• Work Clean

  • The Life-Changing Power of Mise-en-Place to Organize Your Life, Work, and Mind
  • By: Dan Charnas
  • Narrated by: Dan Charnas
  • Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (553 ratings)

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Work Clean  By  cover art

Work Clean

By: Dan Charnas
Narrated by: Dan Charnas
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Publisher's summary

Chefs across the globe have honed an incredible system for working with efficiency called mise-en-place. In this audiobook, Dan Charnas reveals how to use those principles in any kind of work outside the kitchen.

Work Clean spells out the 10 major principles of mise-en-place, or "putting in place", for chefs:

1) Preparation is prime
2) Arranging spaces
3) Cleaning as you go
4) Making the first moves
5) Finishing actions
6) Slowing down to speed up
7) Call and callback
8) Open ears and eyes
9) Inspect and edit
10) Total utilization

One by one Charnas shows how applying each of these principles at the office and at home creates a simple system for organizing your life, work, and mind.

©2016 Dan Charnas (P)2016 Random House Audio

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What listeners say about Work Clean

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Inspiring & Useful

Any additional comments?

I considered myself a pretty organized person, but find I'm improving my routines a *lot* after listening to this book. I'm an artist, and though I am together when it comes to keeping my keys in the same place, keeping my studio in order, etc., I was struggling with cleanup of my supplies after painting. Though I kicked myself because I knew it was wasteful and sloppy, I just couldn't shake the habit. The book helped me take the act of cleanup seriously, and after years of struggle I suddenly have discipline in this area. When I begin work the next day, it's amazing how much applying Mise-en-Place transforms the start of the new day's work. I really like the 'how', the directness of this book, and I think anyone could apply it to some area of their life.

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16 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Listened to it twice and took notes

I actually sat down while listening g and took notes. The stories were relatable to a non chefs life, and you were given tasks to apply to your own daily activities. I am constantly overbooking and feeling disappointed nothing is completed. Tired of my day dictating what I will do. I want control over my time. The author is clear that we have to be realistic about what we can actually accomplish and shows the reader how to do just that.
I just downloaded the app and am giving it a whirl today.
I'm ready to slow down and be more productive!!

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13 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well-done, with one caveat

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book highly, and yet I was extremely disappointed that the producers of the program chose to bleep out terms that were deemed offensive by somebody in charge. Otherwise, a great program in terms of useful life and work skills--and the author does a fine job reading his own book.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Life changing

I think anyone who loved Marie Kondo’s book will absolutely adore this book! Mise en place.

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9 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Liked where it was going...not sure it ever went

If you're into taking a process or concept that works in one area and then applying it to other areas (or just thinking about how they might be applied), you might enjoy this. I'm an INTP (Myers-Briggs) and that's the kind of thing that gets me thinking.

I loved the description of the way chefs approach their daily work - the actual physical techniques + use of time and space + mentality that holds it all together. I immediately started thinking about how to apply it to other things and was eager to hear how the author approached this. That's where I wasn't super impressed. The main area mise en place concept was applied outside the kitchen was pretty much limited to the day to day office type work many of us do which too quickly gets watered down to stuff like calendar and email best practices and stuff like that. It was ok but... idk.

Still, it inspired me to think of applications on my own and I will take the concept with me for as long as I can remember it before getting distracted by the next thing :) For that I give this one a solid 4 stars and would recommend giving it a listen.

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9 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Good Story - Dragged out advise

I view this more as a story about cooking than a self improvement book. The author goes over the main points of mise-en-place too many times in a dragged out way. He also points out a major disadvantage when comparing the cooking world with every other work. Chefs are allowed to work in a certain way because it has been deemed valuable to the industry (food safety, worker safety, food waste, etc). A boss may not value all the practices mentioned in this book. Very simple points.
Clean your desk/area
Plan your day
Clean out your emails and flag anything you need to return to/act on
Finish what you start
Slow down to catch details
Be present
etc

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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My brain lit up! I am so inspired’Just the organization how-to/format I needed

Just what you need to take you from to-do lists and task-lists that can leave you overwhelmed, to actually understanding and achieving organization. This books helps teach how to really look at and set up your life in an honest and manageable way through plan, process, and present-ness.

This needs to be offered much earlier in everyone’s life. It is part Zen like presentness combined with energy management; teaching you to self-reflectively evaluate how you view and interact with your time.

LOVED IT

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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This producitivity geek is in heaven!

I listen to every book about productivity I can get my ears on, and this one blew my mind. Applying the principles of chefs to our work was a wonderfully new and engaging perspective. This book is second only to Getting Things Done on my list of best productivity books. Living near the cooking school written about in this book made it even more fascinating!


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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excelente

This book is entertaining full of knowledge great ideas excellent, it is a book to read many times and always learn new practices that will enhance the quality of anything you do :)

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4 people found this helpful

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Life changing , inspiring narration

The narration by the author is inspiring. I have changed my work habits after listening.

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3 people found this helpful