Challenge1: The actual increase in work time

Challenge2: Maximizing the use of leisure time

Many people feel dissatisfied because of a 'perceived loss' of their leisure time.

Fallacy 1: Time is an inflexible container

Fallacy 2: Time is outside my mind

Fallacy 3: Time is the ultimate authority in my life.

Four sources of authority in your life

• authority of other people
• authority of shoulds and oughts
• authority of accidental time
• authority of authentic personal priorities

How a wise set of priorities can transform your time:

Change 1: You'll handle stress better

Change 2: You'll be more productive

Change 3: Your powers of concentration will improve

Change 4: Your time will assume ultimate significance

How to determine your personal priorities

• Write your own obituary
• List and rank your personal values
• List the six main priorities of your supervisor, company or career.
• Reconcile your personal priorities with outside priorities

Designing a real-life four-hour day

Your goal here is to design a day that (1) include four hours of work and (2) contains activities or appointments that support your basic priorities in life.

Principle 1: Build in four hours of work or work-related activity each day.

Principle 2: Incorporate your personal priorities into your perfect day

Principle 3:Once you've arrived at an ideal schedule for your personal four-hour day, write it down.

Time budget is a projection of how you've decided to spend your time.

Guidelines for time budget

• Reduce your workday to four hours
• Locate your four-hour day within those hours when you tend to be most efficient
• Reevaluate your allocation of leisure time
• Record all your activities for every hour and minute you spend during your typical week.

Rhythm of life?

Rhythm of life is a combination of four factors

1. personal priorities
2. Your most efficient times during the day
3. The particular work or activity that gives you the most enjoyment
4. The atmosphere, including the physical environment and people, in which you put your best efforts.

Towards a total time revolution

• First rule: Focus consciously, every day, on your life priorities
• Second rule: Don’t take the details of your time budget too seriously
• Third Rule: Ease into your personal transformation

Understanding transition time:

Huge chunks of your days and weeks disappear as anonymous periods that might be called 'transition time'.

Basic principles for using your transition time

• Unnecessary, wasteful activity should be eliminated during transition time
• It's essential to do two things at once during commuting or waiting time
• Solitude is often helpful to maximize the use of transition time
• It's important to have an explicit plan for your transition time

Best uses of transition time

• Extra reading or work
• Planning
• Preparing
• Energizing
• Celebrating

First Time Barrier: Personal Resistance

Personal barrier1: Procrastination

• most people tackle the hard tasks - including the first job confronting them in the morning in a defensive or negative way
• If possible, taken on your hardest or most distasteful task first
• Set a substantial but realistic goal to accompany by midday - and then move aggressively to finish that work as a though your entire day were schedule to be over by noon.

Personal barrier 2: An ability to concentrate

Learn to handle your 'start-up' time

Leap over your 'worry hurdles'

Overcome poor concentration with a change of scene

Personal barrier 3: Too many loose ends

Distractions, unfinished task, disruptions

Personal barrier 4: Lack of punctuality

Always allow time to make it your next appointment on schedule

Notify those you are meeting a few minutes ahead

Find a way to intensify your responsibility to be punctual

Personal barrier 5: Deadline Oppression

Much of anxiety or stress in your life probably arises from a failure to handle deadlines well.

Second Time barrier: Paperwork

• Mountains of mail
• Untidy telephone numbers and address listings
• An unfriendly office
• A lack of good lists: desk diary, pocket diary, to-do list
• Untamed time toys: fax, cellular phones etc.

Third time barrier: Other people

• Misuse of telephone
• Too many meetings
• Committee -itis
• A failure to say no
• Failure to delegate