Making the time to read for my Personal MBA is not always easy. Between work, and the teaching I do at the local college, it can be difficult to make the time. Add on to that I am speaking at an on-line conference (e-Learner Guild) in just a few days.
However, I’m still doing my reading. You can see my first full review of the The Art of Exceptional Living as I’ve finished with it, in just a few days.
My second “book” The Art of Exceptional Living, arrived just now. I say “book” because it is actually an audio book. So why get a book on tape or CD.
I was thinking about the way I spend time, and how I can be more effective (see my previous posts about The Effective Executive). I spend 35-45 minutes each way, each day, headed to work. I figured that if I could get some of that time to be productive with my Personal MBA “reading” I can kill two birds with one stone as they say.
So I think I will be getting the audio book any time I can, so I can be more efficient, and make sure that I get through as many texts as I need to, to keep my schedule.
Book or Audio Book
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I’ve been reading The Effective Executive and have already been able to pull some good information from it, despite only starting a couple of days ago.
The two biggest things I can pull from the book so far is:
The use of time is the essence of the second chapter. Drucker recommends keeping a log to see how your time is actually being spent. I view my day, realized what I should be doing by time, vs. what I am doing by time, and I wasn’t so happy with the results.
Your contribution made a large part of the third chapter. Each person can contribute, and can contribute different things. The key is to contribute the right things at the right time. Items, thoughts, and processes which can lead to long term growth and sustainability.
So I’ve started working on cutting out unimportant things, or things which are not as time critical. One thing is reducing the number of times I check on the news and my RSS feeds. By blocking off times to focus on them, I can be be more efficient with my remaining time, focusing without the interruption. I’ve noticed this has actually helped shave 30 minutes off my morning routine time, allowing me to squeeze some extra work out time in.
Learning what and how to contribute is more difficult, especially for the so called “knowledge worker”. Drucker mentions how someone on the assembly line knows exactly what they contribute. But it isn’t always so clear for someone who produces or works with knowledge situations. So we have to look at how we can expand beyond those areas, or as a minimum make the most effective use of the area we are in.
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My copy of the The Effective Executive arrived today.
Now I’ll admit, I have a used copy, and I have to say, I am a bit surprised. It is yellow and old. Not bad, just not what I was expecting. I was thinking, you know the “best business books” would be full of new insights…. But then I was thinking, if something is truly good, shouldn’t it be good for a long time?
So I originally was starting to get discouraged, but then I thought I shouldn’t. I should be encouraged that the book has stood the test of time, and will be good not just for today, but for a while.
I’ll be adding my notes and reviews about the book soon.
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So I’ve requested my first books for my PMBA a couple of days ago. (I actually ordered them a little before the new year.) They should be arriving soon. I know some are coming before others.
I’ll let you know when they start coming in, and be giving my impression of them when they get here.