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Rest

Why You Get More Done When You Work Less

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About this listen

Penguin presents the complete unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, read by Adam Sims.


For most of us, overwork is the new normal. Resting means late-night TV binges or hours spent on social media. We never truly recharge.

In this revelatory book, Silicon Valley consultant Alex Soojung-Kim Pang offers a way for us to be more productive and fulfilled in all areas of our lives. Working better does not mean putting in longer hours: it means working less and resting better. Whether through daily naps, as Winston Churchill did in the Second World War, spending a week alone in a cabin like Bill Gates, or simply walking or playing a game, 'deliberate rest' is the key to getting more done.

Drawing on emerging neuroscience, Rest is packed with tips for upping our downtime - from sleep to hobbies to holidays. It's time to change the way we work, rest and play.

 Creativity & Genius Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Physical Illness & Disease Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Sleep Disorders Stress Management Inspiring Success

Critic reviews

Take a break and read Rest: you'll make smarter decisions, have better relationships, and be happier and more creative.
An incredibly timely read - for this moment in history, but also in my own increasingly rest-starved life. This might be the book to finally persuade us that downtime isn't in conflict with good work; rather, it's an essential ingredient of it. (Oliver Burkeman, Guardian columnist and author of 'The Antidote')
If work is our national religion, Pang is the philosopher reintegrating our bifurcated selves (Arianna Huffington)
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang shows us how much more productive we can be by spending less time in noisy open-plan offices . . . It should be compulsory reading for office managers everywhere (Katie Law)
Read this book, and you'll see how time off helps us learn and create better (Ferran Adria, 3-Star Michelin chef and founder of El Bulli)
Want to be creative and get more done? We used to think only hard work was the answer. This beautifully researched book debunks the "work till you drop" myth by describing how intentional rest is crucial for being your best. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including neuroscience, the arts and psychology, Rest will fundamentally change the way we see work in the years to come. Give it to your boss! Give it to your work-obsessed spouse! Give it to your frazzled office buddies! A new paradigm of work is emerging and this fascinating book will be an indispensable guide (Peter Fleming author of 'The Mythology of Work')
I love Rest. It places rest back on the pedestal it so clearly deserves and generously points out - through great stories and acute insight - things to reflect on and build into our own lives.
Good books are interesting and valuable; but the best books reframe the way you see the world, getting you thinking differently about everyday situations and assumptions. Rest does just that. With a fascinating combination of research and historical examples, your view of rest - as what you do when you are not working - is turned upside down. A thoroughly enjoyable, insightful and life-enhancing book.
In his Fascinating, well-researched and highly readable new book, Dr pang makes an excellent case for the critical importance of rest in our lives. You will consider how and why you rest in a completely new light after reading this book.
It's high noon for the global economy's thinking class, who are locked in a losing battle for clarity in a crowded, clickable world. This book is a science packed call to arms: it's time to claim rest as a right and pay close attention to the needs of our beleaguered brains.
All stars
Most relevant
great book and why rest is important and what effect it can have on the body and mind.

rest is important

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This is an excellent book that I strongly recommend. Like me, many people are 'addicted' to working - I know I get a buzz or fix from having a packed day but my cup empties taking me into unhealthy physical and emotional states. We learn to detach from our 'body' self and drive ourselves by our intellect's wants, shoulds, oughts, as well as our greed.
We need to learn how to stop, before exhaustion forces us to do so. This book offers very practical ways to manage our working lives. It shows that by working less we can be MORE productive. A great read/listen.

Rest is productive

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Very helpful and insightful, being self-employed you often find the balance of work:rest very difficult and this helps break the psychology of needing to be busy the whole time.

Not sure it needs to be quite as long as it simply reinforces the importance of rest relative to creativity/productivity, repeatedly.

Still very enjoyable though.

Insightful

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The anecdotes and research on active deliberate rest gave me deep permission to value living life my way (working from home, part-time and contemplatively) rather than feeling I ought to join the rat race and 'look busy' full-time. I only give 3 stars on story because the vast majority of examples given are men and very little is said about the lives of women and how this philosophy on rest fits into the demands of mothering for decades of your career life.

Inspiring and daily-life changing

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I've now read this book three times in paperback, and listened twice to the audio; the overall message - which is still somehow the opposite of common sense - is one worth drumming into yourself repeatedly. Besides that, this is a meticulously crafted piece of non-fiction that can be digested easily even on first listen. Every point is thoroughly backed up, no theme outstays its welcome, and the narration is superb. Couldn't recommend more highly.

The perfect prescription for burnout and stress

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