Cool Time

Book excerpt: If you have ever said (or felt) any of the following, then Cool Time is the solution for you: I spend more and more time just dealing with e-mail. I often take work home or stay late because that's when I work without distraction. A lot of time gets wasted in meetings. There are too many interruptions. I plan my day every day, but by 9:15 it's totally derailed. I never feel caught up! Cool Time is a time management book with a difference. It's all about keeping mentally and physically cool so that you are always at your best and on top of your game. When you're mentally cool, you make the best decisions and get the best stuff done, and that's the root of successful time management. Cool Time doesn't focus on prioritizing and agenda setting. In the real world of interruptions, e-mail, and distractions, few people are able to organize their work in isolation from everything else. In fact, effective time management is more about human relationships and expectations than it is about making lists. Cool Time is a complete approach to managing time and defending it from the endless demands and expectations of others in the workplace and at home. Contains practical, personal techniques that will help you apply your new skills to real-world situations: holding time-effective meetings, dealing with distractions, learning to focus, coping with unrealistic workloads, planning for the unexpected, negotiating with your manager over conflicting tasks, using technology effectively (the phone, PDAs, and e-mail). Includes suggestions on non-work activities, which make this a complete approach to managing time and balancing life. Features lots of examples, practical tips, and concepts that are memorable and easy to apply, as well as to explain and teach to others in your life. Concepts such as the "I-Beam Agenda" for planning and structuring your day, "Keystone Time" that you block off for focused work, "The 60-Second Workspace" for organizing yourself physically and mentally, and many more. A complete approach to managing time, priorities, and people in an increasingly fast paced world, Cool Time allows you to be in control, feel less stress, and never break a sweat as you go about your day.