Time Management from the Inside Out, second edition: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule--and Your Life [Paperback]

To get the whole benefit, I think you need to sit down and work thoroughly through this book, maybe over the course of a weekend, making the lists and answering the questions she suggests. Knowing that this is somewhat of a Catch-22 for people who, by virtue of reading the book, have admitted they have no time, she has included a "quick-start" time management program to help busy people free up some hours. Do this first if you're very busy, then take some of that free time to delve into the later chapters for suggestions you can use to keep your life on track, long-term.

Here are some of the points I found especially helpful:

-approach tasks by first making a realistic estimate of how long they will take (she recommends timing some of your regular tasks a few times in order to get an accurate estimate)

-try giving up multitasking, a false time economy that has become trendy in recent years ... start blocking of 15 minutes at a time to focus completely on one thing, then gradually increase that time to find your 'concentration set-point'

-when someone requests a favour (if you decide to grant it!), immediately ask them how much time they need, and tell them exactly how much time you can give them ... arrange a later date if you can't devote your full attention to it now

-make a master shopping list (in the order your grocery store is arranged) and make copies to keep on the fridge, then check off items as you run out of them

-make trades with friends and coworkers to take full advantage of people's varying talents (ie trade cooking for computer work, etc.)

-reduce paper clutter by organizing, creating a filing system, getting your name off mailing lists, and perhaps look into speed reading

-get a planner that suits your schedule ... two pages/week = 4-5 tasks per day, one page/day = 6-10 tasks, two pages/day = 10+ tasks

-write down your long-term goals for the various areas of your life and generate some activities you can do now to work toward them ... then create a 'Time Map' to devote time to all those life areas, and plug the activities into the times defined

-use your personal preferences to arrange your daily schedule ... do concentrated work when your energy is highest, schedule transition periods and breaks where you need them the most, arrange to work alone or with others, give yourself tight or long deadlines, a packed or easy schedule

Throughout, the author asks questions to help uncover some preferences you might not realize you had (for instance, I really am a morning person, even though I had developed a habit of staying up and sleeping in late) and to sort out which activities you find draining vs. restoring (I actually ENJOY doing my bills and finances, while other people dread it.) You can then alternate enjoyable tasks with difficult ones, using your preferences to make the difficult ones bearable (working to music or silence, under bright lighting, etc.)

Her idea of a "Time Map" is the core of the book. This map is a template for how you arrange your daily schedule. Your Time Map shows your basic routine, the chunks of time devoted to the different areas of your life. Then, on your daily planner, you write in the specific tasks for each area and do any shifting arround to accomodate new appointments, etc. This helps to keep each day balanced in regard to how much time you spend on each area of your life. And connecting each of your daily activities to a larger life goal provides a shot of motivation and takes away the feeling of "have to, don't want to." This is something I sorely needed.

I think this book will be tremendously helpful for anyone who has very few time-management skills, and will provide some new ideas and refreshed motivation for people who are already quite organized. I think I am somewhere in between, and I have certainly taken a lot away from it.