We were all made for greatness. But so many of us end up chasing the wrong thing in life. We focus on work over family, and success over significance. And when our lives come to an end, we are filled with regret.
What if the secret to living a meaningful and fulfilled life wasn’t as hard as it sounds?
What if you didn’t have to sacrifice success to be present to your loved ones?
What if you didn’t have to sacrifice your health to achieve success?
What if focusing on a few key areas changed everything?
And what if change was as simple as setting an alarm?
Eric Partaker’s story will challenge you to remember what’s most important and start living a life that truly matters.
Are you ready to set your three alarms and wake up to the challenge of living life fully alive?
Eric Partaker is an entrepreneur, author, and CEO Coach who helps CEOs scale themselves and their companies. He has been named "CEO of the Year" at the 2019 Business Excellence Forum, one of the "Top 30 Entrepreneurs in the UK", 35 and under, by Startups Magazine, and among "Britain's Most Disruptive Entrepreneurs" by The Telegraph.
If you're looking for a book that's a carbon copy of Atomic Habits, but with a few extra anecdotes thrown in, then this is the book for you. It's like reading a transcript of that one friend who's always productive, and who swears by every self-help book that comes out. The author does offer some interesting tips, but mostly they're just regurgitating what they've learned from other sources.
The book is peppered with references to other authors, which makes it seem like the author is just trying to pad out their own ideas. And while the writing style is decent, there's no real substance to the arguments presented. It's just the author's personal experience, without any real evidence to back it up.
To be fair, the book might be useful for some people who are just starting out on their self-improvement journey. But if you're already familiar with Atomic Habits or other similar books, you might find this one a bit of a snooze. And the fact that there's no index just shows that the author doesn't really care about the book's content.
The only flaw in this book (much like every other success book in its realm) is that if you don't want or need the same things in the book, it isn't for you. I have no family and no health goals because of having no attachments, so 2/3rd of the book does not apply to me.
The book is filled with quotes from other authors and open examples that don't make me feel sympathy as much as make me see how much influence is trying to be applied in this situation without much else behind it such as studies and the like.
Book is "I nearly died, here is what I did after I nearly died, 3 personalities inside me, quote, rinse and repeat."
Interesting read. A nice concept of setting 3 alarms just to remind you what your intentions are with your life. One particular takeaway from this book is that don't worry about the time you wasted or who you had been, you can always get better.
The 3 Alarms System: The book's core concept revolves around setting three daily alarms to trigger specific identity shifts throughout the day. These alarms help you transition between your roles and help enhance the following quailties.
1 Prioritization: To enhance mental performance, learn to prioritize tasks effectively. Identify the most important tasks for each of your roles and focus on accomplishing them before moving on to less critical tasks.
2 Identity Shaping: Partaker emphasizes the importance of shaping your identity to become the person you want to be. By associating specific roles and behaviors with each alarm, you reinforce these identities, making adopting new habits and mental patterns easier.
3 Time Management: The 3 Alarms system encourages better time management by dividing your day into dedicated segments. By allocating specific times for each of your roles, you can create a more structured routine and improve mental performance.
4 Consistency: Achieving lasting improvement in mental performance requires consistent effort. The 3 Alarms system fosters consistency by prompting daily reminders of your desired identity shifts and associated behaviors.
# Examples:
Alarm 1 (Personal Growth) - 5:30 AM: Label this alarm "Lifelong Learner." Upon waking up, spend 30 minutes reading, journaling, or meditating to invest in your personal development.
Alarm 2 (Career) - 8:30 AM: Label this alarm "Top Performer." During your work hours, concentrate on high-impact tasks, collaborate with colleagues, and seek opportunities for growth.
Alarm 3 (Social Life) - 7:00 PM: Label this alarm "Supportive Friend." Use this time to connect with friends, attend social events, or participate in community activities.
I also find his commend on reflection and review process to be quite useful.
Reflection and Review: Regularly evaluate your progress and make adjustments as needed. Reflect on your successes and challenges to identify areas for improvement and reinforce your commitment to your goals.
Schedule regular reviews: Choose a specific day and time each week for your review, such as Sunday evening at 6 pm. Put a recurring reminder in your calendar to ensure you stay consistent.
Assess progress: During each review session, assess your progress on each of your goals. For example:
Health: Did you exercise regularly, eat healthily, and get enough sleep this week? Work productivity: Did you complete your priority tasks, minimize distractions, and maintain focus? Relationships: Did you spend quality time with loved ones, communicate effectively, and show appreciation? Reflect on your experiences: Think about what worked well, what didn't, and what you could do differently. For example, if you struggled to exercise consistently, consider whether you need to adjust your workout schedule or find an activity you enjoy more.
Set new goals: Based on your review, identify any new goals or milestones you want to work toward. For instance, if you've successfully improved your sleep habits, you might set a new goal to try meditation to further enhance your mental wellbeing.
Adjust your alarms: Update your alarms as needed to align with your new goals. For example, if you've decided to start meditating, you might set a new alarm with the label "Meditation Master" to remind you to meditate each morning.
Seek feedback: Ask people in your life for feedback on your progress. For example, ask your partner if they've noticed improvements in your communication, or ask a coworker if they've observed a change in your productivity.
Celebrate successes: Acknowledge your wins, no matter how small. For example, if you consistently ate healthily throughout the week, celebrate by treating yourself to a small reward or sharing your accomplishment with a friend.
Emotional Resilience: Cultivate emotional resilience by embracing challenges and learning from failures. This will help you bounce back quickly from setbacks and maintain a growth mindset, essential for improving mental performance.
This short book is built around the simple premise that you can bring your best self to your significant stewardships through intentional daily reminders. In a nutshell, he encourages people to set alarms to remind yourself of the primary stewardship in view for the upcoming chunk of time - i.e. 6:30 AM for health, 8:00 AM for work, and 5:30 PM for family. This isn't written from a faith perspective and feels a bit pep-talky, but I found the general premise helpful. It didn't feel sub-Christian to me. I also appreciated that he placed an emphasis on thinking intentionally about and prioritizing your health and family, two areas often neglected by the productivity literature but deserving of more attention.
The Author talks about how he developed a system after facing health issue ,to progress in health,wealth and relationship by setting a 3 alarm method by giving identity to each domain.
It was an okayish read. If you have already read a lot of books on the topic of productivity, you won't learn anything new from it.
I liked the concept of breaking your day to focus on three areas—health, work, and family and relationships—and setting corresponding alarms to ensure that you stay focused on the mission. But other than that, I didn't come across anything new in this book.
So if you are new to the world of productivity, pick this one up; otherwise, don't bother reading it.
HIGHLIGHTS: 1. The 3 ALARMS: - I set three alarms on my phone to trigger me: one to remind me I want to be healthy, one to remind me I want to be wealthy, and one to remind me I want to be a great husband and dad? - They segment my day into the three domains of life, and each is powered by a best-self identity that means something to me. - Each identity gives me a goal to both shoot for and measure myself against.
2. IDENTITY-BASED CHANGE: - It’s actually easier to step into a new identity than it is to try to create new habits and behaviors in a vacuum. - The more you repeat a behavior, the more you become the identity associated with it. Behaviors reinforce the identity we want, and our chosen identity guides our behaviors. - I decided to define one identity for each of the three domains of life, with a corresponding set of values that would define how that best-self version of me would act and behave. - “Champion proofs” let you rack up small wins, day after day, to prove you’re stepping into the person you’re capable of being. - When you pick a champion proof, you become very intentional about the tangible things you could do in a day to prove you’re stepping into a better you. - my “champion proofs.” These are the simple actions that I take to “prove” that I’m showing up at my best. So whereas my three identities and the associated values are static, my champion proofs are dynamic, changing as needed in the context of a particular day. - course corrections are far more likely if you’ve defined what best looks like. - Most people aspire to become their best selves some time in the future, but peak performers define what “best” looks like right now and start behaving from that identity today. Closing the gap between your current self and best self is about continually getting better, little by little, and bouncing back more quickly from your mistakes. - Summon the most courageous version of yourself, and then follow your own advice—we often find it’s easier to give advice to others than follow our own, so bring this outside wisdom into the picture. - Remind yourself of your values, within your different life domains, while also deciding the bold actions you would take to prove your greatness, on a daily basis.
3. 80/20 PRINCIPLE: I began looking for 80/20 opportunities throughout my day, keen to develop the habit of doing things more quickly. - Not all tasks or actions are created equal, and the vital few will always matter more than the trivial many. - Just because things are hard doesn’t make them important or efficient. Make things as easy for yourself as you can. - When I decided to 80/20 my marriage, I wanted to pick one proactive thing and one reactive thing to work on. - Ask your employees the same question: “What could I work on? What could I do to make your job easier?” You’ll learn so much from it, and it will make you a better person. - The beautiful thing about the 80/20 principle is that it reduces the set of actions you could take down to the most important, meaningful ones.
4. MARGINAL GAINS: People underestimate the power of taking small, imperfect actions regularly. - compound over time. - We “win the day” not because we achieved what we planned, but because we did what was most important despite our plans. - Don’t let inflexibility get in the way of true productivity. - If you master the habit of single-tasking and aren’t constantly distracted throughout your work day, especially during your creative time, you can reclaim those thirteen weeks.
5. TIME: - Scheduling your free time helps fight procrastination because it gives you something to look forward to. - Positive changes in one area creates positive changes in another. - Simply note every activity you perform throughout the day with a start time, an end time, and your total minutes. - What gets measured, gets done. - mastering the art of getting the right things done with the least amount of effort. That is true productivity. - If you want to be more productive, you need to literally design productivity into your day. - Ending and starting my days with powerful routines led to a significant increase in my productivity and my number of “winning days.” - One of the reasons I like to interact with people in the afternoon is to help me keep my energy up. - The mere pursuit of the goal prompted me to take action I wouldn't have otherwise considered.
6. HABITS: - Practicing a digital sunset by 8:30 p.m. - When it comes to regular reviews, the real game-changer is the weekly review. Weekly reviews must result in new weekly commitments - my daily review, which is contained within the shutdown ritual - Purposeful reviews create huge benefits. - Determine what are the non-negotiables in my life Increase output with a color-coded master calendar Bring the joy/be more intentional Hire a virtual assistant Create a weekly accountability checklist - One of the first things you can do is make sure you have reserved time for thinking about the future. - Every single day, I perform a post-mortem on the day itself, reviewing the twenty-four hours just past and asking myself what went well, my wins, and what could have gone better, my learnings.
7. ANTIFRAGILE: - Someone who is antifragile grows stronger from stress, shocks, and failures. So don’t try to be perfect. Get a little bit better every day, and when things go wrong, remember that stress builds strength. - Handling setbacks is a natural part of life and work, - Resilient people survive stress and stay the same, while antifragile people thrive specifically because of the stress. They don’t stay the same; they come out stronger. - I’ve come to embrace my daily pains, and in so doing, I have been set free. - Every challenge can become an opportunity for growth if you choose to see it that way. - Pre-mortems are a fantastic way to build antifragility into all aspects of your business and life. - In my mind’s eye, I see these events as they unfold, and then also visualize how I would respond, as my best antifragile self, in each and every situation. - I ask them to imagine a year has passed and we've failed. What would have driven the failure? We’ve then prioritized the obstacles, based on the potential severity and likelihood of occurrence, and developed plans to mitigate their risk. - Diagnose the problems to understand their root causes.
8. QUALITY TIME: - You achieve it by having blocks of “carefree timelessness,” within which quality time can spontaneously emerge—whether it’s laughter, an unexpected conversation, or a bit of encouragement. - allow quality time to happen on its own.
9. PAUSE BEFORE RESPONDING: - We can acquire half of the improvement we seek in our relationships simply by reacting better to those around us. - Become aware of what it is, identify it, and then deliberately pause when it happens such that you don’t react right away. - our freedom lies within that space between stimulus and response. - Simply react better to the things that irritate you and your relationships will improve. - When faced with a stressful situation, take a moment to pause. Close your eyes and imagine the most courageous you standing right there next to you. Ask that version of you how best to tackle or process the stress at hand. Listen for the response, and then follow the orders. - it’s not stress that we should avoid, but our negative view of it, and our negative response to it. Reframing stress within “the pause” is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to become antifragile. - The more times you pause so you can respond optimally as the best version of yourself, the more you strengthen that optimal response pattern. - Create a tiny moment of awareness between the stimulus and response, so that you can access your infinite wisdom within.
10. GROWTH: - As we move through the loop from setting exciting goals, to failing, to learning, to improving, to setting even bigger goals, we become antifragile. We turn challenges into growth opportunities. - The three-alarm method is a way to segment your day across these three domains. Through the use of simple phone alarms, you can remind yourself of what your best looks like. - Over time, the daily alarms will begin to embed the identities in your subconscious. - fairly good doesn't lead to you realizing your full potential. It takes conscious effort to become all that you’re capable of becoming. - a professional takes action whether they feel like it or not - as you rack up your micro-wins day after day, your self-belief deepens, and macro shifts begin to occur. - a good life is about seeing your entire life as a work of art that you get to create, and pursuing whatever that may look like for you.
Inflammation: flaxseed, hibiscus tea, and turmeric (with a touch of black pepper).
The premise of the 3 alarms and the creation of identities is sound. However there is a lot of other material here that is probably familiar to readers of this genre. I would recommend reading Amazon reviews or finding summaries etc as the key points can be explained in half an A4=page. On the other hand I will be implementing the key strategy.
For an author from the UK, I wondered why parts of the book were American English and not British English - a short read nonetheless. Weirdly, it was nice to read about someone else experiencing an almost heart attack. I did the table exercise and recommended reading the book, even just for that.
It gets 4/5 stars because despite nearly dying from working to the extremes, the author still pursued people to fulfil not only their potential at work (referred to as wealth in the book) but also health and relationships - hustle culture capitalist perspective on max to become 'the best version of ourselves' rather than the 'healthiest and happiest version of ourselves'—very neurotypical book, similar to atomic habits with identity-based approaches to habit building.
Favourite quotes:
"I had been going a mile a minute for over ten years, desperately wanting to grow my business and 'be successful.' But I wasn't even sure what that meant anymore." "Only 2% of the population become everything they are capable of becoming . . . I wanted to join this 'club.' In my mind, it would mean I'd made it, that I had succeeded." "Maslow proposed that we have five categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. When a lower need is met, the next need on the hierarchy becomes the focus of our attention. Self actualization, or the fulfillment of one's potential, is at the very top of the pyramid." "I pursued greatness at work at the cost of everything else. Until I nearly died 35,000 feet in the air." ". . . it seems noble to self-sacrifice." "As we pursue our own greatness, we ought to be careful how much we idolize people who work 120 hours a week and sleep under their desks." "Don't settle for the status quo just because it seems to be working. If you don't have time for the things you enjoy, you aren't thriving." "You don't achieve quality time with someone by looking for it. You achieve it by having blocks of "carefree timelessness," within which quality time can spontaneously emerge—whether it's laughter, an unexpected conversation, or a bit of encouragement." "Mathematically speaking, mastery is an asymptote, like that word problem in high school you may remember where a frog is at the start of a dock and jumps halfway across, then jumps half that distance, and half of the remaining distance, and so on. When does he get to the end of the dock? Never." "A good life is about seeing your entire life as a work of art that you get to create, and pursuing whatever that may look like for you."
Muy práctico, directo al hueso y efectivo. Un sistema paso a paso para que cualquier persona que lo aplique se convierta, indefectiblemente, en su mejor versión. Además del sistema paso a paso, mi mayor take de este libro es que somos seres integrales, lo que implica que para estar bien en un área de nuestra vida, necesitamos sí o sí estar bien en todas, y que es un mito que para triunfar laboralmente debemos descuidar nuestra salud y nuestros vínculos. Más bien todo lo contrario. Otra cuestión importante que me gustó y que creo que desarrolla muy bien es este concepto de que todos, independientemente de nuestra condición, podemos aspirar y lograr la mejor versión de nosotros mismos, que no es más que aquella en la que somos plenos (y no simplemente conformes) en nuestra vida a nivel general, y particular en cada aspecto.
This book offers a simple yet effective framework for prioritizing a balance of health, wealth, and relationships through daily reminders.
While much of the advice feels like common sense to an already balanced individual, the book serves as a valuable refresher on maintaining a well-rounded life without overdoing life and becoming overwhelmed.
The three alarms are a particularly useful tool for those struggling with prioritization and can help in optimizing positive habits - for me those are work-life balance, hot yoga, exercise, walks outside, reading, journaling, setting financial boundaries, time with family, being in the moment, etc.
Though it certainly doesn’t introduce a groundbreaking ideas, the simple approach is highly actionable and makes for a great read for personal growth and fulfillment!
Eric Partaker’s book offers a concept of setting up 3 alarms throughout the day to reinforce the 3 most important aspects that makes up for a fulfilling life: health, wealth, relationships. The authors suggests to associate a identity with the alarm when setting it up, so once it goes off, we’re reminded with the best version of ourselves on that front, so we can embody and mimic how that person would act if he were on our shoes. A very accessible read and a simple yet pragmatical advice, this book encourages the reader to take action by making that which is distant seems closer to him.
Eric Partaker packs a serious amount of experience and meaningful content, that could be considered the key to thriving in life. He does this in the most succinct and lucid manner possible. The book is based both, on experience and Eric's painstaking education to learning these lessons and actionable steps from experts and coaches. The reader gets to inherit them. I am grateful to have read and hopefully will incorporate the lessons into my life.
Shoutout also to YouTuber Ali Abdaal, to have recommended this book on his channel, where I came across it myself.
Lots of good straightforward tips and a very readable style, with plenty of (engaging) personal anecdotes. It did feel quite focused on men: obviously the author's male, but a lot of the examples were of other men, so I did feel he could have interviewed/quoted more women. One thing I especially appreciated was that Partaker frequently mentions other books by title, and that meant I could easily add those to my potential reads list. It was also a well-structured book, and neither rushed nor too slow.
This book was somewhat informative. However, since I already have many of the books he recommends and references on my reading list, I didn't gain much new information. Although this was an okay read and he made some good points, it felt like a summary of multiple books. If I read the books he mentions, the information becomes redundant, except for the concept of the 3 alarms. I wish the book had focused more on the principles of the 3 alarms, as this was only really explored in the final few chapters.
This book really resonated with me. Partaker introduces a clever method of setting three alarms each day to remind us to strive towards our best selves in health, wealth, and relationships. The book's structure is clear and practical, making the concepts easy to grasp and implement. The actionable advice makes it an engaging blueprint for personal transformation. It’s the perfect motivational pick-me-up for anyone looking to make quick yet meaningful life changes, and its brevity makes it all the more accessible.
Who would have thought that transforming your life could be so simple?
If you're looking for a strategy of growth that's impossibly hard to implement in your life, look elsewhere. This is a practical, easy to implement system that will have you defining and moving toward your goals quickly. In the age of information overload, the old adage "You get what you focus on" has never been more true. This book and its lessons will keep you focused on the things that matter most to you in your life.
The book started off strong but quickly turned redundant. It read more like a diary than a self-improvement book, to be honest. While some concepts were interesting, I found most of the advice in this book generic and derived from other books, so I don't believe this book offers enough unique value.
Rating it 2.5 stars because while it was "okay", I don't see myself recommending this to any particular person.
Simple, short, refresher… there was nothing trivial, there was nothing groundbreaking, but it was short and fun and motivating reading some of the best advice from other authors he references. I liked the timesheet idea; jotting down the activities you perform and the total minutes, to be more mindful of how you spend your time. Also, set a couple of daily alarms. Effective, and simple, I’d recommend, sure.
Pros - Mostly solid, actionable advise. Pretty short and to the point. Well communicated. Cons - Could definitely have used some editing, and could be even shorting without losing any quality content. The entirety of Part 3 felt unneccessary. Cringy self-promotion and anecdotes (typical for the self-help genre).
Overall, worth the quick read to grab a few pointers that might actually improve your life.
**The 3 Alarms** is a productivity and performance book that introduces a simple yet effective system for excelling in three crucial areas of life: **Health, Wealth, and Relationships**. The core idea revolves around setting daily alarms to remind yourself to act as your best self in each domain.
The book draws from neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and the author's personal experiences to help readers unlock their highest potential.
I often read on walks. Took this book with me on my dialy 1hr walk. Ended up walking 2hrs and finishing the book. Its an easy read, well written and is very insightful. if you're new to the self development genre its a good intro. If you're more immersed in that world its a good refresher. The three alarms concept was new though and im looking forward to trying it out.
The author is crisp and to the point. He truly writes like a consultant. No verbose narratives like most psychology and self help books have. Each page has high value content which can practically be implemented. It’s a great read and I would definitely recommend people to go through it as it a short read but the lessons are invaluable.
I love the practical ideas in the book, something i can implement in my life. I have just started in this journey and i get comfort that others go through similar challenges. What makes it convincing is the personal stories of Eric as examples in this book.
I don't get why some people say it's a copy, I have read the Atomic Habits as well and this is nothing like that. They are both perfect books. Yes, they share so many concepts like all self-help books, but it does not mean they are the same. I enjoyed this more than the Atomic Habits, I would give more than 5 stars if I could.
Eric, the author, experiences a near death experience at 35,000 ft in a plane - which was a wake up call (i.e. an alarm) from life which led him to rethink about 3 most important aspects of life and caused him to set 3 alarm systems which rings everyday. Remind yourself before life reminds you. A 10/10 Book on Self Improvement - Loved it.