What To Do When There's Too Much To Do: Reduce Tasks, Increase Results, and Save 90 Minutes a Day

by Laura Stack

In today’s world of rapid, disruptive change, strategy can’t be separate from execution—it has to emerge from execution. You have to continually adjust your strategy to fit new realities. But if your organization isn’t set up to be fast on its feet, you could easily go the way of Blockbuster or Borders.

Laura Stack shows you how to quickly drive strategic initiatives and get great results from your team. Her LEAD Formula outlines the Four Keys to Successful the ability to Leverage your talent and resources, design an Environment to support an agile culture, create Alignment between strategic priorities and operational activities, and Drive the organization forward quickly. She includes a leadership team assessment, group reading guides, and bonus self-development resources. Stack will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and inspiration to help you hit the ground running!

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Productivity, Personal Development, Audiobook

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE, is best known by her moniker “The Productivity Pro®.” Stack is an award-winning keynote speaker, bestselling author, and noted authority on sales, leadership, and team productivity. She is the President & CEO of The Productivity Pro, Inc., a boutique consulting firm helping leaders increase workplace performance in high-stress environments.

For over 30 years, Laura Stack’s keynote speeches and seminars have helped associations and Fortune 1000 corporations improve output, increase speed in execution, and save time in the office. She is a high-energy, high-content speaker, who educates, entertains, and motivates professionals to deliver bottom-line results. Stack is a member of the prestigious CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, which has fewer than 200 members worldwide). She has earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association, of which she was its president in 2011-2012.

Laura Stack is the bestselling author of nine books published by Random House, Wiley, and Berrett-Koehler, including her newest, The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana: Johnny Stack’s Life and Death Story (Freiling, July 2021). Her books have been published in more than 20 foreign editions, and she is a featured columnist for the American Business Journal, LinkedIn, Time Management, and Productive magazines. Stack has produced more than 50 online productivity training programs.

Laura Stack has been featured nationally on the CBS Early Show, CNN, NPR, Bloomberg, the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, and Forbes magazine. Stack has been a spokesperson for Fellowes, Microsoft, 3M, Skillsoft, Office Depot, Day-Timer, and Xerox. Her client list includes top Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Aramark, Bank of America, GM, Wells Fargo, and Time Warner, plus government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Air Force Academy, the Census Bureau, the U.S. Senate, and the Department of Defense.

Reviews

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Self-help productivity books are WAY too long. So. Many. Words. They love to tell long personal stories (boring - sorry) and quote studies and statistics (also zzzzz.)

Just promising me a way to be more efficient is enough - please don't tell me you're going to teach me how not to waste time by ... wasting my time.

Most of the information in these books could be conveyed in a few sentences. Here you go:

Figure out the most important things you could be doing (easier said than done, but worth thinking about.)

Figure out your time-wasters. (Probably the internet/social media/email for most of us.)

Don't multi-task.

Keep a master list and a daily "hit list"

Block out time when you're most productive and least distracted to tackle your most challenging tasks

Learn to say NO

Learn to focus - spoiler: turn off your electronics.

Examine some of the time-draining things you do regularly and see if you can make them more efficient. (Parenting? hahahaha)

Take care of your health and diet. Schedule time for sleep, exercise, socialization and relaxation.

[heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was well-researched and well-argued, and there are some great concrete tips, especially about managing the inflow of documents and email. It will probably change the way I triage email, at least a bit.

I also agree that the principal of doing one thing at a time and doing it well is something we could all stand to do better. Multitasking is not the greatest productivity aide ever. Rather the opposite.

This part was written especially for me and my email process:
"Indecision. We don’t determine whether tasks are in or out or even relevant or not, so we leave them on our lists, which causes us to have to repeat the evaluation process again— putting them back into our ‘decide later’ consciousness, lengthening our to-do lists, filling our inboxes, and expanding our perceptions of how much we have to do."

Also, I actually did this with my boss, and it was enlightening:
"If you made a list of the top ten things you believe you’re responsible for, and then asked your manager to do the same, and compared the two lists, would they be the same? If not, you have a problem, because you aren’t spending your time in ways that are valuable to your best customer."

HOWEVER. I thought it was catastrophically judgy about attention span. Stack assumes that people can just bear down and work, and that this is a matter of willpower. Those of us on the ADD spectrum, who get in a guilt loop about trouble Just Focusing, are ill-served by this attitude.

On the bright side, I had one datapoint confirming my theory that I would be made less irritated by a productivity book written by a woman than the ones written by men.

Read if: You are looking to become an Outlook ninja. You like the idea of recapturing time leaks.

Skip if: You can't deal with "just focus" advice. You are not working a desk/computer job.

Also read: Watership Down, my favorite book on leadership.Watership Down

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing new here. Not very inspirational either.

[Mex · Rating 1 out of 5]

Completely worthless unless you are a total moron. Tips like don't waste time gossiping and you'll get more stuff done. Does *ANYBODY* need to be told this?

[Odette Brethouwer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit boek richt zich voornamelijk op kantoorwerk - iets wat ik niet doe. Maar verder wel veel goede tips opgedaan over niet alles moeten willen doen. Want soms moet je gewoon dingen anders gaan doen wil je een ander resultaat krijgen, en dit boek heeft dan wel veel handige tips.

Het leest lekker vlot weg, en de indeling is ook duidelijk genoeg dat je minder relevante dingen sneller kunt scannen of zelfs kunt skippen. Echt wel wat van opgestoken, voor werk én privé!

[Sachin Ganpat · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book offers some good tips, but feels generic. The last chapter touched on lots of other tips such as exercise and sleep, but stops short of saying why.

The process is very similar to the David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology. She even references the "Tickler File" that I've only ever seen in David Allen's book. At no point in the book, however, did she mention David or the GTD methodology. Considering that GTD came out in 2001, and this book in 2010, it appears that her 6D's methodology a copy of GTD. There is one improvement though, calling the "waiting" or "pending" file as a "date" file, so you get to that file when a date has reached.

She often talks about using MS Outlook for organising To Do's and email, which is fine if you use that, but I've turned my back on Outlook a long time ago, and have never looked back.

On the whole, it was okay. It's a good primer if you are now getting into productivity. If you've never heard of GTD or David Allen you would definitely get more value from this book than I did.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Standard self help book in that most of the info seeems to be common sense. Of course, the advice of hiring someone to help with household chores indicates that the intended audience is also probably well above my income level. Optimistically, one could modify some concepts if you're not in her mid management/business world readers. But it'd need some creative thinking.

[Lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice and useful tips to enhance productivity but nothing extremely innovative or groundbreaking.

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there are portions that are out of date, given the move from paper to computer, most of her advice is pretty timeless. She is a strong proponent of “reduce, reduce, reduce” and “say no” and I appreciated her emphasis on getting rid of things before they even arrive on your desk or in your inbox. I still use the systems I set up after a class with her, long ago.

[Mike Kowis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about the advice given in this book. On the one hand, some of it makes perfect sense (start the day early and focus on getting your work done, avoid using social media during work hours, etc.). However, some of the advice seems bad to me. For example, I don't agree with the author's advice on avoiding small-talk in the office with co-workers. Sure, that could save some time and allow you to get more work done, but realistically acting like a uncaring, anti-social robot in the office will likely hurt your relationships with co-workers. In the long-run, I think spending a few minutes here and there to get to know your co-workers will most likely result in better collaberation and more productivity.

To be fair, I read a little more than half of this book before I gave up (which is very unusual as I normally read a book cover to cover once I start it). As stated above, I didn't agree with all of the advice and the advice that I did agree with seemed like common sense and something I've read in other books. This is not a bad book, but it's definitely not the best.

[Jamie Belanger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit I got a chuckle at the author pointing out the irony of spending time reading a book about saving time. There are some good tips about using triage methods to cut down on how much information you have coming at you every day, and reducing your todo lists. I found the most use in those parts, and put them to use by cutting down how often I look at email, cleaning out my inboxes, and cutting back on how much mental energy I waste on watching news feeds. Beyond that, this book read like a slightly expanded version of David Allen's Getting Things Done, complete with references to a "tickler file" and advice regarding delegating and deleting tasks.

There's no groundbreaking method here, and I don't see how this book could possibly save anyone 90 minutes a day, but every little bit helps; I have noticed my email is easier to deal with now that I've gotten into the habit of cleaning out my inbox every time I check it. And this book has motivated me to reduce clutter and turn off annoying popups and reminders when I'm working, so I can concentrate more.

[Kjen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non-Fiction???? I know, right?! I actually read this book planning to use the "90 minutes a day" to read...lol! Some good concepts, a good quote or two, and just common sense made up the author's time-saving plan. This book was mostly for applications in the business/work world. It didn't specifically say that, and I was hoping for more spill over into personal/home life. I will try to apply some of the basic priority advice, but really not worth the read for me.

[Kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

ti was hoping this book would get me organized and make me more efficient at home, but this book is very much directed to work. I am currerntly unemployed due to my job being outsourced and is not applicable tome at the moment, so I will not be reading this at the moment. Since I didnot read this, I will not rate it.

[Harry Vinh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few useful tips here and there, especially ones that help you improve your information systems and your eating habits!

[Micah Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really find any new ideas in this book. While the ideas she presents are worthwhile, there isn't anything that really struck me as new or more than common sense.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 2 out of 5]

I obviously didn't internalize a darn thing from this one. Alas.

[Margot Note]

"People only care about what you're able to produce and the value of those results" (11).

"It's better to do less, not more, so you can do better, more focused work" (16).

"At the end of every workday, take a moment to ask yourself: Was I productive today, or did I just stay busy?" (23).

"To get control over your schedule, you must first eliminate anything that doesn't have long-term consequences for your work" (24).

"Stop being so generous with your time, and relearn the value of saying no when doing so is appropriate" (53).

"Always try to do better, even is no one else knows, even if what you're doing is 'good enough,' and even if the only beneficiaries of trying harder are you and your family" (114).

[Deb L · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent info, but 1 star off because ...

Excellent info. Would be 5 stars if there weren't so much repeating. There is no shame in short, concise books. This is what I would expect from an author of a book on relentlessly, consistently reducing what you have to deal with, then dealing with what is left with organized uber-efficiency. The premise is to gain back up to 90 minutes from your overworked, overtime day. This took way too long to read for the albeit great info conveyed to readers.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good initially by proposing you cut back on what you need to do and differentiating betw being busy vs being productive but then gets lost in details in later chapters
May be worth re-reading as it gives tips on optimizing use of Microsoft Outlook email

[Maryam Tahvidary · Rating 3 out of 5]

a life-changing and must-to-read book for always busy people

[Coerly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has very valuable tips but overall impression is unpleasant, like hooray-hooray, be cheerful and motivated

[Danni · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a book for an office

[Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice sized pep talk and reminder about creating ordered systems in my life and dealing with overwhelm.

[Damaskcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always interested in books about time management but they tend to become rather repetitive after a while and this is no exception. It's all about prioritising, avoiding distractions, not spending time on networking sites, not gossiping with work colleagues etc. If you already do all of these then you would find it easy to save the ninety minutes a day as highlighted on the cover of this book.

Yes there are some good ideas in this book and it is written in inspiring language which may just inspire you to change your work habits so that you can streamline what you do and be more productive and efficient. That's what time management is all about. We all have too much to do and not enough time to do it in therefore you have to make the best use of the time available to you.

If you want a short and simple book about time management at work then this is probably as good as any. I'm maybe a bit jaded as I read many books about time management.

[Marcia Conner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The part of this book that proved truly valuable is her notion of 2 to-do lists: a Master List and a High Impact Tasks list (HIT List). While the Master lists tracks everything that needs to get done, the HIT list includes only a reasonable number of items that can be accomplished within a day.

Although the master list gets everything out of your head like David Allen's GTD to-do list, I found Stacks approach written simply enough I've been able to keep at this approach for a week+ now and it's worked consistently. I learned more from Getting Things Done overall, but find the HIT list an invaluable addition.

[January · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of this book was common sense and things you've heard before, so I toyed with giving it 3 stars, but the action it's gotten me into in the past 24 hours merits 4 stars. Think of it as a tightened-up take on "time management" (which, as the author points out, is really just SELF-management). I took away a few powerful ideas and have been rethinking my time wasters and redoing my To Do lists already. A quick read as well.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes through some methods of how to do less and achieve more (which is a different spin on the 'do more with less' mantra so commonly referenced). The author stresses making a High Impact Tasks (HIT) list and focusing on those items during your high-energy times. She also gives some practical Outlook tips to help stay organized. Overall, this was a quick and easy read and I plan to implement some of the suggestions in my daily life to stay focused yet take breaks when needed.

[Eleftheria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Αν και είμαι σίγουρη ότι δεν είναι το καλύτερο του είδους, προσωπικά με βοήθησε, δηλαδή βοηθάει ακόμα, πάρα πολύ! Εδώ και πολλούς μήνες διανύω μια περίοδο όπου και 70 ώρες την ημέρα δεν θα έφταναν και τα όσα διάβασα με βοηθάνε να εστιάσω στα ουσιώδη. Δεν είναι απαραίτητα ευχάριστος ο τρόπος της Στακ - είναι λίγο απόλυτος και αυταρχικός - αλλά σίγουρα δημιουργεί καθαρές εικόνες. Φυσικά βοηθάει και η καλή μετάφραση.

[Kevin Eikenberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are lots of books on time management – probably at least a couple are on your shelf. All of them contain useful information, and most of it, even if you have heard it before will really work in the real world if you actually … - See more at: http://blog.kevineikenberry.com/leade...

[John Willson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Brief (for busy folks), with powerful advice. Time- and Task-management are not enough; the key is to do less. This book will help you to focus in on those high-value tasks that you do best, and to deflect, discourage and delegate everything else. Once you've mastered that, get back to routinely thinking strategically.