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The Experts' Guide to Doing Things Faster: 100 Ways to Make Life More Efficient

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Samantha Ettus conceived of the third book in her "Experts' Guide" series well before mortgages started to tumble and crater the rest of the economy. I know because, unaccountably, she asked me to be one of her 100 experts for this book. [About what? you may ask. Read on.]

In that long-ago world, we might want to operate faster and more efficiently because we had so damn much to do. Now we read her book through a different lens --- speed and efficiency are survival mechanisms. It's the same book, just put to a different purpose.

As a cheat sheet to efficiency, these screeds are a Rohrsharch test --- you see what you want (or need) to see. There are six sections: Home, Work, Mind, Body, Love, Pleasure, Travel and Future. No way you'll care equally about them all. Many are written by celebrities. None runs much more than 800 words --- before you have time to get bored by advice of no consequence to you, you're on to the next. Think of this book as Exhibit A of its own argument.

Home begins with Barbara Corcoran, one of New York's most successful real estate agents, telling you how to sell. Buyers decide if they want your house within eight seconds of stepping inside, she says. So go to open houses and see what works for you, then look at your house to see what you need to do. As for putting a price on your house...well, I wish I'd had this advice when we put our apartment on the market a few years ago. It would have paid for the price of the book, many times over.

Work. These days, it's very much on my mind, so I leaned in. A "success analyst" --- who knew there was such a gig? --- offers good advice (Focus! Eliminate distractions! Be impatient!) and even better quotes. (Frank Lloyd Wright had the rear window of his car covered because "I never look backward.") The first female solo pilot for the Thunderbirds explains why a fighter mission lasts 30 minutes but the debriefing takes two to four hours. A very rewarding section.

Mind was, for me, the heart of the book, and not just because it includes my modest advice on forming opinions faster. (Short answer: Smart opinions take a long time; while you're working on developing them, steal opinions from others.) How you think is where success starts or falters --- if your head's in the way, it doesn't matter how brilliantly you do laundry or chop carrots. These essays offer half a dozen infallible ways to jumpstart creativity, help you concentrate, judge character, say no, dodge guilt --- and even, literally, bury the hatchet.

Body hits all the right notes. I was pleased to read that your goal in walking isn't to take longer strides but to take faster steps; your stride will lengthen on its own. A boxing cutman --- there's an expert! --- tells you how to stop the bleeding. A competitive eating champ reveals a cure for stomach aches (no, it's not ginger ale). A nutritionist explains why eating celery isn't a good substitute when you're starving for pizza.

Women who would never pay a trillion bucks for a Sally Hershenberger haircut may crave her styling tips. And for all I know, Laura Mercier's guide to applying makeup unlocks a vital koan. I was moved by "Recover from a Loss" by Dan Gottlieb, who has survived paralysis, divorce, depression and the deaths of loved ones. I questioned most of the relationship advice, but with my track record, why listen to me?

I was delighted to know how to cruise through airport security without hassle and I welcomed a few easy ways to better gas mileage, but I didn't really pump a fist of approval until I read Thomas Farley, whose piece about manners ends the book. For he connects the dots. The way to get ahead faster --- and by that I mean, live more vividly on your way to whatever goal --- is a paradox: Slow down and really see other people.

Along the way, others had hinted at this: the 42-year doorman at the Plaza Hotel, a pick-up artist, an expert on female 'satisfaction'. And here, now, was the author of the "Social Graces" column in Town & Country saying to hand-write thank-you notes, don't multi-task when making phone calls, pay attention to others. In other words: Do the dull stuff fast, the better to have time for the quality stuff.

So forgive Samantha Ettus her curious choice in contributors. Skip the parts that don't apply to you. There's some gold in these pages --- take your foot off the accelerator when you hit it

I loved this book! It seemed like every chapter had some great gem of advice I came away with. And each chapter is written by a leading expert so no two are alike. My favorite chapter was the one on how to reduce the length of meetings. Verne Harnish suggests starting a meeting at 9:08 instead of 9 because the off hour gets people show up on time. My wife and I loved Barbara Corcoran's how to sell a home. But I also found Richard Branson's advice on getting a loan very solid as well. There's Colin Cowie (Oprah's Party Planner) writing "How to Plan a Dinner Party" and perhaps my favorite - world champion competitive eater Crazy Legs Conti (who holds the world record in twinkies and pancakes) writes "How to cure a stomach ache". A gold medal, world record sprinter writes "How to run faster". This book is going to be my go-to gift. This is not another overly detailed "how to book" --- each of the 100 chapters provides a fun 3-4 page overview. Even in the areas that I thought I knew it all I learned a whole bunch of new things.

I loved the premise behind THE EXPERTS' GUIDE TO DOING
THINGS FASTER by Samantha Ettus; i.e., to become more
efficient in every aspect of every day.

Ettus presents 100 different ideas in short but insightful chapters
that included daily essentials, lifestyle lessons, beauty basics,
romance road maps, physical feats, money matters and healthy
hints . . . she chose 100 of the word's leading experts to
write them,, ranging from Hannah Storm on getting ready in the
morning to Sir Richard Branson on getting a loan . .. some
names were not immediately recognizable, such as New York's
most famous doorman ("Make Someone Feel Good") and an
Olympic eater ("Cure a Stomachache"), but that did not take
away from the value of their advice.

I learned much from reading this book, and methinks you will
too . . . for instance:

* [reducing the length of meetings] Start at a specific time each day,
and make it an odd one, like 8:08 a.m. or 4:44 p.m. I've observed
a strange psychological pattern: people are more likely to be prompt
when the start time is not on the half or quarter hour. (Worried that
you'll forget the meeting while traveling? Set a recurring reminder
alarm on your cell phone or Black Berry.)

* [returning phone calls] Stay away from message dumping (e.g.,
calling a person's office to leave a message at 9 p.m. when you know
they've left for the day). This practice is transparent and reflects poorly
on you. The only way to close a deal or reach a resolution
on something is to speak with the person directly.

Some ideas were so good that they were repeated--in slightly
different fashion--in different chapters, such as:

* [achieving success] Distractions are the enemy of focused
attention. A successful race car driver told me, "A little bit
of distraction and you could have a really bad day." . . . Deborah
McGiness, senior research scientist at Stanford, said to me,
"Getting my degree, every year I cut out things. I remember the
year I sacrificed movies. I just said, 'I can't afford the time. I'll
put movies back in my life again once I finish the Ph.D.' "

* [unleash your creativity] Clear the deck so that you can focus
your energies on the area in which creativity is needed. Completely
unplug yourself from your phones, computer, email, television,
radio, and any other distractions from people and pets.

So that said, I guess it's time for me to stop taking calls
and answering emails . . . and, also, turn-off the DVD I'm
half-watching.

Beyond amazing... I read Samantha's Experts Guide in one sitting the night I received it. Entertaining and useful, the book now sits on my desk at work...everyone in my office, from my nurses to my patients enjoy the witty advice. My personal favorites are Sally Horchows tips on friendship and Colin Cowie's advice for parties. Samantha compiled a stellar cast of authors. As a single mom of two small children, and a doctor who works six days a week, I pride myself in doing most everything at lightening speed....BUT this book has taught me to take life to the next level. Thank you Samantha!!!! Dr. Gervaise Gerstner

After reading the other books in this series, I wasn't sure I had much else to learn. Well, it turns out I was wrong. This newest compilation of expert advice has all sorts of valuable guidance on a wide array of topics, so it not only wisened me up, but also makes a smart gift for just about anyone.

This book is a compilation of best practices from several experts in the areas of improving personal productivity and getting things more done in less time. This is a personal favorite topic of mine and was planning to read this book with keen interest.

There are really 100 topics covering any possible you can think of and the experts provide the 5-minute sound bite of their thesis around that topic. I picked five topics after reading this easy and simple to read book,

1. Clean your home - Create a weekly task sheet by each room in the house that delineates the area, time, description of work and product used.
2. Train your brain - Play games like Catch Phrases or Scattergories, which combine intelligence, frame of references. Run through possible scenarios for any given interaction. Study yourself and find your weaknesses and take steps to convert them into strengths
3. Read and Comprehend - Scope (2 sec per page looking for the big picture), Schema (thumb from rear to front, looking at illustrations, captions), Scan (Start from beginning looking for headings and subheadings, bold, italics - Create a 2 column table and in column one list all new vocabulary, dates, headers and questions), Skim (Read through the text to complete the table filling out the 2nd column).
4. Healthy Snacking - Celery sticks filled with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter or hummus, ½ cup of nonfat cottage cheese, Soy chips, Air-popped popcorn
5. Posture - Tuck in your tummy and pull your rib cage and stretch the top of your head.


Overall a great idea but the depth is too shallow to make a lasting impact. A good book to browse from the local library and decide which of the topics interest you and then buy that book.

Your trying to run faster in this world,

Fred

Samantha Ettus has done it again. She had me at The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do, her book that came out in 2004. And I have been hooked every since.

The Experts' Guide to Doing Things Faster: 100 Ways to Make Life More Efficient just further reinforces her status of knowing what her readers want. As a person who wears many hats (psychologist, author, consultant, speaker, mother, wife...) I am like the rest of our society, trying to figure out how to complete items on my to-do list. This book is such a gift.

Each chapter is concise and easy to read by the experts. My favorites tidbits of info include:

* Make yourself memorable (by Nicholas Boothman): "Talk in Color" by using vivid language appealing to the senses to describe situations or people. He gives the example of Warren Buffet who, when asked if he liked his work, replied "I tap-dance to work."

* Iron (by the Queen of Steam Barbara Zagnoni): Unable to even remember the last time I ironed (was it in the 90's?), I had a pair of pants that needed a good pressing in the 31 seconds I had before I was off to give a keynote speech. THANKFULLY I had already read Barbara's chapter because that was all the time I needed. Even if you think you will never need to iron, read this chapter. It will come in handy someday.

* Find a lost child in a crowd (by Clint Van Zandt): Every parent's nightmare, this 25 year FBI veteran offers great advice like proactively putting a letter in your child's pocket with your cell phone, having your children wear brightly colored clothes and pointing out a rendezvous place should anyone get lost. He also recommends you praise your child, rather that get angry with them, when they are found after being lost. Scolding them will only make your scared loved one feel worse.

Thanks to Samantha and all of her experts!
'

As a mother of 3 with not a second to spare, I find this book to be an incredible resource. We could all use more efficiency in our lives and this well-organized, clear and concise book shows us how to insert it into almost every aspect of our lives. I will definitely be giving this book to all of my friends as a holiday gift.

I have truly enjoyed reading this book and learning from the many perspectives provided by the various authors. The book is fun to read and fast. I have enjoyed the many "pearls" of wisdom from the "Experts' Guide to Doing Things Faster". This is a great gift!

"The Experts Guide to Doing Things Faster" contains 2-3 pages of advice on 100 different topics. Unfortunately, the book is worthless because the material is sometimes incomplete, contradictory, and/or misfiled, but mostly because the material is easily accessed alternatively through the Internet - saving the cost and bother of buying and storing another book.

Example of Incomplete Material: The section on "Go Green" did not include recommendations to pump up one's tires, consolidate trips, and drive less aggressively by looking ahead.

Contradictory Advice: One section recommended using the dishwasher to save energy, another recommended doing dishes by hand.

Strange Filing: "Teach a Dog to Sit" is filed under the section "Love."