Product Description

A thoroughly updated and expanded edition of the definitive guide to managing and freeing up time Applying the groundbreaking from-the-inside-out approach that made Organizing from the Inside Out a New York Times b estseller, Julie Morgenstern set a new standard for the time- management category. Her system has helped countless readers uncover their psychological stumbling blocks and strengths, and develop a time-management system that suits their individual needs. By applying her proven three-step program-Analyze, Strategize, Attack-and following her effective guidelines, readers will find more time for work, family, self-improvement, or whatever is most important to them. Time management is a learnable skill, and in this completely revised edition, Morgenstern provides the ultimate tools to combine, delegate, and eliminate unnecessary tasks; put technology to work; and stop procrastinating once and for all. This revised edition delivers - a new chapter about the WADE formula for getting started - new time maps for people with irregular schedules - new four-, eight-, and twelve-week program guides for improving time-management skills - a fully updated resource guide

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13376 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Amazon.com
In Organizing from the Inside Out, author Julie Morgenstern used three main strategies to whip a living space or office into shape: "analyze, strategize, attack." Using the same system, Morgenstern now shows readers how to get rid of chaotic schedules in order to live more comfortable and productive lives. Morgenstern likens a cluttered schedule to a cluttered closet. For example, a closet is typically "crammed with more stuff than storage," and a schedule is typically "crammed with more tasks than time."

Those who fear "time management" because they worry about living uncreative or overly scheduled lives will find themselves reassured by Morgenstern's ability to customize her system. The most important thing readers must do, she emphasizes, is to create a time management system that fits one's personal style--whether it be spontaneous and easily distracted or highly regimented and efficient. "Just as everyone's living room looks different, reflecting the individual's or family's values and priorities, everyone's time management system will look different, reflecting what's important to him or her," she explains. Fortunately, readers can easily customize her excellent advice while learning how to create a personal time map, streamline routine tasks, conquer procrastination and chronic lateness, and manage all the inevitable crises and distractions of daily life. Speaking of procrastination, what better time than now to try this book out--ridding yourself of all that draining clutter so you can get on with living the life you want? --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly
Best-selling author of Organizing from the Inside Out, Morgenstern takes a similarly practical approach to time. If one thinks of time has having "edges" (rather than being amorphous), she explains, then it becomes as finite as spaceDand, consequently, just as manageable. Morgenstern believes that there are three primary reasons why people have difficulty managing time: "technical errors" (miscalculating the length of a task); "external realities" (new baby, new job) and "psychological obstacles" (perfectionism). What makes her program work, she attests, is that instead of trying to change people's natural behaviors and preferences, she encourages them to expand upon whatever is working already, no matter how overwhelmed they may feel. It all starts with knowing what one's big picture values and goals are (e.g., maintaining a happy marriage, excelling at one's career) and prioritizing those with the help of an ingenious device she's created called a "Time Map." Then, Morgenstern helps the reader apply her "SPACE" system ("sort, purge, assign a 'home,' containerize and equalize")Dthe nitty-gritty of time managementDto align one's to-do list with the Time Map. Everything one does (from important phone calls to major projects) must have its time and placeDeven relaxation and fun ("There is no such thing as spare time"). Morgenstern's simple book presents a superb, sound program for "creating a life that nurtures you and makes you feel good." (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Using many space and function analogies from her organization audio, the author asks us to look at our time as a limited resource – like a closet or house with limited space – and allocate the activities we value most into the best cubby holes. The ideas and principles here are fantastic and make sense right away. And the most valuable of these is her core message that no time management system will work for long if it doesn't respect the user's personal emotional style and preferred behavior patterns. She promotes flexibility and reasonable dedication to a plan, rather than trying to jam every person into the same perfect but unworkable system. And as for the reading, Morgenstern would be a joy to hear reading anything. T.W. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Make time to read this book, even if you have none.
I liked this author's first book ("Organizing From the Inside Out") and decided to check this one out from the library after reading some less-than-stellar Amazon reviews. Happily, I got my hands on the revised, 2004 version, which I think addresses some of the issues people who read the initial book had.

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.

Repetitive sections, not very instructive
I found this book a lot less helpful than her first book- Organizing from the Inside Out. That was a great book.
This book, however, was not that helpful to me. I read the whole thing in about one hour because I could skim most of the sections which repeated or paraphrased previous ideas. I think there were some excellent ideas in the book- maybe 8 key points that could have been summarized in an article or very short piece. She provided some questions that were helpful (such as "do you like to work on a tight deadline?"; "do you like to work with music on?"; do you prefer to work by yourself," but she left the reader hanging-did not help to use the answers to determine time management preferenecs. What are ways that one should manage time if you prefer working alone as opposed to working with others? Lots of questions went unanswered and information provided was mostly common sense. The book fell into the category of descriptive (providing the usual mantra) rather than instructive.

Very good, but not the final word
I'm a great fan of Julie M., her space managment book IS the best. But time - is a different dimension. I would still wholeheartidly recommend this book, provided you also read "First Things First" by Stephen R. Covey, it will fill in the spaces left out in this book. Which to read first is a difficult choice, depending on your personality. This one perhaps first, then slowly savior Covey's book.