How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein (ISBN: 0451167724)

This book starts strong and reads quick. The first line of the book is "Time is Life". This is an older and less packed version of Seven Habits, but people started buying it again recently because Bill Clinton, in his autobiography, My Life, said it was the only "How To" he ever read. People with a lot they want to accomplish personally and professionally would be advised to read a book like this every month or so.

It's a simple, easy to understand book that provides a simple system of personal organization that is workable and makes sense.

Here are some of the highlights.

1. Establish SMART goals for yourself. Goals should be specific, measurable, achieveable, related/relevant, and time framed.

2. Prioritize your goals.

"A" goals are the most important to you.
Plan on spending 80% of your time to achieve them.

"C" goals are less important. This includes sitting on your butt, watching TV, shopping. This is where Lakein argues that most people waste their lives.

To switch the 80/20 ratio from C to A, he recommends making a daily "to do" list and always start with "A's," not "C's." things that don't matter. We may be efficient, but Lakein suggests that our goal is to do what matters most and become effective. "Work smarter, not harder" is the mantra he wants us to repeat and couple that saying with his last piece of advice --"Do it now."