Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress: A Handbook for the Overworked, Overscheduled, and Overwhelmed

I checked this book out in audio book format from the library and thought it was worth purchasing a hard copy. I don't know if a year from now if I will have followed through, but already it has made an impact. As a previous reviewer has stated, Ms. Emmett's tips are more philosophical--looking at your own individual values and then prioritizing the demands upon your time. She has a theory that if you don't "make deposits" to your own well being, you'll burn out. So she has several chapters dedicated to putting back into yourself--a.k.a. stress reduction. Her suggestions aren't these monumental unattainable milestones, rather reasonable & doable. And putting even just a few of the smallest suggestions into play (like her list of how to get a better night's sleep) have an immediate impact.

Though I had read many time management books before (which reflect my weakness indeed), I still find this one readable and helpful. The author's writing style is outstanding with admirable selection of quotes and questions in the end of each chapter. In case you want to read something to improve your time management or even your life, this is it. p.s. Below please find some of my favorite passages for your reference. People are busy building the lives they thought they wanted; they have become so stressed out that they have no life. Pg3 Life isn't time management, it is stuff management - things to do, people to see, commitments and obligations to fulfill. Pg5 Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud, and one the stars. - Frederick Langbridge pg25 We either make ourselves miserable or make ourselves strong, either way, the amount of work is the same. - Carlos Castaneda pg26 If you don't know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere. - Henry Kissinger pg87 Avoid multifocusing when you think you are multitasking. Pg107 Love concentrates so intently on another that you forget yourself at the moment. - Rick Warren pg134 He who cannot rest cannot work; he who cannot let go cannot hold on. Pg155 If you want to know your past, look into your present conditions. If you want to know your future, look into your present actions. - Tibetan monk pg180 Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not. - Thomas Huxley pg181 Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started. - David Allen pg181 Procrastination is the passive assassin of opportunity. - Roy Williams pg181

I was surprised by this book's entire approach. This author is really philosophical with lots of specific tips. She's not trying to promote ways to reach higher levels of achievement and out-compete others. She doesn't use motivational slogans. Emmett delivers ideas about the meaning of life relating to what is important to us and contrasts them with what we actually do each day. I just can't imagine her on the motivational speech circuit unless managers want to help employees avoid perfectionism. There were many interesting ideas that form Emmett's philosophy. One is that boredom itself is just as stressful as being stuck in traffic and the like. She makes a very convincing case that our ancestors had constant stress due to uncertainties related to survival. Of course, the stress in our time of constant communications availability and information overload causes us to lack sleep and choose lifestyles that we know are unhealthy. Over time, we can end up losing ourselves while trying to meet the needs of others until we're finally rendered less capable of helping others. Another common trap is that we can come up with unrealistic expectations for ourselves and live a life of stress as a result. Therefore, Emmett's work is thoughtful and goes much deeper than a typical motivational book. The ideas presented along with tips that make it real can help us improve the quality of our lives. In the process, we might become happier and healthier and end up more successful at work. Thus, the direction of Emmett's philosophy is not to increase the quality of our lives in order to boost one's career. It is the reverse. We are to align what is important to us in life with what we do, and this will help us be happier, healthier and more focused on what is really important. All this might result in more career success or it might not, but at least we are to protect ourselves from letting our work ruin the quality of our lives. I recommend this book because it is a breath of fresh air. The author is sincere and has suffered herself in life and reached a level of maturity and wisdom. Finally, I think she's correct.

I guess that this book just came along for me at exactly the time that I needed it, so I won't throw around any cliches like "life changing". However, I probably could if I were so inclined. This book is perfect motivation for compulsive disorganized procrastinators like me.