How to Have a 48-Hour Day: Get Twice as Much Done as You Do Now! [Paperback]

Don Aslett (Author), Val C. Bagley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1996

?How to Have a 48-Hour Day is an entertaining, common sense page-turner of a book on productivity by a very productive person. It is not a compilation of research written in a stuffy, academic way, nor is it a hook to buy an elaborate and expensive calendar or software. It is, quite simply a highly-readable, powerfully motivating book you?ll find difficult to put down.? The man who helps Americans do their housework 75% faster and better now shows how you can apply this magic to every area of your life. This is the book Don wrote to answer the thousands of people who have asked him, ?How do you get so much done, Don?? There have been many books on time management, but here is a refreshingly different one that really delivers (readers agree!). A book that will show you how to achieve the impossible dream, how to ?stretch? the clock and DOUBLE your usable time, every day.

Product Details

• Paperback: 151 pages
• Publisher: Marsh Creek Press (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0937750131
• ISBN-13: 978-0937750131
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #725,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Don Aslett, owner and founder of one of the USA's largest and most successful cleaning companies--and self-made millionaire--has revolutionized both the home and the workplace with his popular cleaning services, products, and books

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Presentation of Common Sense, January 29, 2003

By 

Jason M. Waskiewiczx (Bowman, ND USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Have a 48-Hour Day: Get Twice as Much Done as You Do Now! (Paperback)

I work a lot. I spend my day teaching and then return to the school and spend my entire evening preparing to teach. I write my own materials and do not rely on the textbooks at all.

You can see something must have changed, because you are reading this. Clearly I have the time to write it.

As I read this book, I was struck again and again by how much of it I already knew. I was also struck by how little of it I did. For example, some evenings, I would convince myself it was vital to get my desk organized before I started writing. Then, of course, I need to put away those test tubes, and I might as well brew another cup of coffee, and then...

I still come back to school in the evening. Now I come back with a plan. I follow that plan. If putting away test tubes isn't in it, I don't do that. However, Aslett recommends combining jobs. So, if I need to grab a book off my shelf (which is near where the test tubes are stored), I take my test tubes with me.

Aslett also recommends just simply doing the job. I despise correcting papers. Sometimes they can build up into a huge stack. Now, I just do them. Once they're done, I can do the parts of teaching I like.

Another thing he points out is that the busier we are, the more we get done. That is true. I will accomplish nothing at home. Watching TV is a waste of time, so I don't have it. I realize how easy it is to sit down in front of it and do nothing. It is not relaxing.

As you can see from my selection of changes in my life, there is nothing here that is new. What Aslett does is take what we already know and articulate it and force us to confront it. That is the power of his writing. He puts the reader in the spotlight and, no matter how much they squirm, they are forced to face why they are not productive.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST Use of Your Money!, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Have a 48-Hour Day: Get Twice as Much Done as You Do Now! (Paperback)

I love this book. It is an entertaining, easy read with lots of fresh information about how to produce more in limited time. The author doesn't pontificate--he just shares the methods that have worked so spectacularly well for him. Sure he's a workaholic. But if your objective is to actually get more ACCOMPLISHED in your limited time, then this is by far the best and most useful of the many, many time-management books I have read over the years.

I particularly liked his innovative "bulk" approach to hacking through a To-Do list. I have never seen this method written up anywhere else, and it really does work! Also, the entire "Be Early" chapter is a gem that really hit home for a chronic procrastinator.

It is a "Type A" world out there, and using Mr. Aslett's methods frees up more time for the important things--family, faith, personal enrichment. If you want a touchy-feely discussion of "smelling the roses", then go elsewhere. If you want to see how it is possible to get it all DONE so you have time for a rich personal life, then this book will get you there.

I reread this book every few months, and it has made my life better. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent primer for getting a lot done!, July 18, 2002

By 

"paulestofpauls" (Charlottesville, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Have a 48-Hour Day: Get Twice as Much Done as You Do Now! (Paperback)

Aslett's book is uniquely beneficial in my view. While most such books focus on some "method" of getting a lot done, Aslett focuses more on the obstacles to accomplishment, particularly people's common actions that waste time.

What is truly unique, however,is that his book exhibits a certain "philosophy" of accomplishment. Some of this comes through directly in things to do in order to get a lot more done. But other such aspects are more "between the lines," and in the end it really leads you a mindset that is keenly aware of how much more you could be doing.

The book does not contain such things as sample schedules and prioritization lists. This is not a book of techniques and tips, but rather seeks to make accomplishment more of an "inside-out" process.

The reviewer who complained that the book would make the reader into a workaholic if followed completely missed the point. This book is about doing more, but it's not about slaving away at the office. It does talk about doing your work quickly and well, but much more fundamentally, it talks about doing MORE THINGS, things you find personally fulfilling and important. It's for people who rather be doing something personally meaningful than smelling roses; most of the would-be rose-smellers will probably never "have enough time" to plant their garden anyway!

In short, it's made a tremendous impact on the way I see and conduct my life -- I get things done, and a MORE of them, than I used to. And quite the contrary to being a depressed, bitter "Type A workaholic," I am also much happier and more fulfilled than I was before!