Cool Time: A Hands-on Plan for Managing Work and Balancing Time

Cool Time A Hands-on Plan for Managing Work and Balancing Time

By Steve Prentice
John Wiley & Sons August 2005

Specifications

ISBN-13
9780470836736
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons
Publication
August 2005
Format
Paperback , 288 pages
Jurisdiction
International ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

If you have ever said (or felt) any of the following, then Cool Time is the solution for you:
  • I spend more and more time just dealing with e-mail.
  • I often take work home or stay late because that's when I work without distraction.
  • A lot of time gets wasted in meetings.
  • There are too many interruptions.
  • I plan my day every day, but by 9:15 it's totally derailed.
  • I never feel caught up!

Cool Time is a time management book with a difference. It's all about keeping mentally and physically cool so that you are always at your best and on top of your game. When you're mentally cool, you make the best decisions and get the best stuff done, and that's the root of successful time management.

Cool Time doesn't focus on prioritizing and agenda setting. In the real world of interruptions, e-mail, and distractions, few people are able to organize their work in isolation from everything else. In fact, effective time management is more about human relationships and expectations than it is about making lists.

Cool Time is a complete approach to managing time and defending it from the endless demands and expectations of others in the workplace and at home.

  • Contains practical, personal techniques that will help you apply your new skills to real-world situations: holding time-effective meetings, dealing with distractions, learning to focus, coping with unrealistic workloads, planning for the unexpected, negotiating with your manager over conflicting tasks, using technology effectively (the phone, PDAs, and e-mail).
  • Includes suggestions on non-work activities, which make this a complete approach to managing time and balancing life.
  • Features lots of examples, practical tips, and concepts that are memorable and easy to apply, as well as to explain and teach to others in your life. Concepts such as the "I-Beam Agenda" for planning and structuring your day, "Keystone Time" that you block off for focused work, "The 60-Second Workspace" for organizing yourself physically and mentally, and many more.

A complete approach to managing time, priorities, and people in an increasingly fast paced world, Cool Time allows you to be in control, feel less stress, and never break a sweat as you go about your day.

 

Reviews

"I took Cool Time home last weekend, and have instituted its principles over the last week, and I LOVE IT! I would love to have Steve Prentice on the show. Is he touring? I have roughly two dozen time management books, and I hate them all. His is the only one I’ve ever truly liked and believed in. It’s a godsend, and I MUST share it with my viewers."

Bridget Weiss, TV Producer, Edmonton AB

 

"I am 139 pages into your book and I swear to all things holy that your ideas have put into shape what I’ve been trying to improve in my professional life for a long time...the organization of my day. My inbox has been empty all week because I am organizing my tasks into workable time slots. My clients are getting regular call-backs and I’ve put 1,000 prospective room nights ($170,000+) on our books for August because I’ve scheduled in Keystone prospecting time into my day between 1 and 2pm…. I have to say that your ideas are making an immediate impact on my daily life.

Ian Turgeon, Hotel Sales Manager, Fairmont Royal York, Toronto

"I had to write and tell how much I enjoyed your book! I have read over 200 time-management books and while they have all managed to say much the same thing in the same way, you found an invigorating way to explain time management that kept me interested throughout. Thanks for your work and wisdom. It made an impact."

Stephanie Dickison, Journalist


"I have been applying the Cool Time principles for a month or so now and have managed to ‘find’ more time in my days for constructive pursuits and less stress during the evenings. I have recommended your book to my colleagues and associates whenever the challenges of work-life balance or stress management arise."

Walter Robinson, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation

"I just wanted to let you know that I have found TREMENDOUS benefit from working through the time management techniques presented through Cool Time. The personal commitment to change, time for reflection and then follow-up, forces you to internalize and fit the changes somewhere into your daily world. The theory is not rocket science but the implementation (habit change) is. The ‘bite-size’ approach has really worked for me. I am starting already to feel the effect of better management of my time. I have a long way to go, but at least I am aware of that now and am committed to getting there!"

National (what kind of?) Manager, Nestlé Canada

"There has been positive return on our investment. A high percentage of staff are managing their time more effectively because of your suggestions."

Manager, International Advisory Group, RBC Investments

 

"I met Steve the weekend of the ‘Great Blackout of 2003.’ At that time, all of us across North America were still shaking our heads, wondering how we could have been caught without lights or power and with practically no back-up plan.

Steve appeared on my radio show and quickly taught us the Cool Time principles. He was immediately flooded with calls. Listeners wanted to talk to him because he brought such practical advice, common sense and a level head about him. Everything he said made sense! It was an enlightening hour that I’ve never forgotten. Steve is now a regular guest on my show.

Steve’s approach to crisis and everyday living is truly inspiring, rewarding and exciting. Spending time with Steve and his Cool Time concept is like getting permission to stop the stress.

Christina Cherneskey, Talk Show Host, News Talk 1010 CFRB, Toronto

 

"I am continuing to use the Cool Time tools…. People who work with me are aware that my time matters and respect my time skills."

SAP Data Senior Analyst, Nestlé

"Steve’s three 90-minute Cool Time sessions were one of the most highly rated workshops, with participants commenting that the techniques and ideas were of great practical value."

Jessica Clark-Barrow, Marketing Manager, Strategy &: Business Development, CIBC Commercial Banking

 
 

Table of Contents

Introduction.

Chapter 1. Quick! Look Over There!

Chapter 2. You Are Here: The Human Body and Time.

Chapter 3. Inventory and It's Role in Predicting the Future.

Chapter 4. The I-Beam Agenda: Applying Inventory and Structure.

Chapter 5. Influence, Conditioning, and Communicating.

Chapter 6. Application: Productivity techniques.

Chapter 7. Productivity: How Do You Know if You're Being Productive?

Chapter 8. The Fifty-Five Minute Meeting: Conditioning in the Boardroom.

Chapter 9. Interruptions and Interactions: Dealing with the People in Your World.

Chapter 10. communicating: Getting the Message.

Chapter 11. The Sixty-Second Work Space: A Place for Everything.

Chapter 12. Work-Life Balance: The Circular Engine.

Chapter 13. Cool-Time: Perfection Through Precision.

Chapter 14. Implementation: Getting There From Here.

Chapter 15. Your Achilles' Heel: Personal Obstacles.

Chapter 16. Roadblocks: Environmental Obstacles to Implementation.

Chapter 17. Cool Time in the Home: This Time It's Personal.

Chapter 18. In Conclusion: Getting Started.

Appendix: Common Objections to Time Management.

Cool Time Glossary.

References.

Index.

About The Author.

 

About the Author

Steve Prentice is passionate about understanding how adults survive and thrive in the high-speed working world.  In 1989 he graduated from Montreal's Concordia University with a degree in Communications Studies, and was also Valedictorian for that year.  In 1990 he was nominated as a candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship while studying law at York University in Toronto.  In 1991 Steve withdrew from the study of law created his consulting company Bristall Morgan Inc., and has enjoyed great success as a speaker, facilitator, consultant, and media interview guest across the U.S. and Canada, teaching people about time, productivity, and career survival.  In 2004, Steve returned to York University and is now working towards a Masters Degree in Psychology.

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