon Digital Services
Nonfiction, Organization
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: You know how it goes: you have a hundred things to do, but somehow they never get done... and by the next day you have a hundred more to add to the list. You try multitasking to get more accomplished with the little time you have, but only end up making more mistakes and taking even longer to fix them. Then you finally do get into the zone, but a phone call interrupts you, or the doorbell rings, or that chatty co-worker swings by your desk. Author and productivity expert Damon Zahariades examines the common pitfalls that keep us distracted and disorganized, and offers tactics to counter them.
REVIEW: Like many people, I often have productivity issues, in that I'm not productive at all; indeed, I'm often sufficiently counterproductive to undo whatever progress I manage to make, and then some. As the title promises, this is a quick-reading book, offering tips and tricks that can be adapted to most situations. Some are similar to those I learned in an online Lynda course, but some are new to me, and Zahariades delivers the information in short chapters, easy language, and simple steps that one can start even as one reads. (Not literally, though; like other productivity gurus, he debunks the notion that multitasking is a thing, or at least an effective thing, as the human brain - despite what it likes to think - can't really do two tasks at once and do both well.) It closes out with a bonus section on keeping one's focus when working in public places, like a coffee shop. I learned a few tips here, though whether I have the self-discipline required to break bad productivity habits and replace them with healthier ones remains to be seen; as usual, it looks easy when other people write about doing it.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Mental FOCUS Training Secrets (Nathan Cadbury) - My Review
The Habit Fix (Eileen Rose Giadone) - My Review
Hocus Pocus, You're Focused! (Arthur Laud) - My Review
Damon Zahariades
Amazon Digital Services
Nonfiction, Organization
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: You know how it goes: you have a hundred things to do, but somehow they never get done... and by the next day you have a hundred more to add to the list. You try multitasking to get more accomplished with the little time you have, but only end up making more mistakes and taking even longer to fix them. Then you finally do get into the zone, but a phone call interrupts you, or the doorbell rings, or that chatty co-worker swings by your desk. Author and productivity expert Damon Zahariades examines the common pitfalls that keep us distracted and disorganized, and offers tactics to counter them.
REVIEW: Like many people, I often have productivity issues, in that I'm not productive at all; indeed, I'm often sufficiently counterproductive to undo whatever progress I manage to make, and then some. As the title promises, this is a quick-reading book, offering tips and tricks that can be adapted to most situations. Some are similar to those I learned in an online Lynda course, but some are new to me, and Zahariades delivers the information in short chapters, easy language, and simple steps that one can start even as one reads. (Not literally, though; like other productivity gurus, he debunks the notion that multitasking is a thing, or at least an effective thing, as the human brain - despite what it likes to think - can't really do two tasks at once and do both well.) It closes out with a bonus section on keeping one's focus when working in public places, like a coffee shop. I learned a few tips here, though whether I have the self-discipline required to break bad productivity habits and replace them with healthier ones remains to be seen; as usual, it looks easy when other people write about doing it.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Mental FOCUS Training Secrets (Nathan Cadbury) - My Review
The Habit Fix (Eileen Rose Giadone) - My Review
Hocus Pocus, You're Focused! (Arthur Laud) - My Review
Monday, November 13, 2017
Unf*ck Your Habitat (Rachel Hoffman)
Unf*ck Your Habitat
Rachel Hoffman
St. Martin's Griffin
Nonfiction, Organization
***** (Great)
DESCRIPTION: Being disorganized can make you feel like a failure as an adult. In a world that constantly bombards us with Martha Stewart images of perfection, it's worse - especially when so many "solutions" cost too much money or take time and energy not all of us have. It's enough to make you want to give up and make peace with the filth... but it doesn't have to be like that. Whether you've always been messy or have become overwhelmed by life, there are ways to master the mess. Author and blogger Rachel Hoffman offers encouragement and advice on how to tidy up that don't require a third income or a time machine.
REVIEW: I'm not exactly the neatest or most organized person, as anyone who knows me can readily attest. I'm also not a wealthy person, so closet organizers or hired help or complete home makeovers (or just moving away from the mess in the dead of night) aren't viable options. Hoffman offers advice for "the rest of us": people who live with family or roommates who aren't always on board with cleaning, people with physical limitations or issues like depression that make it difficult to keep on top of things, people with limited budgets and/or limited living space, people who have fallen behind (or who never learned how to keep ahead of the dirt to begin with) who want help but never find it in those fancy magazines or slick talk show segments. In other words, unless you're already a nationally-syndicated home show host, this book is likely to be useful to you on some level. She discourages the marathon clean that so many of us do in our moments of desperation, preferring shorter bursts of activity that are more sustainable in the long run. Hoffman also offers advice for the "emergency" clean (when a landlord or service person needs access) and seeking help from friends or family - and what to do (or not do) if someone asks you to help them out. At the end is a useful section on how often to clean things, how to clean different rooms, frequently overlooked areas, and some extra resources for those dealing with issues like hoarding. With no judgment (but with some well-placed cursing and humor), Unf*ck Your Habitat offers practical advice for those of us who live in the real world, a world that's often messier than seen on TV but which can be managed with a little effort and some new habits.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Habit Fix (Eileen Rose Giadone) - My Review
Clutter Antidote (Caitlin Kaur) - My Review
Rachel Hoffman
St. Martin's Griffin
Nonfiction, Organization
***** (Great)
DESCRIPTION: Being disorganized can make you feel like a failure as an adult. In a world that constantly bombards us with Martha Stewart images of perfection, it's worse - especially when so many "solutions" cost too much money or take time and energy not all of us have. It's enough to make you want to give up and make peace with the filth... but it doesn't have to be like that. Whether you've always been messy or have become overwhelmed by life, there are ways to master the mess. Author and blogger Rachel Hoffman offers encouragement and advice on how to tidy up that don't require a third income or a time machine.
REVIEW: I'm not exactly the neatest or most organized person, as anyone who knows me can readily attest. I'm also not a wealthy person, so closet organizers or hired help or complete home makeovers (or just moving away from the mess in the dead of night) aren't viable options. Hoffman offers advice for "the rest of us": people who live with family or roommates who aren't always on board with cleaning, people with physical limitations or issues like depression that make it difficult to keep on top of things, people with limited budgets and/or limited living space, people who have fallen behind (or who never learned how to keep ahead of the dirt to begin with) who want help but never find it in those fancy magazines or slick talk show segments. In other words, unless you're already a nationally-syndicated home show host, this book is likely to be useful to you on some level. She discourages the marathon clean that so many of us do in our moments of desperation, preferring shorter bursts of activity that are more sustainable in the long run. Hoffman also offers advice for the "emergency" clean (when a landlord or service person needs access) and seeking help from friends or family - and what to do (or not do) if someone asks you to help them out. At the end is a useful section on how often to clean things, how to clean different rooms, frequently overlooked areas, and some extra resources for those dealing with issues like hoarding. With no judgment (but with some well-placed cursing and humor), Unf*ck Your Habitat offers practical advice for those of us who live in the real world, a world that's often messier than seen on TV but which can be managed with a little effort and some new habits.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Habit Fix (Eileen Rose Giadone) - My Review
Clutter Antidote (Caitlin Kaur) - My Review
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)