Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

What do Gloria Steinem and I.B.M. have in common?
Both have sought the advice of Alan Lakein, famous time management expert, in order to minimize the time they waste and to maximize their productive capabilities. Now his practical widwom and amazingly effective simple rules are available to you:

How to build your willpower How to waste time for pleasure and profit How to work smarter, not harder And much, much more

Reading this book can be the wisest investment of your time that you have ever made

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life
• 1 Why You Should Care About Your Time
• Time is Life
• Work smarter, not harder
• Enjoy life more
• Thousands have benefited and so can you
• 2 Your Payoff: Control of Your Life
• What I mean by control
• Beware the "time nut"
• Watch out for the overorganizer
• Avoid the overdoer
• Make this book work for you
• Your payoff: Control of your timeùand your life
• 3 Drift, Drown Or Decide
• Understanding the choice-making process
• How to avoid time conflicts
• You are The Decision Maker
• Why deciding is so difficult
• Long term goals versus short term benefits
• How you really make decisions
• 4 Control Starts With Planning
• Bring the future into the present
• How often should you plan
• You can't do too much planning
• Learn from professionals
• How to set priorities for now
• Using the ABC Priority System
• 5 What Do You Really Want From Life?
• How to discover what you really want to doùand do it / 15,000 people can't be wrong
• What are your lifetime goals
• How would you like to spend the next three years
• What if you knew you'd be struck dead by lightning in six months
• What to do with your answers
• How to resolve goal conflicts
• Selecting your three A-goals
• When to revise your lifetime goals statement
• 6 Get Started Right Now
• List activities toward your A-goals
• Try for quantity and speed
• Don't confuse goals and activities
• Eliminate low-priority tasks
• Pick a priority for now
• 7 How Scheduling Helps
• Don't be overwhelmed by routine tasks
• Everybody has time for planning
• When you should plan
• How to block out A-Time
• Internal and external Prime Time
• For effective schedulingùstay loose
• 8 How To Find Time You Never Knew You Had
• Avoid the executive treadmil
• Get more done by doing nothing
• Practice "wasting" your time
• The homemaker's special problem
• Make the most of "transition time"
• How to use commuting time
• The true price of lunch
• How to use waiting time
• Make your sleep work for you
• How to repeal Parkinson's Law
• Special Emphasis Goals
• 9 Making The Most Of Priorities
• The To Do Listùa fundamental time planning tool
• Put it on paper
• What belongs on your list
• Set priorities, set priorities, set priorities
• "Grouping"ùand how to use it
• Don't worry about completing your list
• How to do more things that matter
• 10 Tasks Better Left Undone
• Skip those C's
• Why A's are harder
• Remember the 80/20 rule
• When not to do C's
• When a "C" becomes a crisis
• Why you need a C-drawer
• Why every housewife deserves a desk
• Next stop: The wastebasket
• How to keep on top of paperwork
• Handle each piece of paper only once
• Coping with information overload
• How to read a book like a newspaper
• Should you try speed reading
• 11 Accommodating Yourself And OtherPeople
• You can't satisfy everyone all the time
• How to say "No"
• Compromises that work
• Agreeing on priorities
• Respect other peoples time ùthey'll respect yours
• 12 How To Create Quiet Time For Yourself
• Unmask the interrupters
• Tips for the executive
• When the interrupter is a four-year old
• Contact time versus thinking time
• Set up availability hours
• Making quiet time work
• 13 Ask Lakein's Queation
• "What is the best use of my time right now?"
• When to ask Lakein's Question
• A fast pace pays off
• When perfectionism helpsùand when it doesn't
• 14 Using The Swiss Cheese Method
• How to know when you're procrastinating
• How to overwhelm the overwhelming A-1
• How to put holes into Swiss cheese
• What five minutes can do
• The value of instant tasks
• Make a last-ditch try
• 15 How To Find Instant Tasks For Instant Involvement
• "The Magic If"
• Get more information to get involved
• Try a leading task
• Take advantage of your current mood
• Give yourself a pep talk
• Make a commitment to someone
• 16 Try Stimulus Change To Keep Involved
• Always have a next step ready
• How not to become bored
• Rest breaks and work breaks
• Find fresh bait for fresh involvement
• Not enough informationùor too much?
• The cushion that never got made
• 17 Sometimes It Pays To Slow Down
• Don't run away from that distateful A-1
• What to do at "Decision Time"
• How to take control of the decision-making process
• Slow down that final decision
• 18 Don't Let Fear Get In Your Way
• How fear leads to avoidance
• Bypass your fear
• How to exinguish fear
• How to contain fear
• How to "judo" fear
• Ballooning your fears
• No fear, no procrastination
• 19 The Real Price of Delay
• How delay escalates problems
• The consequences of delay
• Consider the risks
• The drawbacks of working under pressure
• How to avoid deadline-mania
• 20 Learn To Stress The Benefits
• How to muster enthusiasm at decision time
• The plus and minus test
• How to reward yourself
• Adding extra benefits
• 21 How To Get Back After You've Escaped
• What's your favorite Escape
• Seven common Escapes
• Admit you're wasting time
• How to cut off your Escape routes
• You can procrastinate positively
• 22 How To Do Better Next Time
• Increase your willpower in seven crucial situations
• Try these exercises to build your willpower
• How to wean yourself away from TV
• A little more willpower now is a lot more later
• 23 Do Your Best And Consider It A Success
• Mistakes can save time
• Not trial and error, but trial and success
• "If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly!"
• Case history of a "failure"
• Appendix: How I Save Time