How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life
by Alan Lakein · first published 1989
8mentions
7recommended by
7HN commenters
2009–2018first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Practical, short guide to planning and setting priorities, with useful tips for both long-term goals and day-to-day work; often recommended to people who want to organize their time and get more done.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…self-discipline and healthy routine can also help manage information overload. And the professionals you reference probably can supply some of that (e.g. Alan Lakein's 1973 classic on setting priorities "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life").
on “Elon Musk emails employees about 'extensive and damaging sabotage' by employee” ↗I would read about Buckminster Fuller. He had the same goal. For example, "Critical Path" is a good start. Another book to consider is "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life" by Alan Lankin. Invest time to understand yourself. This could be learning about Zen/Buddhism or just taking time out to journal, take walks, etc. As a member of Hacker News, you might want to look…
on “Ask HN: How to be happier ” ↗Ask yourself constantly "What is the most important thing I could be doing right now?" and act on it. Forget GTD and read "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life", by Alan Lakein.
on “Ask HN: How do you fight procrastination?” ↗There is a great self-help book I can recommend: 'How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life' by Alan Lakein Its about planning and he gives a lot of useful tips, both long-term and short term. see the discussion here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1023655
on “Ask HN: do you have a five year plan?” ↗Fully agree. Prioritised to-do lists changed my life. There's a helpful little book, "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life" by Alan Lakein that lays it all out. Highly recommended, although it dates back to the '70s so some of the work examples used are, er, anachronistic.
on “How Jeff Atwood works” ↗…was my pastime of choice in the early 80's. TNWEC became my card catalog for the rest of the store, and turned me on to an attitude of practical self-improvement. Just one of the many finds inside was 'How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life' by Alan Lakein, which, almost single handedly, saved my college career through a little simple prioritization and organization.
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗'How to Get Control of your Time and your Life'; can anyone recommend an equally wonderful book -- but for personal finances?
on “Lakein's Howto Book...” ↗…book: When I was a young man just out of law school and eager to get on with my life, on a whim I briefly put aside my reading preference for fiction and history and bought one of those how-to books: How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein. The book’s main point was the necessity of listing short-, medium-, and long-term life goals, then categorizing them in order of their importance, with the A group being the most important,…
on “The self-help book Bill Clinton used ” ↗