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Review of "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life"

Title: How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life

Author: Alan Lakein

Pages: 160 pages in 23 chapters

 

Rating: **** (4 out of 5)

Overview

This is a good time management book full of ideas, strategies, and tactics that you can use to save time and work more efficiently. It also contains the famous Lakein's question: "What is the best use of my time right now?"

It was written in 1973, so some of the material may seem a bit dated.

At 160 pages, it is definitely a worthwhile read. You have a very good chance of finding some gems that will help you improve your use of time.

What will it do for me?

The book covers the basic time management topics of planning, goals, scheduling, setting priorities, overcoming procrastination, and efficiency.

The book consists of 23 chapters and a small appendix of time saving tips:

1. Why you should care about your time

2. Your payoff: control of your life

3. Drift, drown or decide

4. Control starts with planning

5. What do you really want from life?

6. Get started right now

7. How scheduling helps

8. How to find time you never new you had

9. Making the most of priorities

10. Tasks better left undone

11. Accommodating yourself and other people

12. How to create quiet time for yourself

13. Ask Lakein's question

14. Using the Swiss cheese method

15. How to find instant tasks for instant involvement

16. Try stimulus change to keep involved

17. Sometimes it pays to slow down

18. Don't let fear get in your way

19. The real price of delay

20. Learn to stress the benefits

21. How to get back after you've escaped

22. How to do better next time

23. Do your best and consider it a success

Lakein's advice is particularly helpful in the areas of planning, prioritizing, overcoming procrastination, and saving time by working efficiently.

At the end, Lakein provides sixty one tips that he uses himself to save time. Some examples: "I have a light lunch so I don't get sleepy in the afternoon" and "I skim books quickly looking for ideas."

Bottom Line

This is definitely a book you will want to read to round out your time management knowledge. At 160 pages, you could easily get through it in one or two weeks of light reading.

Any one of a number of valuable ideas in this book could help you make better use of your time.

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