ISBN: 1-887570-09-8

120 pages softbound
5” x 7¼”

$14.95

See volume discounts options below.

It's About TIME! — 5 Steps to True Time Management

By James R. Ball and Jennifer A. Kuchta

This is a one of the most popular books in our Keep It Simple for Success® series. The book contains a complete system for managing time and being effective plus plenty of tips, techniques, examples, and tools.

If you want a simple, easy-to-apply approach for managing your time, getting things done, and putting balance into your life, this is the book for you.

• Quick read
• Easy to understand
• Simple examples and instructions
• Dozens of tips in bulleted Dos and Don'ts format
• 3 Magic Pieces of Paper to manage time
• The book includes a URL link to download free forms for tracking
  and managing time and planning days and weeks - no big planner to buy

The simple 5-Step System in this book was developed and perfected by the authors in the professional and financial services, consulting, venture capital, and entrepreneurial environments where effective time management is essential.

These 5 Steps have can help anyone at any level get control of their time and their life and improve their effectiveness and results.

These links are to additional content below.

Book Highlights and Background

Table of Contents

What's in it for You and Your Organization?

Benefits for Individuals

Organizations Using It's About TIME!

Comments from Individuals Who Bought the Book or Attended a Seminar

About the Authors

Teach-It-Yourself Resources on the Contents of this Book

The quotes in this column below are from the book, It's About TIME!

Book Background and Highlights

It's About TIME! presents 5 Steps to True Time Management. These 5 Steps are a simple, yet effective system for managing your time and getting things done. Thousands of people use these steps to manage their time and achieve results.

It’s About TIME! presents proven principles and techniques that work. Jim Ball, CEO and president of The Goals Institute first learned about the core principles of time management and being effective from training programs and books developed by Peter Drucker, the famous management sage.

Jim took what he learned from Drucker and transformed those core concepts into a systematic approach which became the 5 Steps presented in It’s About TIME!

Jim used this system during his years at Arthur Andersen and he taught the time management techniques he was using to others. Later, when Jim was in the venture capital business, he taught the same five steps for time management to the entrepreneurs he invested in and the associates in their organizations. Then he taught these methods to his students at George Mason University/

At The Goals Institute, Jim began teaching the same 5 Steps in seminars where we provided Learning Guides that describe the approach. In 2006 we documented our approach for use by others and published It’s About TIME! by co-authors Jim Ball and Jennifer Kuchta.

"There is no such thing as time management. We cannot slow time down, speed it up, or create it.

"While we cannot manage time, we can manage how we spend ourselves while time passes."

Here is the Book at a Glance

• Short, simple, and easy to read and apply, just 120 pages
  
  
• Puts time in perspective and teaches the importance of managing your time
  
  
• Explains the basic principles required for managing your time
  
  
• Presents a framework of 5 Steps that comprise a complete method for managing your time effectively
  
  
• These 5 Steps cover core concepts as well as tips and techniques for applying the concepts and building them into your everyday life
  
  
• The book includes bulleted lists of suggested Dos and Don'ts for each step
  
  
• In use at hundreds of premier organizations; thousands of individual users have benefited
  
  
• A link is provided in the book to a special URL page on our website where you may download the forms and other tools described in the book.

Publishing Information

• It's About TIME: 5 Steps to True Time Management
• ISBN: 1-877570-05-5; 120 pages 5" by 7¼" softbound
• Written by James R. Ball and Jennifer A. Kuchta
• Published by The Goals Institute 2006

Keep It Simple for Success® books - K.I.S.S. Books

This book is one of the books in our Keep It Simple for Success® series. These books are short, effective tools that provide excellent content and plenty of useful tips and ideas in the forms of specific Dos and Don'ts that people can quickly understand put to work right away.

A User Writes about It's About TIME!

"First, I want to thank you for your book It's About TIME! I read it just before my boss quit and I was handed her job, her managing editor's job, as well as my own job continuing.

"I was completely buried in competing pressures, an endless to-do list, and enormous expectations under tight deadlines.

"I could not have made it through those first 4 weeks without practicing the principles of prioritizing from your book. Thank you!"

"Think about this. If you had just one extra hour a day for a year that is 365 hours. This is as much time as 45 eight-hour days. That is nine extra work weeks. Think what you could do with that extra time!"

It’s About TIME!
Table of Contents

it's About TIME! provides 5 Steps to True Time Management, a simple, easy to understand system for setting priorities, managing time, focusing on what's important, and getting things done.The book provides presents a completer approach and illustrates all forms and tools required, which you can download from the web using the URL link provided in the book. The book provides many specific tips in the forms of Dos and Don'ts that help you save time be effective.

Table of Contents

What Is In This Book for You?

Time Management and the 5 Steps: Thou Art Mortal, Introduction to the 5 Steps, Time Management 101, Make the Commitment, Dos and Don’ts

Step 1: Make Choices and Set Goals: Set Time Goals with a 1-2-3 Approach, Stop and Think About What You Really Want, Set Priorities and Make Decisions, Turn Your Decisions into Specific Goals, Dos and Don’ts

Step 2: Know Where Your Time Goes: Where Does Time Go?, Log Your Time, How to Maintain a Time Log, Make Changes, Dos and Don’ts

Step 3: Plan Your Weeks: Weekly Planners Achieve More, Adopt a Weekly Planning Habit, Plan Your Weeks on Friday, Paul’s Experience, What is a Weekly Plan?, Set Your Goals for Next Week, Commit to Achieving Your Goals, Map Out a Plan for the Week, Weekly Planner Options, Review and Learn, Make Changes, Rosa’s Story, Dos and Don’ts

Step 4: Make Each Day Count: The Most Important Progress to Make, Start Each Day with a List of Thunderbolts, What Is a Thunderbolt?, Thunderbolts Are Different, The Power of Thunderbolts, Prepare Tomorrow’s Thunderbolts Today, How to Prepare a Thunderbolt List in 5 Steps, Special Thunderbolt Tips, Chunk Your Time, Getting Creative to Chunk Your Time, Investing Your Chunks of Time, Jim’s Chunking Time Story, Time Bandit Robbery, When and How to Say No, Other Time Bandits to Avoid, Sometimes It Is Hard to Say No, Get Yourself a Hideaway, Try the Five O’clock Club, Dos and Don’ts

Step 5: Work Smarter: Be Systematic, Create Tools and Processes, Look at Your Work Flow, Begin with a Strong, Bold First Step, Simplify, Eliminate Clutter, How to Manage Your To Do List, Tips for In-Box Processing, Use a Color-Coded Filing System, Email Tips, How to Quit Procrastinating, Make Meetings Effective, The Myth of Multitasking, Don’t Always Press for Perfection, Acquire Better Habits, Improve Continually, Delfine’s Story, Dos and Don’ts

The Three Magic Pieces of Paper: Daily Time Log Instructions, Daily Time Log Form, Weekly Plan Instructions, Weekly Plan Form, Thunderbolts Card Instructions, Thunderbolts Card Form

6-Week Action Plan for Success: Week-by-week action steps

Index and Resources: Carpe Diem! Free Resources, About the Authors, Other Books by the Authors, Index, Seminars and Train-the-Trainer Programs

"It does no good to save time if you do not spend the time you save the way you want to spend it."

What's In It for You and Your Organization?

It's About TIME! contains foundation principles for managing yourself and getting things done.

For Individuals: Read this book and apply its principles when you want to:

• Be more effective
• Get more done
• Set your priorities
• Quit wasting time
• Quit procrastinating
• Manage your time
• Put balance into your life
• Reduce stress and have more fun

For Leaders and Managers: Give this book to your associates and team members when you want to:

• Increase your team's effectiveness
• Improve performance
• Improve results
• Improve respect for each other's time
• Avoid surprises
• Make your results more predictable and reliable

"I personally was skeptical because I have read various books on time management with no resulting effect on my ability to manage my time. The motivational approach to the value of time combined with the methods to focus and prioritize was inspiring as well as practical."

Benefits for Individuals

• Use a systematic approach that puts you in control
  
  
• Discover the two most powerful techniques for increasing daily effectiveness and results
  
  
• Gain freedom, flexibility, and balance in your schedule
  
  
• Be proactive and predictable instead of reactive and chaotic
  
  
• Eliminate time wasters
  
  
• Quit procrastinating and start doing what must be done
  
  
• Get more done in less time with less stress
  
  
• Make greater progress toward your goals each day
  
  
• Use 3 Magic Pieces of Paper to manage your time and achieve your goals
  
  
• Set priorities and stay focused on important goals
  
  
• Learn three simple techniques for saying NO to Time Bandits
  
  
• Get organized, simplify, and clean out four types of clutter that may be bogging you do

About the Authors

James R. Ball, Jim to everyone, is president and CEO of The Goals Institute. Jim co-founded The Goals Institute to help businesses and organizations achieve their potential through goal achievement. Jim previously was co-founder and CEO of Venture America, a venture capital firm, and before that he was a Managing Partner at Arthur Andersen. Jim has been an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University and he has provided keynotes and executive seminars for hundreds of organizations.

Jim previously was co-founder and CEO of Venture America, a venture capital firm that helped launch and develop twenty companies, including The Discovery Channel.

Before that, he was a managing partner at Arthur Andersen in charge of an office that served rapid growth technology companies. Jim also was in charge of the training and professional development programs for Andersen's staff associates and managers in the Washington, DC area.

Jim has been an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University where he co-founded GMU’s Entrepreneurial Institute, Inc. Jim has a degree in accounting and is a member of many professional organizations.

Jennifer Kuchta (cook-ta) is Vice President and Publisher of The Goals Institute. Jennifer is an author and co-creator of our learning programs and tools. She oversees customer service, our website, and all aspects of the editing, publishing, and production side of our business. Jennifer previously was in charge of administration at Venture America and before that she was a marketing support specialists for fine arts. Jennifer graduated from Michigan Technological University with a degree in Accounting.

The Goals Institute has many clients in many industries. See the About Us section of the web site of The Goals Institute for an illustrative listing of clients and for comments from clients on programs provided. Jim and Jennifer are the authors of the books below. For more information on these books, please visit our Bookstore.

Books in the Keep It Simple for Success® series

• Professionalism Is for Everyone
• ABCs for Life
• It’s About TIME!
• The Anacondas in Life
• World-Class Customer Service.

Other books:

• GOALS: Wisdom, Insights, and Strategies
• Soar . . . If You Dare
• DNA Leadership through Goal-Driven Management
• The Entrepreneur’s Tool Kit
• 10 Best Tips for Closing the Sale
• 10 Best Tips for Getting a Job (scheduled for 2Q 2009)
  

Organizations Using It's About TIME!

Hundreds of organizations have provided It's About TIME! to their managers, associates, and students. Many of these organizations also have had us provide seminars and keynotes on this book or they have purchased our tools for Learning Leaders and provided these programs and presentations themselves.

Some examples of these organizations are Allstate Insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Coldwell Bankers, CPAmerica, Ernst & Young, Freddie Mac, Marriott, McDonald’s, Mitchell Wiggins, Morgan Stanley, the IRS Southbridge Bank, Pfozer, and Virginia Group of CPAs.

"The fundamental principle for time management is in order to 'get time,' you must take it."

Comments from Individuals Who Bought the Book or Attended a Seminar

• “I like the Thunderbolts the best. I don’t know why no one ever taught us this technique before.”
  
  
• “I loved it! It showed me that I can be in control.”
  
  
• “I liked the idea of listing the 5 most important things for tomorrow before you finish your day. The techniques for doing this were so simple I know I will use them forever.”
  
  
• “For me it was the Daily Time Log. Seeing that example reminded me so much of myself and the way most of my days fly right by. I am going to put the Time Log to use next week.”
  
  
• “I liked the idea of preparing a flowchart of how all of my tasks flow so I can find ways to fine tune and improve them. The storyboard concept is cool.”
  
  
• “Scheduling important dates on a calendar, even for my personal priorities, was a big ah ha.”
  
  
• “Chunking time monthly with each member of my family is a great concept. I’ve scheduled my first chunks next week.”
  
  
• “Never thought about having specific goals and plans for the week. I’ve always planned my days. Now I’m going to try the Weekly Planner!”
  
  
• “Visualization was new to me. I never thought of it the way it was explained before. Seems powerful.”
  
  
• “Carrying my Top 3 goals in my wallet is definitely a keeper for me.”
  
  
• “Prioritize! Prioritize! Prioritize! . . . and Eliminate!”
  
  
• “I now realize that my clutter habit is holding me back and costing me time. I’m going to schedule a clean out clutter day like you recommended.”
  
  
• “What I need to do is figure out what is truly important to me and focus on those things. The demonstration of where we spend our time was a real eye opener.”
  
  
• “Time management is really “me” management. I have been fooling myself and realize that I must change my habits in order to achieve my goals.”
  
  
• “I appreciate the fact more that I am not here to spend my time and life the way that other people want me to. I am going to start making my own choices.”
  
  
• “I never thought of thinking about how personal and business goals work together.”
  
  
• “I need to say “No” more often so I can “chunk” my time. Liked the three D approach.”
  
  
• “Clean out clutter!”
  
  
• “Time Logs! I am going to review where and how I am wasting time each day. Great concept.”
  
  
• “It was the best seminar on time management we have ever had. In fact, there was unanimous agreement that it was the best seminar we have ever had on an anything.”
  
  
• “Starting Friday, I’m going to schedule one hour of time in the afternoon to set my priorities and plan for the upcoming weeks – for my staff, too.”
  
  
• “The concept of goal clutter had my name on it. I’m going to pare down my list. Don’t know if I’ll get to the magic number 3, but I’m going to try.”
  
  
• “Thunderbolt list for each day and writing it the day prior were big for me.”
  
  
• “Create chunks of time with my employees and my children.”
  
  
• “Spend one hour a day filing and throwing no matter what! (And do so daily until I’m caught up.)”
  
  
• “Learn to say NO!” to coworkers or in-laws. I’m going to try the ‘May I get back with you after 11:00 o’clock?’ technique.”
  
  
• “I will set ground rules for our weekly meetings using the tips in the book. We waste so much time in meetings. Your approach will do wonders.”
  
  
• “I realize that I need to convert my intentions into habits. I’m going to acquire the lifelong habit of exercising daily, even if it’s just a ten-minute walk.”
  
  
• “I’m going to clean off my desk at home and work so I focus on the task at hand.”
  
  
• “Color coded files will help me find my stuff.”
  
  
• “I never thought about how keeping a time log automatically increases your efficiency, the data reveals what you actually spend time on.”
  
  
• “Getting a hideaway was my action item. I never have ten minutes to myself. This will change.”
  
  
• “The concepts of making every day count and really pressing myself resonated with me.”
  
  
• “Preparing for next week by planning for it on Friday was huge. I have a planner but have never heard that philosophy and I’m going to use it starting this Friday.”
  
  
• “Don’t allow someone else’s priorities to come before your own.”
  
  
• “That I must control my time and priorities by deciding what is important to me each and every day.”
  
  
• “The facts will set you free. This is a great insight.”
  
  
• “I have two children that I will chunk time with.”
  
  
• “Time doesn’t just happen. You happen. You have to plan your time and make things happen.”
  
  
• “Thou art mortal! That was a great story and an incredible reminder to us all.”
  
  
• “Loved the time quotes by the famous people.”

We have many clients using our Teach-It-Yourself Tools. Some examples are AIG, American Cancer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Comcast, HCA. Moss Adams, Schneck Medical Center, and Verizon Wireless.

Teach-It-Yourself Resources on the Contents of this Book

The Goals Institute offers Teach-It-Yourself resources and support for organizations that want to deliver a presentation or provide a seminar on the contents of It's About TIME!. We provide Learning Leader facilitators tools, presentation aids, participant handouts and everything else required.

The resources available include a Facilitator's Guide for use in teaching It's About TIME!, Participant Guides and a copy of the book for participants, Power Point® slides, and many other teaching aids and tools.

Our kits contain everything you need to provide this program in your organization at affordable prices. We even provide telephone consultation to help get you started.

You do not have to attend one of our seminars to be able to teach the seminar to others; our materials are that complete. There is no required instructor certification.

Order online here.

It's About TIME!

5 Steps to True Time Management

Online Book Ordering Information and Volume Discounts: To order the book online, click the appropriate 'buy button' below. To order by phone, please call us at 703-264-2000.

Extra Discounts for Education and Charities
Purchasing in Volume

We offer additional discounts for schools, colleges, and charitable organizations that are purchasing 100 or more books. Please email or call us at the number at the bottom of this page for a 100+ book price quote for schools, colleges, and charities.

Just $3 for Shipping and Delivery: To simplify things, for shipments inside the Continental U.S. we charge a flat $3 shipping charge for each order to one location, no matter how many books you buy. If you are outside the Continental U.S. we will email you a quote for the shipping cost before we ship your order.

We ship orders by US Postal Service and FedEx Ground from Virginia. Orders usually are shipped the next business day after the order is placed. Orders to Western states take several days transit time. If you want overnight, special delivery, or need your order by a specific date, please email or call us to discuss shipping options.