Customer Reviews

The High-Tech Personal Efficiency Program: Organizing Your Electronic Resources to Maximize Your Time and Efficiency

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If you already have Gleeson's "The Personal Efficiency Program : How to Get Organized to Do More Work in Less Time," don't buy this. It has pretty much the same information. It's not "high-tech" at all. Most of the book is like a Computer 101 class. I'm quite disappointed, since I was looking for ways to organize my electronic resources, NOT "how do I create a folder in Win95."

The author uses a great approach: first get your low-tech materials organized, and then move onto the high-tech materials. There is a parallel structure applied to both paper and electronic resources, which is really great for organizing. Great book.

Just a few years after I have started my strategy consulting business (as well as my own book-store) in the early 90's, I spotted a review of this book, 'The Personal Efficiency System (PEP)', in Success Magazine. I bought it immediately & have reread it many times. A few years later, came the second book, The 'High-Tech Personal Efficiency System' by the same author. I bought it immediately too & have read - & refered to - it several times.

From the standpoint of self-management & work productivity, I consider them to be the best in the genre.

In essence, the High Tech PEP book is a further extension of the earlier PEP book. Basically, it shows the reader how to exploit technology (email, groupware, internet, cell phones, etc.) as a personal information management tool & how to apply the low-tech principles of PEP in a high-tech environment.

What I like about both books is the smorgasbord of concrete suggestions & useful checklists from the author. Also, I like the author's superb presentation of his brilliant work as embodied in the two books: each chapter comes with a preview & ends with follow-up action points. Bravo! as these aids make reading a breeze!

In a nut shell, these are the relevant chapters, respectively:

PEP:

Introduction: Personal Efficiency Program - The Missing Link;
Do It Now!
Organize It Now!
Do It Routinely;
Plan It Now!;
Follow-Up & Follow-Through;
Do It Right, Now!;
Do It Now! - From Whereever You Are!
Be a Do It Now Manager;
Organizing the Team to Act Now!;
Maintain It Now;
Epilogue: Just One New Habit;

High-Tech PEP:

Introduction;
Principles at Work;
Organizing Your Workspace;
Organizing Your Computer;
Organizing Yourself with a Computer: Time & Money;
Road Warrior Wisdom;
The Internet & World Wide Web;
Groupware;

Whether you are a desk-bound strategist or road warrior, these two books will undoubtedly equip you with all the proven strategies & practical tools to be a better manager of your projects...your people...your time... & most importantly, yourself!

To end my review, let me recap this wonderful passage from the PEP book:

"The best education doesn't teach you how to work. No matter how well you know your field, you won't be your most effective until you exercise good work habits - until you are able to get things done, on time, & with the most effective use of your resources."

Simplicity is the greatest strength of Gleeson's suggestions for saving time and literally cleaning up your act. She appears to realize that the reader's quest to save time should not begin with a book that takes hours to read and assimilate.

If nothing else, follow one of Gleeson's first suggestions: Remove everything in your desk drawers and place it on the top. Talk about Slob, meet Thyself. The incomprehensible handwritten notes, staff memos from 1995 and rubber band collection should inspire you to at least try Gleeson's other suggestions.