October/1999
|
THE TIME TRAP Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg |
|
In our life-in-the-fast-track society, sleep gets short shrift. Many people claim they must sacrifice sleep to manage work and household chores. If you feel there aren't enough hours in the day, you might profit from spending an hour or two with this book. Its author asserts that good time management habits can help you recapture an hour a day, perhaps two. Though Mackenzie doesn't specifically address the biological clock, he suggests you reflect on your personal energy cycle and sketch out an ideal day based on your best working times. Some people, he notes, are slow starters, while others do their best work first thing in the morning. Most people experience a dip in energy shortly after lunch but feel more animated in late afternoon. By integrating this schedule with long-range goals and priorities, and making a written plan for each day, he says, you create a blueprint that helps you stay focused. Keeping a time log for at least three days is an essential first step. "No one has a realistic idea of where their time goes without a time log," he says. "People are always surprised.... If you think you're far too busy to keep a time log, you are, ipso facto, the very sort of person who needs to keep one." Persons with considerable control over their schedules may be able to apply more of the author's advice than those lower in the pecking order, but there are plenty of tips here that even a student, receptionist, or at-home mother of small children can put to good use. The bulk of the book focuses on what Mackenzie calls the top 20 time wasters. They include telephone interruptions, attempting too much, personal disorganization, meetings, procrastination, and leaving tasks unfinished. Whether working in an office, hospital, laboratory, or at home, you are likely to see some of your routine but inefficient habits writ large. One common mistake: attempting to get "small" tasks out of the way before getting down to work. The most important principle of time management, Mackenzie says, is to identify your key priority and do it first. Even if we were to finally "get organized," some of us might not choose to sleep more. But perhaps we'd be more productive and enjoy life more. Those outcomes themselves might foster a better night's sleep. |
Copyright © 2000 Websciences |