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Time Management
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least—of your own area of responsibility.
Myth 4: One Style Fits All
This book’s preface emphasized a crucial point: we are all dif-
ferent. Your goal should be to arrive at a time management
style that suits you. Some strategies apply to most people in
most situations (like setting priorities, planning ahead, delegat-
ing), but others require an angle that’s tailored to the personal
style of the individual. Unfortunately, most time management
books and systems seem oblivious to this. They assume that
one style fits all.
Experience teaches us that this is far from being true. For
example, given the option, you may like to work completely
through one project and complete it before moving on to the
next: you work in linear fashion. Or you may be holistic in your
approach: you enjoy juggling multiple tasks at the same time—
like those plate spinners who somehow manage to keep seven
or eight disks spinning simultaneously on top of tall poles.
You may also be a “sprinter”: you work in great, short bursts
of energy and need to recharge your batteries with moments of
low activity or rest. On the other hand, you may be a cross-
country type: you burn less brightly—but more evenly—
throughout the day. (More about this in Chapter 5.)
The bottom line: you should feel comfortable about tailoring
your time management style to your psychological and physio-
logical makeup. Of course, this isn’t always possible. But the
simple recognition of your individuality—and the knowledge
that time management principles aren’t always carved in
stone—can smooth your transition to more efficient, productive,
and stress-free performance.
Time Management and Culture
The “Western Way” is hardly the only way to deal with time. Yet,
virtually every time management book, by omitting cultural fac-
tors, seems to imply that there’s one, almost saintly way of
doing things. This omission seems nearsighted, considering the