Decide: Work Smarter, Reduce Your Stress, and Lead by Example (Hardcover)

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