Time management.

[TheIronStar]

Where would I learn modern time-management strategies? Not just the same old "Learn to say no" stuff about not taking on excessively overwhelming amounts of responsibilities nor the iteration du jour of the same old trade-and-compromise tactics that amount to little more than glorified sacrifice and/or triage, but things that are actually more advanced?

Thanks for any help.

[RT Wolf]

Just making sure, you've read Getting Things Done by David Allen?

[TheIronStar]

Originally Posted by RT Wolf

Just making sure, you've read Getting Things Done by David Allen?

No, I haven't read it or even heard of it. Have you found it to be useful? I will definitely look for it if it is.

[Phil Newton]

I think Getting Things Done will be recommended by most people here, and with good reason. It's an excellent method for managing time, and it's not particularly rigid so tweaking it to your own strengths is quite easy. It takes some work to get into the important habits, but it's worth it.

I've found "The NOW Habit" quite helpful in scheduling my time, and in overcoming procrastination.

[RT Wolf]

Yes. Getting Things Done is on a very short list of books that have positively and massively influenced my life.

[boris]

It's not about modern or advanced tactics of managing your time. It's about ones relevant to you.

You can work better/procrastinate less in lots of different ways. Some of them will be better, some of them will not suit you well. Read at least several books on the topic, to gather different views on the same subjects.

In the end, some of the things that will work best for you could be the more 'Duh' advices you've got. Just keep trying different things.

[Wanderer]

Can I also reccoment 'First things first' by Steve Covey also make sure you are trying to save time for the right reason not the wrong one

[Milo Riano]

I haven't actually read GTD probably because I have always been very pleased with my productivity output and I always get things done. Though, I plan to read that book around 10 months from now where my calendar eases a bit.

I keep things simple and identify which is important vs urgent. The link is a post I wrote a while back about working on urgent matters first. In an excerpt: When people are faced with tons of workload, confused, they usually asked themselves what they need to do first; most people struggle to identify and act on what is urgent rather than what is important.

I have read and attended ton loads of time management trainings and while they are good, I'd rather keep my philosophies simple: urgent vs important. Life is too complicated already. This works for me and see if it works for you also.

[nickww]

time-smart.com could be intresting

[Wanderer]

Steve recommends time management/max achievement on his blog if this helps

[ahimel]

If you can get yourself to do it, I've found time tracking extremely helpful. I originally started it when my boss got on my tail, but now I use it to get on my own tail. I just write down what I'm doing, and what time I start/end it. At the end of the day, if I haven't done a thing on my to-do list, I don't have to wonder what happened -- I just look back and see what happened.

If I got a phone call at 10 that had me working on an emergency project until 2, then there's no shame. If I spent 3 hours surfing the web (or posting on Pavlina forums) then I know what needs to change to increase productivity!

But if I find that somehow I have an emergency project every other day, then I need to talk to my friends/coworkers and figure out how not to be bailing everyone out constantly. (See Milo's comments on importance vs. urgency.)

PM me if you'd like the spreadsheet I use.

[Chris]

I'll just echo the recommendation of First things first by Steve Covey and also The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (same author). If you haven't read a book by Covey before I strongly recommend you read one of these!

I agree with Milo regarding urgence v importance; the biggest breakthrough for my time-management was really getting my head round Covey's time-management matrix (ie. the 4 quadrant model for Importance v Urgence). After a while I began to be able to instantly identity whether a task was a Quadrant 1 task or Quadrant 2 task etc. which gives you an excellent framework for decision making when planning how to spend your time most effectively.

Also simply by deciding which "Quadrant" a particular task falls into, by definition you are also thinking about what outcome that task relates to which can give you additional motivation to actually get it done!

I've found a diagram of the time-management matrix on this page (scroll down a little to "Figure 1")

[annie]

Originally Posted by Chris

I'll just echo the recommendation of First things first by Steve Covey and also The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (same author). If you haven't read a book by Covey before I strongly recommend you read one of these!

I agree with Milo regarding urgence v importance; the biggest breakthrough for my time-management was really getting my head round Covey's time-management matrix (ie. the 4 quadrant model for Importance v Urgence). After a while I began to be able to instantly identity whether a task was a Quadrant 1 task or Quadrant 2 task etc. which gives you an excellent framework for decision making when planning how to spend your time most effectively.

Also simply by deciding which "Quadrant" a particular task falls into, by definition you are also thinking about what outcome that task relates to which can give you additional motivation to actually get it done!

I've found a diagram of the time-management matrix on this page (scroll down a little to "Figure 1")

To get to the very practical. I use Franklin-Covey's Plan Plus system on my computer and find it the best thing ever! For a year I only thought it was an electronic version of the Franklin Planner, however, a year after I got it, I dug in a little deeper and found it has some amazing capabilities.

I feel completely organized now! I get more done than ever and the "tab" section near the back holds EVERYTHING...25 clients logs...everything I found on the web that I want to save! and more.

That's why I'm checking out being an affiliate for the program....because I recommend it to everyone! (maybe I'll get a kick-back one day!

I love Covey's systems.

[Savage]

I've listed some of my favorite time management books in the first section of this page:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/personal...ment-books.htm

The top two I'd recommend are Maximum Achievement and Getting Things Done. Both are full of practical ideas and strategies.

[TheIronStar]

Hi again all,

I'll give a bit more detail on my situation. For me it's not so much a matter of fitting more into a given workday or how to be more efficient in the workplace, but rather how to fit in the rest of life effectively, without having to resort to triage or trading one thing for another.

It gives me nasty flashbacks even to think about it. I remember the old joke long ago in my school days: "work, friends, sleep: choose two", and having to choose two while knowing and seeing others who had all three, and how not much seems to have changed after the better part of a decade--still can't seem to get to work, improve my fitness, have an outside interest or two, and a full night of sleep (I don't have the advantage of people- or place-overlap). And this is without bothering with an actual social life.

I've read Covey's seven habits thing: the quadrant things make sense to me. It helps prevents the "work expands to fill the allotted time" phenomenon, to a point.

I'm wondering how conventional time-planning methods would assist in things that can't be done 'efficiently' such as fitting in time for socializing or for outside interests. (Efficiency with work, effectiveness with people, I remember from Covey.)

I'll definitely check out the other books soon.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by TheIronStar

Hi again all,

I'll give a bit more detail on my situation. For me it's not so much a matter of fitting more into a given workday or how to be more efficient in the workplace, but rather how to fit in the rest of life effectively, without having to resort to triage or trading one thing for another.

It gives me nasty flashbacks even to think about it. I remember the old joke long ago in my school days: "work, friends, sleep: choose two", and having to choose two while knowing and seeing others who had all three, and how not much seems to have changed after the better part of a decade--still can't seem to get to work, improve my fitness, have an outside interest or two, and a full night of sleep (I don't have the advantage of people- or place-overlap). And this is without bothering with an actual social life.

I've read Covey's seven habits thing: the quadrant things make sense to me. It helps prevents the "work expands to fill the allotted time" phenomenon, to a point.

I'm wondering how conventional time-planning methods would assist in things that can't be done 'efficiently' such as fitting in time for socializing or for outside interests. (Efficiency with work, effectiveness with people, I remember from Covey.)

I'll definitely check out the other books soon.

Hmm it sounds to me like Covey's First Things First is the book you're looking for.

Covey talks about finding out what's important to you so you know what to do when you have to make choices during change. He also provides a pretty workable system that's easy to implement when you get around to it, that also needs a weekly review.

When I used Covey's First Things First full-tilt, I have the peace of knowing what choices I need to make to stay on track, that I am working towards reaching my goals day by day and a personal values system for helping me make flexible decisions in the moment.

[Cron]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

I've listed some of my favorite time management books in the first section of this page:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/personal...ment-books.htm

The top two I'd recommend are Maximum Achievement and Getting Things Done. Both are full of practical ideas and strategies.

I noticed that you have not listed the classic HOW TO GET CONTROL OF YOUR TIME AND YOUR LIFE by Alan Lakein. I know you like to read as many PD books as you can, so I would be very interested to read your opinions about that book( and I will not be offended by any opinion ).

I would also be interested to read *why* you think so much of Getting Things Done. Other people are welcome to express their opinions too. I realize not every book is for everyone, so I would be interested to read why, "you", in particular think so much of that book.

I ask because I read a number of negative reviews for that book on Amazon, most of which made the same crticisms:

1. Unnecessarily verbose
2. Overly elementary, almost common sense advise
3. Time consuming and unnecessarily complex management system

Here is a review I wrote for my favorite time management book. It is extremely slim yet content rich. You can read it in a weekend. It is also old so you can find it in most libraries or get your own copy very cheaply.

If anyone has read it and would like to give me their opinion as to why it is not their fave I would be interested in hearing your opinions:

Book Review: "How To Get Control Of Your Time And Your Life" by Alan Lakein