Assessment:

Plot/Idea: Neil Sahin is a busy man who wears a lot of hats—software engineer, actor, author, to name just a few. In these 29 chapters he presents a series of life hacks that will help people achieve their goals, such as: taking action to make one's dreams come true; creating to-do lists to provide a sense of accomplishment; getting seven hours of sleep a night; taking responsibility for one's actions and their consequences; and getting out of one's comfort zone. These hacks place a very strong emphasis on productivity, money, and time management.

Prose: The prose is clear, to-the-point, and easy to scan, as if the author did in fact write this book while keeping his time management hacks in mind for both himself and the reader.

Originality: This book’s originality comes in the way Sahin presents his ideas—directly and succinctly. There are no long explanations or analyses of the academic literature, although the author does cite numerous books on related topics written for a lay audience. It’s a quick and easy read that presents the reader with a lot of very good, if oft-repeated in the lay literature, ideas to improve their lives.

Character Development/Execution: While this book has many useful ideas with broad appeal, it might benefit from exploring hacks and advice for audience members of more diverse socio-economic backgrounds. 

Date Submitted: November 13, 2021