Decide

Preface xv Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Two Forms of Human Motivation: Gain and Prevent Pain 5 Prevent Pain: I Have to Do It! 9 Do I Really Have To? 11 Attributes of a Gain Task 13 Management versus Leadership 18 The One and Only Exercise I Will Ask You to Do in This Book . . . Brainstorm! 20 Chapter 2 It's All up to You: Avoid Burnout and Create Balance 23 So Why Take on Gain? 25 The Paradox of Balance 26 Gain Is the Answer to the Balance Crisis 29 Gain and Prevent Pain Must Work Together 33 Chapter 3 Prioritizing Tasks in Relation to Results 35 A New Way to Prioritize 39 Why Is Prioritizing Important? 42 Focus on Results 44 Survival Instincts 48 Breaking Down Gain: Creation versus Consumption 50 Chapter 4 Energy and Motivation: Decide How You Will Get Yours 53 What Can Your Brain Do for You? 56 Energy from Desire: Creation and Consumption 60 Energy from Fear: Procrastination 64 The Final Judgment on Procrastination 69 Chapter 5 What Understanding the Value of Time Can Do for Your Life 73 The Value of a Minute 77 Understanding Where Our Time Goes 79 Make Better Decisions about Your Time 81 You Accomplish Gain by Getting Your Goals on Your Calendar 82 Why Does This Work? 84 Getting Your Goals on Your Calendar: The First Steps 86 Need Some Examples? 88 Leap of Faith 90 Don't Squeeze It In 92 Chapter 6 Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Planning 95 No Time to Plan? 99 Benefits of a 5-Minute Plan 100 Make It a Habit 106 Chapter 7 Managing Interruptions 107 Stick to the Work Involved 111 Steer It Back by Interrupting Yourself 112 Set Expectations 113 Recover and Get Back to Work! 114 Work Interruptions into and out of Your Schedule 116 Return the Favor 116 Chapter 8 How to Manage It All: Time Management Implementation 117 Organizing Your Information Resources 119 Why Get Organized? 121 Decide and Commit 123 The Keys to Using a Time Management System Effectively 125 What Your System Needs to Do 126 Task Management System: To-Do Lists 127 Calendar 133 They Work Together 134 Being on Time versus Being Late 136 Information Management: Contacts and Notes 138 Touch It Once 140 Chapter 9 Take Action 141 The Power of Your Decisions 143 Decisions Are Like Rules 144 Your Decisions Determine Who You Are 144 Do You Make Leadership Decisions? 146 It's Not a Competition 147 Building Your Identity as a Leader 149 Don't Just Think about It. Do It! 150 You Work Too Hard Not to Get the Great Results You Deserve 152 Notes 155 Acknowledgments 157 About Alleer Training and Consulting's Work with Clients 161 About the Author 163 Index 165