Rick Pastoor - Grip: The Art of Working Smart (And Getting to What Matters Most)

GRIP helps me get more done and then really unplug when Im not working. Super inspiring!

ANNA DRIJVER, ACTRESS FROM THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL UNDERCOVER

GRIP packs a punch with powerful strategies that will reinvent your ability to get more done than ever.

JEFF SANDERS, KEYNOTE SPEAKER AND AUTHOR OF THE 5 AM MIRACLE

GRIP helped me get annoying tasks under control, like keeping up with emails and invoices, and then helped me map out and pursue the goals that make my life more meaningful.

LOIS VAN BAARLE (LOISH), DIGITAL ARTIST AND CHARACTER DESIGNER

A practical approach for getting more done.

ALI NIKNAM, CEO OF BUNQ

This is one of those books you dont just read and put aside. It keeps on giving: a clear guide to turn to daily. Implement Ricks practical suggestions and start making smarter decisionsboth professionally and in other parts of your life.

MARK DE LANGE, FOUNDER AND CEO OF ACE & TATE

Finally! A sane and down-to-earth manual to help you get the most out of your workweek. I dont know of a book that gives you this many spot-on tips.

ERNST-JAN PFAUTH, COFOUNDER AND CEO OF THE CORRESPONDENT

Rick has completely reimagined the strategy for your calendar, email, and to-do list. His tips are clear and accessible, and his approach is genius. This is a book I wish Id had ten years ago.

BORIS VELDHUIJZEN VAN ZANTEN, FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE NEXT WEB

GRIP is a book to turn to often: I love the structure it brings to my workweek. Ricks strategic approach is remarkably relevant for anyone.

TACO CARLIER, COFOUNDER AND CEO OF VANMOOF

First published in Dutch as Grip: het geheim van slim werken by Uitgeverij NZ in 2019

Copyright 2019 by Rick Pastoor

English translation copyright 2021 Erica Moore and Elizabeth Manton

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by HarperCollins Leadership, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.

Any internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by HarperCollins Leadership, nor does HarperCollins Leadership vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

Translation copyright 2022 Erica Moore and Elizabeth Manton

llustrations by Moker Ontwerp and Rick Pastoor

ISBN 978-1-4002-3369-4 (eBook)

ISBN 978-1-4002-3368-7 (TP)

Epub Edition December 2021 9781400233694

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication application has been submitted.

Printed in the United States of America

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When you consider what a huge role work plays in our lives, its strange were never really taught how to do it. Working is just supposed to come naturally. As if we all magically know how to set priorities, juggle a schedule, make good plans, and stay on top of a busy job. These skills may sound simple, but theyre not.

Perhaps, like me, youre familiar with the signs that works not going your way. The week has barely started and already youre playing catch-up. At the end of another long workday your inbox is still overflowing. On top of that, your calendar is jam-packed and your to-do list goes on forever. Its enough to break anybodys spirit. The worst part is that when you start to feel like youre losing your grip on your days, it can be paralyzing. And just try getting any work done after that. No wonder you have trouble meeting the targets you set, struggle to deliver the quality you aspire to, and cant ever seem to get around to personal development. Youre working hard, but are you making any progress?

Believe me, Ive been there. For nearly six years I was the head of product at Blendle, a Dutch company that was lauded internationally for coming up with new business models for journalism. I joined the startup as a programmer at age twenty-five, after selling the software agency I founded and ran for six years. At Blendle things moved pretty fast. We managed to get big titles like the Economist and the Wall Street Journal on board. We got backing from Axel Springer and the New York Times. And the team just exploded. Nine months in and I was running an engineering team that was thirty strong. It was my job to ensure we were always thinking up new plans and rolling them out. That meant guiding the team in a nonstop search for solutions to complex technical and organizational problems, while also making decisions about strategy and hiring new staff. And that was only the beginning. My job, like so many, was a daily balancing act between priorities, because everythingof coursehad to happen at once.

In time I started to notice something: real progress doesnt come from doing the work you feel like doing or whatever springs to mind in the moment. The busier my job got, the more I realized I needed to find a whole new way to work.

Getting there took years of trial and error, but Im glad to say my efforts paid off. I found my method. Along the way I devoured books like David Allens Getting Things Done and Cal Newports Deep Work. The books were big inspirations and taught me a lot. But knowing which tip to apply when? Thats an art in itself. Without that, its a little like being handed a bunch of screwdrivers, pliers, and hammers without knowing what the tools are forlet alone how or when to use them. Not at all surprising, then, that people tend to fall back on the familiar. Thats happened to me more times that I can count. But I knew there had to be a better way, a smart approach to working that was flexible enough to accommodate day-to-day surprises. So I kept experimenting with my workweek.

Step by step, I arrived at my method, built from flexible and interlinking parts. The great thing about GRIP is that it doesnt just work for me. Friends and coworkers started trying it too. It was exciting to watch what it brought to their lives. In the last couple of years more and more people wanted to know about my method, so I decided to write it all down.

When this book came out in my native Dutch, it immediately hit the bestseller list. I was floored. Not a day goes by that I dont find notes from readers in my mailbox. Some write about their successes, but most talk about how happy they are to have finally found their own way of working: One that gives them clarity in the chaos. One that helps them deal with all the information and distractions bombarding us every day. And one that helps ensure they get their most important work done. Turns out loads of people have discovered, as I did, that a few simple building blocks, using tools you already knowa calendar, a to-do list, emailcan make you loads more effective. With this English edition, I hope to share my method with everyone whos looking for a better grip on their jobs and their lives. That was always important, but the seismic shift in how we work since the pandemic hit in 2020 makes it even more apparent: our way of working could use some love and attention.