Have you ever had problems with your time management? In January 2021, I started a new career as a policy researcher, which I never had experienced before. I had to learn lots of new things such as government structure, academic research paper or research methodology. Everything that I had to do takes lots of time, so I cannot deliver my work in time. This made me stressed and feel guilty, so I had to find a way to solve this problem. One day while I was cleaning my bookshelf and clearing out old books, I was sparked by an old green book named “Eat that Frog!” After I read the introduction I know this is a tool that could help me solve my work problem. This book, written by Brian Tracy, tells me how to manage time and work by changing my thoughts and way of work. One idea which I love most from this book is: If I want to succeed in my life, I have to focus on the most important mission of myself and do that with intent. When I can do this, I will have more time and my life will be more valuable.
I enjoyed reading this book because of the style that Tracy wrote in. He starts each chapter by asking questions or problems people normally face when they work. It hooked me and made me flow through each chapter easily. He also writes the content in a simple way, so I can understand, evaluate and reflect on it by myself. Keeping a simple writing style reminds me of how I manage my work. I am always overthinking and making work complicated. Not only work management but also my preparation before starting my task is over nice. I make lots of conditions to start my daily work. For example, my working desk has to be clean, everything on my desk has to be organized or I have to use this pen only. So I waste lots of time before I start my work. After I adjust this habit, I find that life is so simple. This book also has lots of techniques which I can apply to my life. For example, Tracy suggests the question that I have to ask myself for every moment while working is why the company chose me, not other people. The answer is the value of me for this job. It is my main responsibility, so that can get me on track to spend my time on the right thing. And the strong point of this book is it has a final part which summarizes the book. This part helps me to remember techniques of work or life management in this book. And I can use this method while I read other books by reflecting on key messages or ideas at the end of each chapter to recall its information.
After reading this book my life has changed. I have more time to do what I want to do. The book not only tells how to make you focus, it also teaches me by its writing style. Drawing people's attention by asking questions, a simple style of writing, techniques which can apply to myself, and reflecting the experience are the reasons that make me like this book. For me, time’s value is relative value. If I can manage my time, I can live my life.
It seems like I have the same problem that you had. I often waste a lot of time preparing myself and do other things before getting on with what I have to do. I do not know why I cannot start my task right away. I feel thankful that your essay remind me that I also have this book but have not read it yet. This trigger me to read it now.
ReplyDeleteI've always found that careful preparation, making sure everything is perfectly set up and that the time and place are just right before starting to do a task is an excellent way to avoid actually starting the task.
DeleteI also have a habit of over complicating things. If I'm creating a database or other system to manage something, the first version is often far too complex for what I need, and I end up cutting back to simplify in later versions. Unfortunately, being aware of this problem doesn't necessarily stop it happening, at least not for me. But on the other hand, I'm pretty sure that being aware is at least a step in the right direction. Now, if I just prepare a few more things, I'll be ready to ...
I raise the same question with myself when i have to fix someone else's problem at work - why me? But then i realise because they choose me and pay me to fix these problems for them. This book is on my wish-list as you and Opal wrote about the same book.
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