【Book Review】Maximize Your Own Time. "Time Revolution - Don't Waste a Single Second-" (Takafumi Horie/Asahi Shimbun Publications)

In a nutshell

1. I resonated with Horie-mon's "I hate people who call me" and decided to read the book "Time Revolution".
2. The basis of time management is to minimize other people's time and maximize your own time.
3. There is no such thing as the ability to act. There are only individual actions.

"I hate people who call me"

I will state publicly that, like Horie-mon, "I hate people who call me."

The reason is clear: it forces you to synchronize with the other person's time. Of course, it's fine if it's an emergency call. However, there are too many people who call just because they can get information right away. And for some reason, it always rings when I'm thinking about something important, so I can't stand it.

Also, Horie-mon continues to work on his smartphone during meetings. He says that it's okay to work on something else when it's not your turn to participate in the meeting. Also, if you use your smartphone, you can easily take notes on what the other person is saying when you're having a discussion, and it's more versatile than writing on paper.

Do I have a similar sense of time to Horie-mon? Just when I was thinking that, I came across the perfect book. It's "Time Revolution - Don't Waste a Single Second-" (Takafumi Horie/Asahi Shimbun Publications).

The basis of time management is to minimize other people's time and maximize your own time.

"Your own time" is your favorite work, hobbies, things you want to do, fun events, drinking parties with like-minded friends, etc.
On the other hand, "other people's time" would be work you're forced to do, commuting, phone calls and emails you don't want to make, and drinking parties where you have to be considerate.

According to Takafumi Horie, it's important to reduce other people's time and maximize your own time. The above definition has also deeply ingrained itself in me. If you don't live to do what you love, you will suffer from existential anxiety. For a discussion of existential anxiety, please see another article. 【Philosophy】Isn't the system causing people existential anxiety?

First, I want to start by reducing other people's time. This is because, just as it is difficult for a company to increase sales but easy to reduce costs, it is clearer to reduce an individual's other people's time.

I am currently trying to thoroughly reduce commuting, work that seems wasteful, and emails, and in fact, I am starting to make time to write this blog. If you have a lot of emails, phone calls, or meetings, it may take courage, but tell the other person that you don't like this method or suggest another method (chat or teleconference). If there is a benefit for the other person, they will surely agree. Improvement begins when someone speaks up.

The goal itself has no meaning. Only action has meaning.

In the middle of this book, the topic of time management sublimates into self-help content such as what is happiness and what are goals.

Only "short-term goals" have meaning. A goal that doesn't force you to take action one second after you set it is meaningless in the first place.
"I will write a blog for 30 consecutive days starting today."
"I will lose 3 kilos in 10 days."
"I will quit my job and start a business in a month."
These kinds of goals have value. They give you an extra drive to your actions and create a state where you are more "hooked."
The point is that the deadline for achievement is short and the criteria for achievement are clear. Otherwise, goals are just a harmful thing that creates stress.

I once set a grand goal and felt pressured by the lack of progress, so I was living in a hurry. That's why this sentence, which recommends setting short-term goals, resonated with me.

Even if you set a goal that is too long-term, you will only feel impatient about the gap between you and the goal, or the goal itself will become a burden and you will not be able to act. There is no meaning unless you act. By the way, there is no meaning in reading unless you memorize the content.

This blog has many risks of failure, but for now, it continues as a hobby. Actually, this blog has a business plan, but I don't care much about it now. If I do, I will get impatient and lose my motivation. But now, I just want to write better sentences and convey sharp information to many people, and that's all I'm writing for.

Just by taking a small step, you can maintain your motivation. I will continue to prepare a "too low stepping stone" for myself.

Aside (Recommended Book)

A recommended design book. It's packed with design tips that you can use forever. I use it often myself.