Foreword
Foreword A funny thing happened on the way to the 21st century: It seems that all of society began marching to a faster drum beat. Despite all the books written on time management, all the software, all the gadgets, and all the tools designed to make your life simpler and easier, the sad reality is that, for most people, there still seems to be too much to do—and too little time in which to do it.
Author Jeff Davidson maintains—and it’s hard to find fault with his observation—that no matter what tools or technologies are developed, your life will not change until you adhere to the simple realization that the number of items in competition for your time and attention is increasing—in some aspects, exponentially. At the same time, while you may live longer than you currently suppose (that is, if you think you’ll hit 75 years of age, you may indeed hit 85 or 90), there still isn’t enough time in your life on a daily, weekly, or yearly basis for you to ingest and absorb the array of necessary, scintillating, titillating, compelling, worthy, and downright fun items and issues that find their way into your personal kingdom. Jeff contends, and rightly so, that less can indeed be more. Enjoy that video that you chose, the meal you’re eating, the spouse or significant other sitting on the couch with you, the car you’re driving, the home you’re living in, the book you’re reading, and so on.
In this remarkable book, Jeff offers a plan that will help you consistently stay in control of your time, whether you are a college student, a sales executive, or the head of a sovereign nation. He does this by first leading you through a friendly but thorough discussion of the realities each of us faces on a daily basis. Then he gives you fresh perspectives and practical solutions to the time-crunching situations you encounter in all aspects of your life, whether at work, at home, while traveling, while on vacation, in a conference, or elsewhere. He’s crafted this book so that you gain top-level advice offered with a touch of mirth and alarming honesty, in a down-to-earth style that will win you over in seconds flat.
One of the first notions that Jeff splendidly drives home is that to maintain control of your time, you have to begin leaving your place of work at the “normal” closing time, even if you can manage to do this for only one day a week for openers. With Jeff’s plan, one day per week can expand to two, and then perhaps even three. You actually find yourself home while there’s still daylight—and, if you’re particularly careful and follow what else he has to say in this book, with an evening free on occasion. The twenty-six additional chapters that follow focus on a wide variety of ways to manage your time in every other situation you can imagine.
Jeff mercilessly abandons antiquated maxims about time management and instead offers real world, hands-on suggestions that you’ll know and feel are right for you—and, most of the time, that work from the first moment you try them. His goal is nothing short of helping you to improve the quality of your life, for the rest of your life, and his central theme is that this is entirely achievable, based on how you approach each day—particularly, this day. Sometimes the changes Jeff suggests are subtle. He does this intentionally because it’s his core belief that by asking you to change too much, too fast, you won’t change at all. If you bite off more than you can chew, you’ll all too often end up reverting back to where you were. Or, you’ll resist the change altogether. So he treads carefully, acknowledging that you’re already a very busy person, that your plate is already full, and that any suggestions he may offer to help you manage your time must be done so within that context.
If you’re like me, you keep your favorite books nearby. This is one you’ll want to keep close at hand. Even after you finish reading in its entirety, you’ll want to refer back to it again and again. When you feel yourself slipping, break open this book to the chapter or passage that has immediate applicability for you. If you do, you’ll be reinvigorated by the power and practicality of the suggestion, if not the wit and empathy inherent in Jeff’s writing style.
As you conclude each chapter, you’ll notice a neat bonus. Part and parcel with The Complete Idiot’s Guide series by Macmillan, Jeff offers tips called “The Least You Need to Know” that quickly summarize chapter highlights. If you do nothing else but take these tips to heart, you’ll gain great benefit from this book.
I, for one, am confident that you will be among the many thousands of readers who have successfully gleaned information and advice from this book that they put to use in their lives immediately. Let’s face it: Time isn’t money—time is life. By following the principles in this book, you effectively add to the length and quality of your life.
Yours truly,
Bob Losure
Former CNN headline news anchor and author of Five Seconds to Air.
Introduction: Get in Control of Time (Or Someone Else Will)
You’re holding a book about winning back and managing your time. The chances are astronomical-to-nearly-100 percent that you lost it during the last decade. The quest to win back your time is a noble pursuit, but it’s a fast-paced and frenzied existence you’re enduring. With all that competes for your time and attention, how do you alter the pace of your career and life so you are in control of your time? How can you enjoy what your career and life have to offer, and once again have time to reflect, to ponder, to muse? Keep readin’.
We will examine how to improve the quality of your life for the rest of your life—a tall order to be sure. To achieve all this, first understand that whatever changes you make have to come without too much pain. I know this is contrary to what you’ve been led to believe about change, but bear with me. If the changes needed to win back your time are too difficult—too many rules, too many things to remember or do—then you’re not going to stay with them.
What will work, then? Simple steps—a moderate shift here, an adjustment there. Gradual, subtle, natural changes in what you’re already doing yield far greater long-term results. Changes that are radical or anxiety-provoking have much less chance of taking hold. Why? Well, if you’ve been alive for 25, 35, 45 years or more, it took that long to become who you are—just the way you are. You’re clearly perfect at it! You’re probably not going to change suddenly in 35 minutes or 35 hours, and in many cases not in 35 days.
Whenever you embark upon making changes that are too big a leap from your current ways of doing things, they won’t last—or be effective. Therefore, ignore anything in this book that represents too much of a stretch for you right now. Proceed with the suggestions you can undertake most readily. As you initiate more changes, others will fall into place from the momentum of your actions. Such a deal! Gradually, with the proper perspective, a few specific techniques, and some built-in follow-up, you’ll be able to win back your time naturally and easily.
I’ve structured the book to ease you into each topic as you reclaim your time. We’ll move from broad-based to nitty-gritty workday issues; in the last few chapters, we tackle personal perspectives.
Part 1, “The Clock of Your (Current) Life Is Ticking,” looks at the broad context of why you feel mounting time pressure, and offers specific strategies for winning back your time—starting with the fundamental notion of leaving work at a semi-decent hour and feeling good about it! You’ll get a look at some specific ways your time is depleted, why many others face the same predicament you do, and how to exert more control over where your time goes. I’ll discuss how you can determine what’s most important to you and what will be required (realistically) to support your priorities.
Part 2, “Appointing Yourself in Charge,” focuses on specific areas of your life—including how much sleep you’re getting (versus how much you need), responding to the requests others make for your time, keeping your office organized, mastering your own files, and handling correspondence efficiently. You’ll find tools and technologies that can help you be more efficient or (if you don’t use them) slide farther into the morass of the overwhelmed.
Part 3, “Communicating at All Speeds,” examines fundamental problems people face when coming face to face with technology and options for potentially staying in touch with others around the clock. This may sound enticing but is actually a great hindrance both to managing your time and feeling in control of your life.
Part 4, “Springing Yourself from Time Traps,” discusses key areas for saving time—making decisions more quickly, honing the ability to focus on one thing at a time, and the importance of constantly reducing what you hold on to (it’ll keep your own systems uncomplicated).
Part 5, “Managing Your Time in Special Situations,” highlights how to carve out time for yourself and for others in your life. After all, if managing your time only applies to the functional aspects of your work and life, your life could seem quite empty.
Part 6, “Own a Peace of the Mental Rock,” delves into higher-order notions such as undertaking a quest to live in “Real Time,” catching up with today, and occasionally withdrawing from the maddening crowd.
I conclude with an observation about why the future is bright for you—assuming, of course, that you follow the sage advice offered throughout! I suggest pausing after each chapter and acting on some of what you’ve taken in—otherwise you’re unlikely to act on anything in the book.
Extras
Keep an eye open for the helpful hints, tips, warnings, and definitions that are sprinkled throughout this book—they’re there to ease you on your way to taking control of your time. Here’s what to look for:
![[image]](http://imgdetail.ebookreading.net/detail/detail3/9781101198735/9781101198735__the-complete-idiots__9781101198735__Images__extra_time.jpg)
Time Out
Pitfalls to avoid as you win back your time.
Watch Words
When unfamiliar words and terms are introduced in the text, here’s where you’ll find the definitions.
Chronos Says
Longer anecdotes that explain, clarify, or elaborate on points raised in the chapter. Look here for background info, insights, and helpful recommendations for further techniques you’ll find useful in reaching your goal of managing your time.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to all the wonderful folks at Macmillan General Reference for picking me to write this book and giving me the support that would make it the winner that it is! Thanks to Kathy Nebenhaus, Bob Shuman, Gary Krebs, Nancy Gratton, Suzanne Snyder, and Krista Hansing for their careful editing, insights, and guidance.
Thanks to Jennifer Hayes, Christine Ramos, Rachelle Schifter, Julie Sanders, Grace Sullivan, Margaret Durantee, Guardi Wilks, and all the other marketing, sales, special markets, and promotion specialists for ensuring that people throughout the world will by this book.
Thanks to Seth Kotch, Kate Simpson, and R. J. Beatty for proofing, Sandy Knudsen for her fingers that fly over the keyboard like quicksilver, and Valerie Davidson, age 8, my daily inspiration.
Special Thanks to the Technical Reviewers
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Managing Your Time was reviewed by experts who not only checked the technical accuracy of what you’ll learn here, but also provided insight and guidance to help us ensure that this book gives you everything you need to know to begin making better decisions about how you spend your time. We extend our special thanks to these folks:
Claire Conway is a freelance writer who served as features editor for Psychology Today in New York City. Prior to that, she was managing editor of Stanford Medicine magazine, a publication of the Stanford University Medical School Alumni Association. Born and raised in California, she received an M.S.J. from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
Carol Krucoff writes a health and fitness column for the Washington Post, where she was founding editor of the weekly Health Section. A freelance writer based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, she contributes to a variety of publications, including Reader’s Digest, Self, Parents, and The Saturday Evening Post. She also teaches Creative Nonfiction for Duke University’s Continuing Education Department. She has two school-age children, is married to a cardiologist, and holds a brown belt in karate.