The Skinny on Time Management: How to Maximize Your 24-Hour Gift

Full citation: Randel, Jim. 2010. The Skinny on Time Management: How to Maximize Your 24-Hour Gift. Westport, Connecticut: Rand Media Co.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Contributed by Meredith Hancks

What a fantastic idea for a series! As the author points out in the Introduction to “The Skinny On” Series at the beginning of this book, the “goal is to do the reading for you, identify what is important, distill the key points, and present them in a book that is both instructive and entertaining.”

And indeed this book does just that. Imagine you wanted to read all the books currently available on time management – would you actually have the time? If you’re interested in a book on the subject of time management–then probably not. So Jim and his colleagues read them and are presenting to you the information you really need to know.

This book took me 75 minutes to read – and that’s because I was trying to take notes! They are specifically designed to be read in an hour. And I loved that each idea was expressed with a stick-figure drawing and a classroom presentation format.

Highlights of the book as a whole:

The format of this book (and the series) is probably what I liked most. You get all the information you need, and learn quick tips you can implement right away to make visible changes in your life. Not only were the drawings a great way to convey the information succinctly, but they made it seem like you were in a classroom learning these tips from the masters. And whenever there were important resources that you might want to look at, they were listed there as well so you could go out and search for more information when you have a bit more time.  I finished this book and immediately wrote to a friend and told her to check it out – she ordered a couple from the series that same day!

Introduction:

This is the last place in the book you will see a standard “page” of text, and the page numbers haven’t yet begun. In this important section, the author invites you to find a chair and take some time (one hour, to be precise) to learn the key principles of effective time management gleaned from about 100 current books on the topic.

Part 1: A Review of how you are spending your time

Before you can manage your time, you have to understand what you’re doing with it. In this section, the teacher presents all the ideas you need to know in order to get a handle on where the minutes of your day go. Then you’ll learn how to align your time expenditures with your goals, and make the appropriate choices. The choices you have to make aren’t always easy! And you have to be able to let some things go.

Part 2: Using the hours you have to maximum effectiveness

We all get the same number of hours and minutes in each day. But in this section, the author goes through the ideas for increasing your productive time, thereby seeming to increase the number of available minutes in your life. He mentions in block 74, “not all hours are alike” –in terms of energy available, energy used, and energy required. So you get “the skinny” on how to (a) define your goals, (b) assess your time, and (c) use the pockets of time that are most productive for you to do the tasks that take the most out of you.

The only challenge I encountered is writing a review about a book that is already distilled so well! I don’t want to talk too much and give away all the great details! I hope you’ll take an hour and check it out for yourself, and then look for the others in the series.

Where to order this book online: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984139397/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cvfundraising-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1118004507
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Meredith is the author of Getting Started in Prospect Research: What You Need to Know to Find Who You Need to Find.

Meredith wrote this CharityChannel Press In the Trenches book for those who want to jump-start as a prospect researcher, create an optimal research tool kit, build vital relationships,and use data to guide fundraising strategy. Meredith shows you how to:

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