It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work

The co-founders of Basecamp can be considered crazy by some because they think about things intentionally that other companies give no consideration to. This book was great insight into how they make considerate decisions on building a company that focuses on productivity of their workers and isn't a crazy environment. Those that think they are crazy are lowest-common-denominator thinkers who accept the crazy and distracted modern environment as the ideal.

Takeaways: - Avoid work chat as much as possible. Communicate asynchronously. - Pay people for their worth, not addresses. - Don't plan beyond 6 weeks in the future. Those plans always change anyway. - If there is too much to do at work, you're not making decisions to cut out things that aren't needed.

Calm, focused, and flexible

Full of practical advice on achieving a calm, focused workplace and eschewing unhealthy practices. As someone who works in technology, the obsession with growth in the Silicon Valley mindset is pervasive, and this book is a refreshing antidote.

This book tells you to stop being the "passionate employee", stop "changing the world", and other common sense things that are just marketing empty phrases to make you to spend your life working more for less.

Worth the read.