The Personal Efficiency Program: How to Get Organized to Do More Work in Less Time

More than 800,000 people worldwide are already working faster and smarter, and adjusting their career paths upward thanks to Kerry Gleeson’s revolutionary book, The Personal Efficiency Program. Now, it’s your turn. Find out how to get organized at work, get more done, and carve out more time to do what you really want to do. We all juggle work life and personal life and worry that we spend too much time and effort paying the bills to fulfill our other roles as parents, spouses, and friends. This book will help you work more quickly and efficiently, freeing up more time for the life you live outside the office.

This completely up-to-date Third Edition of the ultimate labor-saving, stress-busting, career-boosting guide helps you take complete control of every challenge and chore you face at work. Completely retooled to address the evolving demands of the modern workplace, it shows you how to:

• Cope with information overload
• Make technology do your work for you
• Establish workable schedules and stick to them
• End procrastination and its repercussions
• Improve teamwork and run more productive meetings
• Spend more of your time on the really important work you do
• Spend less time at the office and more time kicking up your heels

Get more done-faster and easier than you ever dreamed possible!

Kerry Gleeson's Personal Efficiency Program is the famed system for multiplying productivity that has already revolutionized the work lives of over 300,000 people around the globe. Now, in The Personal Efficiency Program, Gleeson offers an updated and expanded edition of his classic guide to working faster and smarter, giving you all the tools you need to get control of your workload--and your career. You'll learn how to:

* Save a month of work a year by following the simple Do It Now! rule

* Conquer an endless stream of interruptions and paperwork

* Create easy, effective methods of organizing paper and computer files

* Manage meetings, schedules, and other horrific time wasters

This Second Edition also includes expanded information on conquering information overload, using the Internet to save time and energy, and managing today's faster-paced and multi-located work environments. Whether your goal is to be more productive, build a more rewarding career, or just leave the office on time (at last!), The Personal Efficiency Program can help you achieve it.

In the decade since the publication of first edition of this international bestseller, Kerry Gleeson's famed Personal Efficiency Program (PEP) has revolutionized the work lives of more than a half-million people worldwide. With increasing pressure to produce with far less support than at any time in the recent past, the techniques herein are more timely than ever. The program helps readers conquer the daily stream of interruptions and paperwork to manage tasks and time effectively. This Third Edition features expanded coverage of how to get more done in teams, including tips on managing multiple schedules and running more efficient meetings. It also incorporates ways to effectively use technology, helping readers make the most of the Internet, PDA's, and email to get the job done more quickly and with less effort.

Kerry Gleeson (Boca Raton, FL) is founder and CEO of the Institute for Business Technology International. IBT's client list includes GM, Texaco, Westinghouse, and Hewlett-Packard. Gleeson has been featured in the Financial Times, the Washington Post, and Success.

Source of the Problem.

How Do We Cope?

Down to Details.

No Longer a Missing Link.

Working with Others.

It Will Not Be Easy, But It Will Be Worth It.

CHAPTER1: Do It Now!

Why the Personal Efficiency Program Works.

Start with Your Desk or Work Space.

Overcoming Procrastination.

Not Everything Can or Should Be Done Now.

Build Decisiveness into Your Work Habits.

Establish Do It NowWork Habits.

Perfection.

Discipline.

Follow-Up for Chapter 1.

CHAPTER2: Organize It Now!

A Soldier’s Story.

Cleaning Out the Clutter.

Where Does Clutter Come From?

Why Clutter Stays There.

Out of Sight?

Don’t Overlook the Obvious.

Start with the Basics.

Your Office Toolbox.

Become Familiar with Tools As They Come on the Market.

Organizing Files—Beginning with Paper.

Tips—What to Keep, Where to Keep It, and What to Throw Away.

Tips for Improving Your Paper Filing System.

Filing and Labeling.

Organizing Electronic Files.

Let the Computer Find Your Documents for You.

Organizing Shared Electronic Files.

Organizing E-Mail.

Creating and Organizing Your E-Mail Address Book.

Organizing the Computer Desktop to Access Applications and Files Easily.

Organizing Other Media.

Summary.

Follow-Up for Chapter 2.

CHAPTER3: Do It Routinely.

Keep a Time Log.

Electronic Time Log.

Overcome Information Overload.

Beyond the In Basket.

Batch the Routine Work.

Schedule and Avoid Having to Decide.

Parkinson’s Law and the Allocation of Time.

Blocks of Time.

Batching Telephone Calls.

One More Thing!

E-Mail.

Paper-Mail/Memos.

Searching the Internet.

Reading.

Weekly One-on-One Meetings.

More Effective Meetings.

Dealing with Interruptions.

Making It Work.

Pitfalls.

Follow-Up for Chapter 3.

CHAPTER4: Plan It Now!

Purpose of Planning.

Planning Principles.

PEP Planning Process.

Daily Planning.

Weekly Planning.

Shaping the Diary—A Monthly Planning Process for Senior Executives.

Project Implementation Planning.

Criteria for Project Planning.

Implementation Mapping.

Planning on a Computer.

Strategic Planning.

Goals.

Personal Goals.

Values.

Values on a Personal Level.

Visualization—What You See Is What You Get.

Follow-Up for Chapter 4.

CHAPTER5: Follow-Up and Follow-Through!

Persistence.

Forget Remembering.

Preoccupation and Time.

Organize Efficient Follow-Up Systems.

Work Groups.

Follow-Up and Delegation.

Delegation—Using Your Electronic Tools.

Exceptions to the Rule.

Back Up Your Systems.

Make Follow-Up Part of the Work Process.

Follow-Up for Chapter 5.

CHAPTER6: Do ItRight, Now!

The Origin of PEP.

Why Quality.

Kaizen.

PEP—A Practical Tool for Quality Improvement.

4S.

Identifying Your Customers and Their Needs.

Benchmarking.

Focus on Prevention.

Project-by-Project Improvement.

Continuous Change.

Quality and Team Effectiveness.

PEP and Reengineering.

Reengineering and Technology.

Follow-Up for Chapter 6.

CHAPTER7: Do It Now!—From Wherever You Are!

WHATIS THENGW.

Evolving Work Environments.

COMPANYISSUES.

Is Your Company Considering a Next Generation Workplace?

Management’s Role in a Successful Move—Leadership.

The Missing Link—Proper Equipment to Support the NGW Initiative.

MOVING TO THENGW.

PEP and the Move to the NGW.

PEP and the Move Process.

The Key to Success—Structural Consistency of Information Organization.

Remember: Information Loses Value in Time.

Molecules or Electrons? One—Not Both.

Key Elements for a Successful Move.

Advantages of the PEP Move Process.

Rules to Help You Move.

WORKING WITHIN THENGW.

Welcome to Working in the NGW World.

Managerial and Support Effectiveness.

Common Issues Faced Working in the NGW.

Work Issues in the NGW Home Office.

Work Issues in the NGW Mobile Office.

Attention—Notebook Users: A Word of Caution.

Final Thought—There Are No Dumb Questions.

Follow-Up for Chapter 7.

CHAPTER8: Be aDo It NowManager.

Management by Walkabout.

An Example of MBWA.

Why MBWA Works.

Face-to-Face Communication.

Follow-Up Method.

Delegation.

What Does a Do It NowManager Do?

Concentrate on the Process of Work.

Building Teams.

Don’t Be Tied to the Desk.

Start with Yourself.

Electronic Tools to Enhance MBWA.

MBWA in an Alternative Office.

Closing Thoughts on MBWA.

Follow-Up for Chapter 8.

CHAPTER9: Organizing the Team to Act Now!

Surveying for Areas of Potential Improvement.

Establishing Common Platforms and Standards.

Document Control.

Shared Software.

Task Management.

Managing Complex Activities—Project Planning.

Contact List/Address Book.

Company Intranet.

Don’t Overlook Low-Tech Solutions.

Initiating Project Groups.

Follow-Up for Chapter 9.

CHAPTER10: Maintain It Now.

Entropy.

Maintenance and the Work Cycle.

Make It Easy.

Should You Be Maintaining It in the First Place?

Maintenance and Do It Now.

Make Maintenance a Habit.

The 21-Day Challenge.

Maintenance of Common Files.

Maintenance and Travel.

Preventive Maintenance.

Maintenance and Continuous Improvement.

Periodic Catch-Up.

Minimum Maintenance.

What to Do When It All Goes to Pot.

Follow-Up for Chapter 9.

EPILOGUE:Just One New Habit.

APPENDIXA: Meeting Improvements Checklist.

Meeting Preparations.

Chairperson.

Assistant.

Participants.

APPENDIXB: Time Stealers.

Meeting Time Stealers.

Phone Time Stealers.

Poor Delegation.

Irresolute Manager.

Poor Communications.

Poor Decision Making.

Lack of Systematic Working.

Computer Malfunctions.

APPENDIXC: Recommended Reading.

INDEX.

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY.