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Book Digest
May 2007 Print E-mail

In This Edition:
1. May Flowers
2. The One Best Way?
3. The Ubiquitous Cell Phone
4. A Light Moment



May Flowers

May is marvelous, as everything down here comes into bloom about month before the north, which is fine with me. The 26 winters in Connecticut were fine at the time, but I wouldn't want to repeat the feat! It's a little warmer here, and a little slower, but not by much...



The One Best Way?

Throughout society you hear a familiar lament: there doesn't seem to be enough time to do the things you need to do within a given day. Yet, if you're like most people, despite all that competes for your time and attention, you have to concede that there are many times throughout the day when you unnecessarily waste time.

Some time management gurus suggest that you record how you spend each hour of the day for one week or one month. Then, like doing a budget, you see the number of hours that you've wasted, and like money wasted, will wish you had those hours back. Go ahead and make a time diary if you wish, but I don't think it's necessary. Human nature being what it is, you're going to continue to hang on to some tasks, even those you know in your heart of hearts ought to be delegated to others or dropped all together.

While managing your time is a worthwhile pursuit, the myths surrounding the effective management of your time can all but quash your efforts. Time management as we know it, essentially started with the work of Frederick Taylor and Frank Gilbreth.

One hundred years ago, they astounded the industrial world by establishing time and motion procedures which enabled employers to get higher productivity from their workers. In doing so, Taylor and Gilbreth established the basis of modern day time management techniques, which were widely adopted by executives.

In recent years, the backlash against Taylor in particular, has been mighty. Some authors contend that his ceaseless quest for "the one best way" changed the very texture of twentieth-century life. Others contend that Taylor taught us not to stop and smell the roses and that his compulsions eerily foreshadowed the time-pressure that everyone feels today.



The Ubiquitous Cell Phone

A recent issue of Men's Health Magazine provided the following data on their reader's experiences with cell phones and telephones in general:

  • 67% of respondents report having driven with one hand on the wheel and one hand on a cell phone.
  • 25% report that the cell phone has made their life more stressful, the prime reason being "it makes me too accessible."
  • 60% of men take their cell phone with them on vacation.
  • 82% of men have sworn at their cell phone.

I guess the results speak volumes about what happens when a seemingly productivity-enhancing technology is employed without specific ground rules. Men's Health Readers: you control your cell phone, not vice versa. Now you've been told!



A Light Moment

English language mysteries found on the Web: If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?




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Jeff Davidson is the Work Life Balance Expert ®

Jeff Davidson, MBA, CMC, Executive Director -- Breathing Space®Institute, 2010
3202 Ruffin Street, Raleigh NC 27607-4024
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