Is Writing A Book On Time Management A Good Way To Manage Your Time?

I am, as always, struggling with time management.  Epictetus said that no man is free unless he is a master of himself.  This is very true, and nowhere more so than in making sure you are spending the little time you have wisely.


So I have just started an experiment to see whether writing a book about time management is a good way of helping me develop the time management skills I need.  On the face of it writing a book is hardly a good way to save time at all.  But writing the book isn't actually a goal I have set myself.  I don't think Brian Tracey's writing on time management can be beaten, and in any case there are no end of other good books on time management around that fit the bill pretty well.  The whole point of the exercise is to give me a focus on time management.  Thinking through how I would explain it to other people is simply a means to an end.

I read lots of books so the book format is one I am very familiar with.  I am quite a sociable person and enjoy telling other people how to live their lives.  (I don't think that they are keen on being told - but that is another subject.)  So the thought of having an audience for my thoughts is a motivating one.

I have a pretty clear boundary to this exercise.  Every morning in bed I start the day by writing notes in a reporters pad.  I start with a page going over my goals.  A single page of my time management book I will now slot in next.  After that I write whatever is on my mind for 2-3 pages, and follow it with my job list for the day.  So this book represents less than 10 minutes a day at which rate it will take over a decade to get to any size at all.

 I might transcribe some of it onto here - I have only got two pages written at the moment - if  I think it will help me bed in some of it.   Let's see how it goes.  But I will report back on whether or not I think it is helping.