Audible Book Review: Digital Detox for Remote Workers by Dr. Guenter H. Schamel

 

Looking to break away from the remote working world? Are you burnt out by Slack and Zoom and that constantly on feeling? Then Digital Detox for Remote Workers: Reclaim Your Focus, Productivity, and Work-Life Balance in the Digital Age by Dr. Guenter H. Schamel. 

Schamel's helpful resource is a good first step in making a change. For those of us who work remotely, it's so easy to spend more time than the standard workday at your computer. It can be so hard to put down the phone and step away, feeling like you aren't fulfilling your clients' needs or that the one time you break away and attempt balance, you must sacrifice productivity. Meanwhile, your productivity and focus suffer from trying to juggle it all unsuccessfully. 

Digital Detox for Remote Workers is about setting healthy boundaries, avoiding burnout, and resetting your mental energy. Though narrated by Virtual Voice, I did not find it distracting. I feel this is one of those books that is best used in printed format because of how the strategies are outlined and put into practice, but I found it useful in getting me started. Definitely worth the listening time.

Part of series	Thriving in Remote Work
Listening Length	6 hours and 19 minutes
Author	Guenter H. Schamel
Narrator	Virtual Voice
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	November 21, 2025
Publisher	Independently Published
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B0FXDPYCRX

I purchased a copy of this book with an Audible credit. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Audible Book Review: The 6 Habits of Growth by Brendon Burchard

 

This has been a year of personal growth and professional development. If you are interested in resources for such topics, then you should grab a copy of The 6 Habits of Growth by Brendon Burchard.

In this audiobook, narrated by the author, Burchard outlines six habits to help you create the life of your dreams:

• Motivation
• Focus
• Confidence
• Energy
• Purpose
• Leadership

In his conversational style, he digs deep into each habit, offering insight and experience. While there is not a lot that is new or groundbreaking in The 6 Habits of Growth, Burchard is encouraging and inspiring in his delivery. 

The topic that most spoke to me is the habit of Focus. The author encourages readers to assess where they are in ten main areas of life: mental health, physical health, family, friends, finances, mission, spirit, adventure, learning, and growth. This allows you to focus on who you "could be." This chapter talks about how to plan for greater performance; encourages you to make time to attend to your physical health; and journal so you can reflect. 

There is some pitching of Burchard's self-improvement app that is subscription based, but if you read enough of these books, you come to expect it. At least it's not heavy handed. 

The 6 Habits of Growth is a helpful tool for your personal growth and professional development tool box.

Listening Length	5 hours and 4 minutes
Author	Brendon Burchard
Narrator	Brendon Burchard
Audible.com Release Date	September 15, 2022
Publisher	Audible Originals
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Original recording
Language	English
ASIN	B0BBXX6LSY

I downloaded this book on Audible. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Nov 11

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.    

Before we get into this week's post, I would like to take a moment to thank Veterans everywhere for their service. We honor your service and your sacrifice today. God bless you all. 

Another busy real estate week, which means I didn't get a chance to read... unless you want to talk about contracts.

I focused last week and will continue to focus this coming week on finding my voice and connecting with other women on the same journey. I've been creating personal videos and thinking about some of my dreams. 

My latest novel is going excruciatingly slow, but I am writing something every day, so I consider that a success.

Here are a few photos from this week.

Visited The Crepes Tea House this weekend for breakfast.

Saw a Christmas tree on the neighboring street.

View from our open house on Sunday.

The hubby and I walking Theo Sunday.

As for my reading world, I am reading on this one. 

Still need to write the review for this cute one. 

Hope to write a review of this one this week. 

These are the books I'm planning to read through the end of the year:  

Upcoming events:

• A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker - November 20 (Review)
• Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir by Mike Martin - December 2 (Review - TC&TBC)
• Jingles by D.F. Jones - December 11 (Review)

You can read the latest Christmas news at the Christmas Year Round blog. What a great week of Christmas news that embraces the spirit of the season. The story behind this year's Rockefeller Center's Christmas tree and the story of a man who decorated his entire street early as a gift to his wife. Read more here!

I will be on appointments today, so probably won't check in until the afternoon. Hope you have a great week!

Audible Review: Fierce Conversations by Susan Craig Scott

 

If you're looking to create positive change with powerful conversations, then you must grab a copy of Fierce Conversations by Susan Craig Scott. 

Narrated by the author, this helpful resource will teach you how to get your message across effectively to improve your personal and professional relationships. Scott uses real life examples, along with lists of what you should be asking yourself and others to  handle strong emotions on both sides of the table, to increase clarity and improve understanding, and to connect with the people in your life on a deeper level.

Scott's ability to connect with readers in this audiobook shows why she is the perfect person to write such a resource. Fierce, Inc. is a global training company founded by Scott. In the case studies provided in the book, you discover her leadership style, which she shares with the reader. Fierce conversations are not often easy conversations, but they are necessary ones, as proven within the book's pages. Fierce Conversations is a book I want to own in print so I can fully utilize the lists of questions and witness their affects on my leadership style.

Listening Length	13 hours and 33 minutes
Author	Susan Craig Scott M.D.
Narrator	Susan Craig Scott
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	April 11, 2017
Publisher	Simon & Schuster Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B06XGNMDBY

I bought this book with an Audible credit. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Audible Book Review: Good Leaders Ask Great Questions by John C. Maxwell

 

In Good Leaders Ask Great Questions, John Maxwell, a top authority on leadership, discusses how being a person who asks questions changed and challenged him, and how you can use questions to propel you and your team forward. 

With Maxwell's friendly and conversational style, he shares not only the questions that have changed his life; he invited people around the world to ask him any leadership question, answering 70 of them in this engaging resource. Maxwell shares his experiences and discusses the importance of influence. Having spent decades growing leaders, he has broken down Good Leaders Ask Great Questions into two parts: Questions I Ask and Questions Leaders Ask Me.

Maxwell's value-based leadership strikes a chord with me. The book got better and better as I went along. As I listened, I was able to identify the steps and missteps of my own leadership journey. The book inspired introspection and a desire to create a plan for the future. I will be grabbing a paperback copy so that I can mark it up and refer back to Good Leaders As Great Questions often.

Listening Length	8 hours and 17 minutes
Author	John C. Maxwell
Narrator	John C. Maxwell
Audible.com Release Date	October 07, 2014
Publisher	Hachette Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00NT8YS0S

I purchased this book with an Audible credit. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Audible Book Review: Start with Why by Simon Sinek

 

Life changing. Thought provoking. Inspiring. These words and more describe Start with Why by Simon Sinek. 

Since I began my real estate career ten years ago, I've been hearing about this book. Motivational speakers refer to it. Instructors quote from it. I've lost count of how many times this title has been recommended. Having now read it, I understand why.

Sinek's Golden Circle focuses on the why because that is your purpose and what you believe. In his conversational and engaging style, he talks about the importance of focusing on why, not how or what. With a study of Apple, Martin Luther King Jr, and the Wright Brothers, Sinek shows how focusing on your purpose drives how you do things and what you do, not the other way around. 

Here's a great TED Talk that summarizes what you find in the book. Sinek shares how great leaders inspire action. 

Why did this hit home for me? Because I've been a person who overanalyzes the how and what of my career, but not always the why. Because as Sinek gets down into the weeds of how starting with why makes a difference, I found myself nodding over and again. The Golden Circle makes sense. How he analyzes Apple, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Wright Brothers helps you realize how that one difference in their approach moved them forward and inspired those around them to action. Best of all, this book shows you how you can achieve this as well. 

Start with Why is a book that current and future leaders and entrepreneurs should read. 

Listening Length	7 hours and 18 minutes
Author	Simon Sinek
Narrator	Simon Sinek
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	September 05, 2017
Publisher	Penguin Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B074VF6ZLM

I used an Audible credit to purchase this book. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Feb 12

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.   

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.   

Welcome back to Monday! Hope you had a lovely week. I'm back into the swing of regular work activities; had a closing on Friday and met with a client about listing their home. The newspaper ad hits this week announcing our new office, and a grand opening is planned for the end of the month. 

Does anyone have special Valentine's Day plans? The husband and I don't celebrate it, but we usually buy the girls a small gift: stuffed animals, chocolates, flowers, etc. 

We are expecting our next snowstorm on Tuesday. It will be a "plowable event," according to the weather people. I'm kind of done with winter and am looking forward to spring. 

In my reading world, I'm feeling productive. My review of Little House in the Big Woods was posted on my Laura's Little Houses blog. You can read it here. 

I finished this book on Audible. You can read my review here. 

Last Monday, I posted my review of this beautiful picture book. You can read it here. 

I finished this one yesterday. My review appears here.

I am reading these two. 

Next are these two. 

I would like to continue with the Love Comes Softly series after that. I haven't signed up to review anything else to review after May 1. I'll see if I stick to that. :) 

Upcoming virtual book tours:

• Tales of the Yankee Clipper by Jonathan Weeks - Feb 12 (interview)
• Civil Twilight by Anique Taylor - Feb 19 (guest post)
• Universally Adored and Other One Dollar Stories by Elizabeth Bruce - Mar 12 (interview)
• It Will Have Been So Beautiful by Amanda Shaw - Apr 25 (review) 
• My Career Journal by CareerTuners - May 1 (review) 

At the Christmas Year Round blog last week

• Christmas in February

 

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I found an unused Barnes & Noble gift card in the desk drawer, so I grabbed these three.

I received a printed copy of this book as a gift. I reviewed the digital copy here. 

I downloaded this one on Audible.  

I think that wraps it up for me. Looking forward to visiting your blogs today. 

Audible Book Review: The Confidence Gap by Russ Harris

 

Do you find self-confidence a challenge? Does fear and doubt keep you from doing things in life? If so, you might want to read/listen to The Confidence Gap by Russ Harris. 

Narrated by Graeme Malcolm, The Confidence Gap helps you to reconsider your thoughts on lack of confidence being a problem with you. Right up front, Harris tells you he doesn't believe the key lies in visualization, self-hypnosis, positive affirmations, and other self-esteem boosting strategies that can provide short-term results. Instead, Harris says becoming aware of what your mind is doing (the process) leads to long-term results. 

I almost gave up on The Confidence Gap, not because I didn't like it or find the information valuable, but because I felt it dragged on and on. I am not sure what I expected, since the paperback version is 272 pages. The format of providing a running thought at the end of a chapter and picking it up at the beginning of the next chapter didn't come across well in audio format. I found it distracting because it would snap me out of the book and make me wonder if I missed something until the narrator picked up again. 

What I found the most helpful is how Harris focuses the reader on the process, not the results. Showing the reader how to develop mindfulness skills to develop how to focus on how your brain works instead of trying to fool your brain into thinking positive things when you feel negative, resonated with me. If I had to boil my thoughts on this book down into one quick sentence, it would be: this book makes sense. Harris asks the reader to clarify values so you can make life changes, which is what readers of such a book are looking for.

The author offers free resources on his website, but I think it would be helpful to order a paperback version of this book so the exercises are clear as well. I've said this about other audiobooks: exercises are better when they are on paper so you can see them. I'm glad I grabbed The Confidence Gap on Audible, but for full value and usefulness, I recommend a Kindle or paper copy.

Listening Length	7 hours and 39 minutes
Author	Russ Harris, Steven Hayes PhD - foreword
Narrator	Graeme Malcolm
Audible.com Release Date	December 09, 2014
Publisher	Audible Studios
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00O80XTZQ

I bought this book with an Audible credit. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.