Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The 5 Choices summary
The Path to Extraordinary Productivity
10 mins
Brief summary
The 5 Choices by Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill & Leena Rinne is a productivity guide that offers straightforward methods for managing daily tasks and making purposeful choices. It focuses on five important decisions for improving both personal and professional effectiveness.
Table of Contents
The 5 Choices
Summary of 5 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 5
To be truly productive, focus on important but non-urgent tasks.
Like most of us, you probably spend half your day at work checking email. Well, as you surely know, such distractions take a major toll on your productivity.
To avoid distraction, organize your tasks using a time matrix, a productivity tool consisting of four quadrants, each accounting for a different portion of your time.
Q1 includes important, urgent work. For example, this is the time you spend handling emergencies or last-minute requests.
Q2 consists of time spent working on important tasks that aren’t urgent: that report for an important strategy meeting next week, for example.
Q3 time is for work that’s urgent but not important; e.g., constantly checking your email.
And finally, Q4 is the time you waste on pointless things, like playing games on your phone or checking Facebook.
All in all, you should spend most of your time in Q2. After all, although you may feel productive when you’re in Q1 and Q3 – you’re handling urgent business! – that’s not actually the case. Because we too often mistake the urgent for the vital, rarely leading to top-notch work. (For proof, just consider the misspelled, hastily constructed emails you’ve surely sent out in your life.)
On the other hand, we do our best work in Q2. It’s where we can focus and think, instead of simply reacting to whatever comes our way.
So, in order to stay in this quadrant, use the Pause-Clarify-Decide method to determine rationally whether the task is important.
For instance, before opening a new email, pause for a moment and think: Who is this email from? What’s the subject? Will this need immediate action? If the answer to the last question is “no,” go concentrate on something else instead.
Want to see all full key ideas from The 5 Choices?
Key ideas in The 5 Choices
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is The 5 Choices about?
The 5 Choices (2016) shows us that extraordinary productivity isn’t actually about working harder; it’s about working better. By learning how to streamline your decision-making process, focus on important work and manage your energy, you’ll see an enormous difference in your level of productivity and work quality.
The 5 Choices Review
The 5 Choices (2014) is a must-read for anyone looking to increase productivity and regain control of their life. Here's why this book is worth picking up:
- With its practical strategies and concrete techniques, it provides readers with the tools to make smarter decisions and focus on what truly matters.
- By combining insightful research with relatable anecdotes, it offers a relatable and engaging exploration of how to manage our attention and energy.
- The book's unvarnished honesty about the challenges of modern life keeps readers engaged and inspired, proving that personal growth can be both informative and entertaining.
Best quote from The 5 Choices
Fact: On average, only about 30 % of our time is spent in the most productive Q2 quadrant.
—Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill and Leena Rinne
Who should read The 5 Choices?
- Anyone who wants to be extraordinarily productive
- Anyone who feels burnt out, stressed or overwhelmed
- Anyone who wants to use new technologies to be more productive
Categories with The 5 Choices
Book summaries like The 5 Choices
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Stephen R. Covey
Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
23 min
4.6
Millionaire Mission
Brian Preston
A 9-Step System to Level Up Your Finances and Build Wealth
16 min
4.1
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
35 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
The 5 Choices FAQs
What is the main message of The 5 Choices?
The main message of The 5 Choices is to help people make better decisions and prioritize their time effectively.
How long does it take to read The 5 Choices?
The reading time for The 5 Choices varies depending on the reader, but it typically takes several hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in just a few minutes.
Is The 5 Choices a good book? Is it worth reading?
The 5 Choices is worth reading as it provides practical strategies to improve decision-making and productivity.
Who is the author of The 5 Choices?
The authors of The 5 Choices are Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill, and Leena Rinne.
What to read after The 5 Choices?
If you're wondering what to read next after The 5 Choices, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam
- The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment by Elizabeth Grace Saunders
- Business Execution for Results by Stephen Lynch
- Think Small by Owain Service and Rory Gallagher
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- The Execution Factor by Kim Perell
- Mindset by Carol Dweck
- Unstoppable Brain by Kyra Bobinet
- Tranquility by Tuesday by Laura Vanderkam
- The 80/20 CEO by Bill Canady