David Rock and I share a similar view: People become more open to changing the behaviors which hold them back when they can understand the brain science behind it all. If you teach a man to do a task, he'll complete the task; if you teach him how his brain is wired, and how to optimize and build it, he'll be one of the most successful (and well-adjusted) people you've ever met.

In "Your Brain at Work" David speaks clearly and meaningfully -- with humor and relevance to everyday life -- about why it is our brains work better under some circumstances than others. He's frank about the limitations of our cognitive abilities -- even the brightest among us -- explaining the "why" and "how" of the limits, and, most importantly, "how to make it better" without frazzling yourself with multitasking, split attention, and other inefficient ways of trying to do your work.

He manages to do this with warmth and humor, all the while bringing the reader inside the findings of some of the top researchers in neuroscience.

I'm a neuropsychologist by training, and now do psychotherapy with high-functioning, successful people who complain about feeling depleted, overwhelmed, out of balance, and burned out. I'm grateful to have this book to supplement our work on the brain-based issues that create the perpetual sense of swimming upstream.

Your Brain at Work does an excellent job synthesizing a large body of scientific research on cognitive neuroscience and interpreting the results in a way that helps readers understand how the brain works and how to make it function more efficiently.

The book is laid out in a format of a theatrical play, where it introduces two ordinary people and follows their respective days. Both of the characters are facing a variety of challenges, very similar to the ones that millions of professionals deal with on a daily basis. After presenting a particular scenario and having one of the characters go through it, the author then performs a thorough analysis of what each of the characters did wrong and how they could have approached a particular challenge or activity in a much more efficient way. The best part is, obviously, that the analysis and the corrections in the behavior are all based on the most recent research in cognitive neuroscience.

The narrative is broken into different "acts" according to the progression of the work day of the characters and the type of mental processes that are being discussed. I think this is a particularly good structure because it a)personifies the cognitive challenges by bringing up prototypical characters that most of us can relate to b)organizes the context in a way that is logically progressive and easy to follow and c)makes the book easy for later reference.

As far as the content, to use the book's own language, a big dopamine rush is how I would describe it. It is really full of a good and useful insight, at the same time boasting a high level of writing that uses plenty of metaphors and is very easy to read (took me 5 days of reading before bed to finish). Some of the concepts that are tackled include mental energy management, dealing with pressure, mental blocks, creativity, need for certainty and autonomy, handling of relationships and managing expectations. The full list is a lot longer, and I think that once you start reading, you will notice that the implications of the issues addressed go far beyond just the workplace.

To conclude, I want to say that Your Brain at Work has really exceeded my expectations. It is based not on psycho babble and feel-good nonsense, as most books that are geared towards self improvement, but on solid scientific research. It doesn't instruct on what to do and how to feel, but explains the biological mechanism of action behind default human behavior and how it may lead us astray. In the ideal world, I think that all books that claim to assist with self improvement should be based on scientific research, but that's perhaps wishful thinking and a discussion for another day. Anyway, I highly recommend that you read this book, as I really feel that you will not be disappointed.
  - Link: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Brain-Work-Strategies-Distraction/dp/0061771295