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Summary: One of the most unique books on life management
Review: "The danger is that better time management techniques will lead to bigger and better overwhelm."
Since we cannot add more actual time to the day we must be conscious of what activities consume time. Which ones do we most want to get done and which other activities we can say no to. As Mark says it is Life management rather than time management. Other topics he discusses are: What does someone who seems to be on top of everything all the time do differently than those who seem to always be one step behind? What is the need to manage our lives better? Common time management techniques their good and bad points. Overcomming resistances, focusing our attention, and breaking bad habits. There are many more topics and many exercises.
This book was an entertaining and motivating look at managing ones life. I am now reading it through for the second time.
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Summary: At last - a truly unique and original system!
Review: ...If I were to attempt to sum up the essence of this book in one idea, it would be that one of the most efficient and effective uses of your time is to set up systems to use your time efficiently and effectively. Among the many systems offered in the book, including "Halving", "SWEET", and "Using Resistance to Order your Day", Forster's unique and valuable contribution to the world of time management is his system for dealing with "free-floating" items - the myriad activities from e-mail to prospecting to administration that tend to either dominate or drop through the cracks of our increasingly busy lives. Utilising this one idea, which empowers you to deal with a near infinite variety of tasks in short, manageable "bursts" of time, has allowed me to live at least three lives at once, maintaining an acting career, an active training and coaching schedule, and a wonderful family while still finding time to read, sleep, play with my dog, follow the Boston Red Sox and the LA Lakers, and write a daily coaching tip five days a week! Excellent, unique, valuable, and highly, highly recommended.
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Summary: Definitely worth reading! - Brilliant! and Very Useful!
Review: At last! a book that goes deeper than just telling you what to do to get results - by reading the book you will also understand what stops you achieving results as fast as you would like! Yet at the same time discover brilliant, simple, motivating and practical ways to get your work or tasks done in less time! What I like most about the book (aside from the choice of effective strategies) is the fact that it is clear, straightforward, humourous and easy to read unlike other time/organisation orientated books. I wish someone had given me this book sooner and better still - if I had known about it I would have bought it a long time ago myself!
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Summary: Bingo, at last a truly useful book!
Review: Everything works in this book: the structure, the essence, the examples, the exercises. I recommend it to every one of my clients.
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Summary: Great coaching from the UK
Review: I originally started subscribing to Mark Forster's electronic newsletter and found it so helpful that I had to get his book! I actually went to Amazon.co.uk last year in order to buy it since it wasn't even available in the US then. Now it's here, so even if you don't buy any other books this year you should get this one! And send it to your friends too! I'm not new to time management strategies, but Mr. Forster's coaching has done what other time management books haven't been able to do for me. As a result of reading this book and applying the information in it to my life, I've been able to work more efficiently both in my job and at home. Now I have more time to play with much less stress about what I haven't gotten done. I also bought the book for my sister and she has increased her income by saying "no" to projects that aren't worth her time. Now she works fewer hours and earns more than she did before! Mr. Forster approaches "time management" in a thoughtful and logical way and doesn't pretend there is only one strategy that will work. He explains why different time management tips don't work or in what specific circumstances they can still be useful. He also provides some strategies that were new to me and have been really helpful, such as working in short bursts of time. I perform well with deadlines, so having a deadline every 20 minutes has helped me get the most out of my work day and get things done at home too. The best part is that he admits to having problems with procrastination and following through, and has provided solutions that he actually uses in his own life and that work.... I highly recommend this book to professionals, students, and homemakers to get organized, work smart, and have time left over to do what you want to do.
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Summary: This is how to do things the hard way - says author
Review: I was fascinated to read the previous, highly enthusiastic, reviews for this book. And here's why (it's a statement from this authors new book - it is framed as a discussion with himself): "What I wrote about resistance in my [first] book is great for people who are working in what I call Push Mode. What do you mean by that? It's the opposite of what I call Pull Mode. Essentially the difference is that in Push Mode you are pushing yourself towards your goals. In Pull Mode you are allowing your goals to pull you towards them. The results may look much the same, but Pull Mode is much less effortful [sic] and relies more on the unconscious activity of the brain rather than conscious linear processing." Clearly even the author doesn't think there's any point in buying this book, as it will only show you how to do things the hard way. So maybe you'll want to get the new book instead, so you can be right up to date.
Or better yet, why not hang on for a little while. No doubt there'll be yet another book along soon to show us an even better way of managing our lives? Alternatively, I suspect many readers will be smart enough to spot the pattern and will choose to invest in an author who doesn't completely change their mind every time the sales figures for their current book start to dip.
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Summary: A book written by someone who was a poor time manager
Review: Many of the books about managing time seem to be written by systematic organized people who share their techniques, and the assumption is that you too can manage time if you follow their methods. Mark Forster started from the position that he was poor at managing his time. He analyzed what was going on, and recognized that the problem he had was about attention and about poor habits. He also noted that some of the most time-effective people he knew didn't use time management techniques at all. He created a series of training exercises, described in the book, which will help develop more effective habits. The book is personal, and describes the problems he had in learning his new methods in an interesting form. I'd recommend this book for anyone who wants to be more effective in getting things done.
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