Do it Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management [Paperback]

Mark Forster's new book, "Do it Tomorrow", is quite likely the only book you'll ever need to manage your time and your life (I should know--I've read most of the others!)

From closed lists to the manana principle, Mark's thinking is infused with clarity, applicability and a deep knowledge of human nature gleaned from his years of hands-on experience in coaching. You will find truly new ideas here--ideas that may go against your deeply held beliefs about time management (what? DON'T prioritise??); but start applying them and you'll see startling results almost immediately.

I've been applying Mark's principles for a month now and I can't imagine working any other way. I'm now on top of my work, have systems in place for incoming jobs, and I have time for my personal life. Every item on my "will-do" list gets crossed out by the end of the day. All with zero stress.

Most of all, the principles are simple and easy to apply on a daily basis, unlike so many books out there that necessitate you to spend more time planning what to do than actually doing it--so easy to apply, in fact, that you can start implementing them even before you finish reading the book!

A resounding 5 stars!!

You could skip pages 1-108 and not really miss very much at all!

The author has some good tips and ideas to pass on, but unfortunately spends far too many pages presenting his theories on the way we think and feel; the side of our brain that plans versus the side that reacts; how to get one to fool the other.

There seems to be a laborious amount of repetition of these theories, I'm afraid those 100-odd pages are best described as waffle.

The form, presentation and layout of the book could also be a good deal better. Most contemporary books in this genre would make use of illustrations, relevant pictures, quotations etc. This book has none of these embellishments; it consists of 200 pages of plain text. The book contains many question & answer exercises, often running to ten or so questions, causing the answers to be 2 pages on from the relevant question - trivial, but believe me tedious when it has occurred enough times.

Another odd thing about the book is that the author has chosen to present a 'quick start' guide on one page as a preface before page 1:
"This book will tell you much more about how to do this, but the method essentially consists of these four steps"
1 - Put all the work you are behind on into backlog folders and put it where you can't see it.
2 - Collect all your incoming work during the day and deal with it the next day. Group similar tasks .... Aim to clear the lot every day.
3 - If anything is too urgent to leave for tomorrow, write it down and action it at a convenient time. Never take even the simplest action without writing it down first.
4 - Spend some time clearing the backlog folders every day. When you've finally cleared them, find something else you want to get sorted and start doing that first thing every day instead.

I can understand the principle of "tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em", but there's just no hook or wow factor in that preface, to then follow it up with 100 pages of waffle!!!

The final chapter seems completely at odds with the bulk of the book, one can almost sense that this time management guru was almost late for his deadline and wrapped it up quickly. After so many verbose chapters we are very directly and succintly told the best way to file (lever arch folders) and that it's best to keep these on a bookshelf and to always replace the most recently used folder at the left hand end - an interesting alternative to filing cabinets, I could see it working, I reckon it's probably a good idea. These ideas are presented in a few pages of greyed-boxes, looking different to the rest of the book.

The author refers to his use of Microsoft Outlook, and of striving for a single collecting point, then advocates a day journal, and a page-a-day diary, and a determination to write everything down before doing anything.

In my humble opinion, if you want help and a methodology for managing the modern ills and overloads of email, tasks, time scheduling and project management it would be a far better use of your time to read 'Take back your Life using Microsoft Outlook' by Sally McGhee. I read this book and bought copies for several colleagues. We all had Outlook, but by using that book gained a greater understanding of the capabilities of the software AND a common language for managing work effectively.

My apologies for going against the crowd, I anticipate that I run the risk of negative feedback from the many 5-star raters who have gone before. Might I ask that if you disagree with my review and decide to award me negative feedback that you also take just one moment to add a comment as to where we disagree? (Thanks for that)

Having read and enjoyed Mark Forster's two previous comprehensive books on time management, I was wondering what he could possibly have left to say on the subject but "Do It Tomorrow..." is packed with new ideas and innovative thinking.

I read this book in just a few hours because (a) it's an easy and interesting read, and (b) I couldn't wait to get to the end to get started using the principles. I could see from the outset that they would work for me. After finishing, I immediately started applying the principles to clear an inbox of emails that had grown to 955 in size. His advice on dealing with backlogs (both electronic and paper) is worth the purchase of the book alone.

The style amalgamates those of his previous two books as Mark uses his own working environment as the testing ground throughout, the book gives systems for clearing backlogs, dealing with day-to-day work, identifying what's actually in a day's work, getting past stuck states, preventing projects becoming emergencies.

But apart from all this, I think the most helpful outcome for many readers will be that it gives permission for us all to stop beating ourselves up and stressing out and yet we'll still get our work done.

Personally, I think it's Mark's best work yet. There's only one thing that I would recommend you don't put off until tomorrow, buying this book. Buy it today and start cutting yourself some slack AND getting your life back in order tomorrow.