It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work
Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Tired of the constant hustle and workplace chaos? Discover how to build a thriving business without the burnout. This summary teaches you to prioritize calm, protect your time, and ditch the stress-inducing habits of modern corporate life. It's time to work smarter, not longer.
Listen to the intro
Who it is for
Ideal for leaders, entrepreneurs, and employees who want to escape the trap of overwork and create a more focused, sustainable career.
About the Author
Jason Fried is an American entrepreneur, one of the co-founders of 37signals – a Chicago-based remote software company renamed as Basecamp in 2014, after its celebrated flagship product. Together with David Heinemeier Hansson, he has written four books, all of them published under the 37signals name: “Getting Real,” “Remote,” “Rework,” and “It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work.” The series products include Basic Products, Highrise, Backpack, Campfire, Ta-da List and Writeboard. The signals also developed and abbreviated the Ruby on Rails programming framework.
View author profileLessons
- Learn to say "no" to unrealistic targets and growth for the sake of growth.
- Use asynchronous communication to allow for deep work and thoughtful responses.
- Replace the "company as family" myth with clear boundaries and respect for personal time.
- Fair, transparent pay models foster satisfaction and eliminate stressful negotiations.
Key Takeaways
- A calm company rejects the culture of overwork and distractions to boost productivity.
- Protect your time by treating an uninterrupted hour as your most valuable asset.
- Treat your company like a product, iterating on culture just as you do on features.
- Focus on effectiveness over mere busyness to achieve sustainable, long-term success.
More knowledge in less time
Listen to the key ideas
We offer various commission schemes from one-time payouts.
Find your next read
12Min is very popular among readers and lifelong learners.
Good Micropaths
12Min's browser-based app works for anyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the 12min App, we extract the best ideas and insights from the world's best-selling non-fiction books and organize them into unique, self-contained narrative summaries that can be consumed in audio and/or text in about 12 minutes!
You can download our app and start enjoying our library. If for any reason you are not satisfied with our platform, simply contact our support team ([email protected]) within 7 days of purchase and request a refund. You will receive everything you paid for, without questions or bureaucracy.
Yes, but the change will only apply from the next billing period. For example, if you decide to change your monthly subscription to an annual one, after confirming the change to the annual plan, the new plan will only be applied and charged after that month's billing anniversary.
12min Premium is a plan that guarantees you access to our entire library of 2500+ titles available in 3 languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese) that you can read or listen to at any time through our app available for iOS, Android, and Computer. You can also read or listen to your favorite titles offline and challenge yourself with a quiz to help you retain the content at the end of each microbook.
Yes, if you decide not to renew your 12min subscription, you can cancel at any time and the next billing cycle will not occur.
Feel free to contact us at [email protected].