Page 131 - Time Management

Time Management
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18. How many paid vacation days a year does the average American
worker get?
Mancini09.qxd 1/16/2003 4:53 PM Page 116 9.7 days
5.1 days
7.4 days
6.8 days 8.7 days 10.1 days
You get: _____________________________________
19. How many paid vacation days a year does the typical German
worker get?
6 days 10 days 15 days
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8 days 12 days 18 days
20. The average person squanders how much of his or her life look-
ing for misplaced things? 2 years
2 months
8 months
5 months 1 year 4 years
You waste: _______________________________
Answers are shown on page 131

Any surprises? In some cases you probably guessed low, in
others, high. You may have projected estimates from your own
life onto those of the average American.
Any conclusions on why a gap exists between your experi-
ence and those of others? Has the data led you to make certain
personal or philosophical observations?
Many of the answers to this quiz came from Michael and
Robert Shook’s fascinating book, It’s About Time! (New York:
Plume Books, 1992). It contains hundreds of other similarly
intriguing facts. These surprising statistics should remind you of
how easily time leaks from our daily existence. For example, who
would think that we waste five years of our lives waiting in line?
In a survey a few years back, executives identified the six
greatest time wasters in business. The following sections dis-
cuss these results and examine strategies that can help you
meet each challenge.
Time Leak #1: Socializing

That the participants polled indicated “socializing” as the num-
ber-one time leak is quite telling. It suggests that:

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Team-Fly