Book · 2017
Make Your Bed
by William H. McRaven
A retired Navy SEAL admiral turns his university commencement speech into ten rules, starting with the one nobody argues with: make your bed.
What does Reddit think of Make Your Bed?
Eight recognized mentions split across five subreddits, and the split itself is the story: r/selfimprovement treats the book as gospel, its top excerpt (↑150) doesn't hedge at all on "the first task of the day," while r/getdisciplined's second-highest quote (↑34) admits to bracing for "one of those make your bed every morning lists that everyone copies" before deciding this one earned its place. That's the closest thing to a contested take in this sample: not that the advice is wrong, but that it's repeated so often it risks becoming wallpaper. r/selfimprovement's other entry (↑28) goes long on the McRaven backstory, the commencement speech, the Navy SEAL credentials, treating the book as a distillation of a single viral speech rather than a standalone argument. r/suggestmeabook's shortest mention (↑5) calls it barely 70 pages of "little tidbits," which reads as a backhanded compliment more than a dismissal. Nobody argues the advice fails; the disagreement is about how much credit the packaging deserves.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · One small habit as a stand-in for total self-discipline
- · A commencement speech expanded into a book
- · Small daily wins compounding into bigger ones
- · Skepticism about the genre's most-repeated trope
Common praise
- + r/selfimprovement's top quote (↑150) treats making the bed as literally the first task accomplished each day, no qualifiers attached.
- + r/selfimprovement's second entry (↑28) credits McRaven's commencement speech and its ten principles with genuinely helping someone who felt directionless.
- + r/booksuggestions (↑3) calls the underlying speech "amazing" and treats the book as a faithful extension of it.
Common criticism
- − r/getdisciplined's second-highest quote (↑34) admits bracing for "one of those make your bed every morning lists that everyone copies," the strongest pushback in this sample.
- − r/suggestmeabook's mention (↑5) isn't effusive: "little tidbits," 70 pages, closer to a pamphlet than a book.
- − r/financialindependence's mention has the lowest upvote count in the sample (↑5) and doesn't engage with the book's actual content in what's displayed here.
Who it's for
Need one small, mechanically enforceable win before 8am? That's the exact appeal cited in r/selfimprovement's top comment (↑150): the bed gets made regardless of mood, so day one's first task is already checked off. Already skeptical of viral productivity commencement speeches? r/getdisciplined's own commenter admits to the same hesitation before landing on this one anyway. At 70 pages per r/suggestmeabook, it's closer to an extended pep talk than a framework, so go in expecting the McRaven speech expanded, not a new argument.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Make Your Bed?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“Make your bed. I don’t care if you sleep until 2pm, you’re making the bed after you wake up. A Navy Admiral gave a commencement speech with this rule and it made the most sense of any reason I’d heard in my life, even to this day. “If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the fi…
“I think part of the problem for most people is exactly this. They tend to wake up and use their phone immediately. If you want to have a productive day this is not the way to do it. The first thing you should do when you wake up is something productive. It sets the tone for the day you are about to …
“Good list, not gonna lie, I was worried this would be one of those "make your bed every morning" lists that everyone copies with stuff from Andy McRaven and Jim Rohn.
“Read “Make Your Bed” by Admiral William McRaven. He is a former Navy SEAL Admiral who delivered a commencement speech at U of Texas graduation and it became so popular that he turned it into a book. Ten principles that will help you in life, and I think they’d help you. It sounds like you’re lacki…
“I just finished "Make Your Bed". It's like 70 pages (actually less - big lettering) by a former Navy Seal. Just little tidbits about how to not get crapped out, how to not feel sorry for yourself, and how to take action in life. It'…
“I was more clueless about life when I was 18 than I would have cared to admit at the time. However when I was 18 I was already running my own business and making good money at it, something called a BBS (bulletin board system) which was a precursor to the WWW. I was already using the Internet way b…
“Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World This book by Admiral McRaven is based on the commencement speech he gave at University of Texas in 2014. It's an amazing speech and the bo…
Convinced? Pick up Make Your Bed
What else does r/booksuggestions read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
Make Your Bed — frequently asked
Is Make Your Bed just a cliché self-help gimmick?+
That's the exact worry one r/getdisciplined commenter (↑34) names outright, bracing for "one of those make your bed every morning lists that everyone copies," before deciding this one earned its spot. r/selfimprovement's top quote (↑150) doesn't share the hesitation at all, treating the habit as a genuinely useful daily anchor. Both readings are visible in this sample; neither cancels the other out.
What does r/selfimprovement say about Make Your Bed?+
Two of the highest-upvoted mentions in this data come from there, and both are unreserved. The top one (↑150) calls making the bed "the first task" that sets up everything after it, and the second (↑28) walks through Admiral McRaven's commencement speech and its ten principles as genuinely helpful for someone feeling directionless.
Is Make Your Bed worth reading if you already know the commencement speech?+
The data leans toward "maybe not much more." r/booksuggestions (↑3) and r/suggestmeabook (↑5) both describe the book as an extension of McRaven's viral University of Texas speech rather than new material, with the latter noting it's barely 70 pages of "little tidbits." If you've watched the speech already, this sample suggests the book adds packaging more than substance.
Does Make Your Bed appeal outside self-improvement subreddits?+
A little. r/financialindependence and r/booksuggestions both carry a mention alongside the expected r/selfimprovement and r/getdisciplined activity, though the r/financialindependence excerpt shown here doesn't engage with the book's actual content. r/suggestmeabook's entry treats it as a quick, low-commitment read rather than a genre-specific pick, which is the closest thing to cross-audience appeal in this data.