Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management (Paperback)

~ Mark Forster (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Aimed at those who have trouble completing assignments on time as well as anyone looking to lead a well-organized life, this innovative handbook takes a unique approach to time management. Efficiency expert Mark Forster shows that prioritizing tasks is never a sufficient approach to organizing a schedule, and is rarely even helpful. In the place of prioritization he posits several radical new ideas, including closed lists, the manyana principle, and the “will do” list. Innovative forms of communication that are designed to produce effective conversation and planning are also provided. The result is a complete system which will boost efficiency and simultaneously decrease stress and overworking.

About the Author

Mark Forster is the author of Help Yourself Get Everything Done and How to Make Your Dreams Come True.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340909129
• ISBN-13: 978-0340909126
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars buy it immediately, September 20, 2006

By	Sandra Niven (Atlanta,, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is easy to read, informative, well written, fun, short and practical. Buy it immediately!! If I had had to pay $500 for this book, it would have been worth it. The book addresses the nuts and bolts of getting through the day easily and with grace. . The author understands that most of us have a misguided sense of urgency and teaches us how to be selective in terms of declaring what is urgent so that you can stay on track with what you planned for the day. The book helps you get everything done you are committed to, so that nothing falls through the cracks. Your kitchen floor is just as important as the report due on your boss's desk. How you can get both the mundane and the big projects done day by day is the meat of the book. Project work due in a week, or a month becomes a piece of cake-because you learn to start it right away and keep going in little steps. I already feel more relaxed since I have started followed his suggestions, and am getting more done. I can see that it would be possible to be on top of everything, which would make life a pure delight. I had never seen that possibility before even as a time management consultant! There is nothing like it out there as much fun, doable and original in the time management field. Once you try some of his suggestions you will truly be in a position to go for your dream life. But on the other hand by doing what he suggests, you may already find yourself living it. If you are always struggling to get a grip on time like most of us----this is the book for you.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Time Management Book Ever, March 6, 2008

By	Burton Kent "lifehacker" (Naperville, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mark's book is amazing, and following his principles has changed my life. He gives concrete ways to work -with- our natural resistance to whatever we might need to do.

For example, most of us use to-do lists. Mark recommends closed lists. Instead of our to-do list being a never-ending story - you finish what you're doing.

His method of dealing with backlog is killer. No - it doesn't involve throwing it out or ignoring it. Instead it makes the backlog entirely managable. Imagine coming back from a month long vacation and being relaxed about what you need to do?

A lot of people like David Allen's "Getting Things Done" and I do too. But even David needs to be listening to Mark. Want proof? After he wrote Getting Things Done, he put out his newsletter VERY sporadically and always apologized for it. I'm sure he now has systems and people in place now to get the newsletter out the door - but if his system worked - he'd have it together. He didn't.

The two books together are a good combination, but "Do It Tomorrow" definitely comes first - by far.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's about productivity, not procrastination!, December 6, 2006

By	Show -N- Tell "Will" (Southeast, USA) - See all my reviews

"Do It Tomorrow"

Although I don't like the title of the book at first glance because of the tendency to think that procrastination is occurring, the depth of the book and the usefulness of it make it one book that I will never loan out.

This book is about the combination of skills including drawing a line in the sand with backlog work and creating what's called a "closed" list of daily work. The unique benefit of creating a closed list is that you truly learn what you are capable of doing within one day. This, of course, helps you determine when and if you should hire an assistant and what work you can possibly delegate to them to increase your own productivity.

When I use the principles from this book combined with the classification of work as described by D. Allen in Getting Things Done ("at computer", "phone", "waiting for", etc.), I'm actually getting more things done with less stress!

I wrote the author when he first started teaching these skills in seminars over in the U.K. a year or two ago. Unable to travel to the UK, I kept sending an occasional letter asking for a book. I'm glad I waited for two reasons:

1. The material is unique in many ways. It is because of flipping something on its head that allows me to enjoy some INCREDIBLY productive days that leave me filled with energy about accomplishment knowing I did the best I could possibly do with my time.
2. The material is something I can use to teach my employees how to better manage their time in an office that doesn't always have the ability to work completely off a closed list, due to emergencies and procedure/process execution.

I'm still working out some kinks, but have found his online blog help very useful for answering questions related to the book.

This book is 5 star on useful information!