Take Back Your Life!: Using Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to Get Organized and Stay Organized 1st Edition

I was a disorganized mess. My desk was piles and piles of clutter and things (important, time sensitive materials) got lost! It took me about a good year to get where I am now. I started with Michael Linenberger's Total Workday Control. Not a good place to start so I tried David Allen's book 'Getting Things Done'. It was a great start and gave me foundation. I then moved on to Sally McGhee's book Take Back Your Life! for Outlook 2003. Awesome! That helped me integrate everything into my real world computer life. Then I went back and reread Michael Linenberger's Total Workday Control, which now made a lot more sense and I used some of his ideas to create a 'custom' system for myself.Finally, I bought this updated book of Sally McGhee's because I am using Outlook 2007 now. The material is basically the same, but tuned for Outlook 2007.Now some people claim this book is a rip off of David Allen's book or that these books are all the same or they are boring. YES! and NO!What you have to realize is that there are several ways of getting things done. All roads lead to Rome. I prefer the Sally McGhee method because it does not depend upon a plugin or extra software. It works with Outlook the way it is when you buy it and her methods translate over to my desk at home and work and since I am on the road...in my car. YES, the material is dry at times but so is work! lolDavid Allen offers custom software as an add in for Outlook 2003 and 2007 that is Windows XP and Vista compatible and his extra software will cost you an EXTRA $70 folks! This could be very nice and efficient for some people. yet, there is a downside...the plug in only works with Outlook. If you use another email client, you have nothing. Another downside, you are now dependent upon that software instead of doing it yourself. If he stops making that software or it causes troubles and you have to remove it, you are now back to square 1 with no method of organizing. In other words, David Allen caught the fish for you, but McGhee wants to teach you to catch the fish yourself.So, that is why I like McGhee's method. Yes, she basis it on Outlook but since there is no extra custom software involved to integrate into Outlook, you can translate the system to other mail clients. I also run Linux and I can use her methods in Evolution, Thunderbird, Kontact, etc. Also, it is NOT a 'blatant copy' of David Allen. They worked together and she openly discusses, reveals and discloses that info. She even quotes Mr. Allen in her book.If you have Take Back Your Life! for Outlook 2003 and have been using it and are skilled in her methodology, you can make the transition to Outlook 2007 on your own probably. If you are new to this, and have Outlook 2007, this is a definite buy. Here on Amazon, it is only $17! What a deal! I bought a current copy for myself and to help others in my family.She will probably come out with a SPECIAL EDITION like she did with her previous book that will include a CD, some pull out charts, etc. I would say, do not wait. Buy this book and get organized. I would also recommend the other books I have listed in my review too. I don't think just 1 book is enough! And this will take effort on your part. It took me a solid year to get really good. I fell off the wagon, got frustrated, reread the book, tweaked, learned, quit, failed, tried again, screwed up but eventually succeeded. I doubt many of you will get it going well in your first month...so don't quit! Keep trying and it will happen!

I implemented McGhee's system 4 years ago, and used this edition when we upgraded Outlook at work. I supervise teams of 10 people (more or less over the years) and I have not only used the system in this book to increase my own productivity, but that of the teams that I have supervised. My boss told me that she could see the results within weeks: I was more organized, responsive, and productive at work. I haven't used the system at home, but I clearly see how I could if I wanted to.Some advantages of this book:- It is practical and gives you step-by-step instructions on how to set up and maintain this system- It advises some conversation with your supervisors about productivity and expectations, and I found that to be a very useful set of conversations on their own- It gives you instructions on how to set up Outlook to do what is suggested- It gives you great strategies to deal with interruption and emergencies- I have found that it is sustainable over time. Yes, you have to invest time to maintain this system, but it isn't a huge investment of time, particularly given the payoff.Some disadvantages of this book:- The core of the is really 5 chapters that give you the basics for setting up the system. The rest is skippable.- It definitely takes time to set the system up. I had to put in a large number of hours over a month to get this going.Overall, this book is well worth picking up and seriously considering if you want to improve your productivity.

This book is NOT a Microsoft Outlook book! It lays out a methodology for determining what are truly you're unifying objectives, both personal and professional, and then it helps you get organized around only those things that support those objectives. If it doesn't support a unifying objective, then don't do it (delegate, go back and renegotiate the committment, etc). While I said this is not an Outlook book, it IS a book that will teach you to use all that Outlook has to offer in terms of managing e-mail, your to-do list, your calendar, etc... ALL in the name of accomplishing your unifying objectives.If you're like me (4,500 e-mails in my inbox when I read this book), it will take a significant investment in time to adopt this methodology. I spent the better part of the week between Christmas and New Years reading, organizing, deleting, etc to put the system in place. Here's the bottom line: IT HAS MADE AN AMAZING DIFFERENCE IN MY PRODUCTIVITY. I spend far more time working on things that support my goals and far less on distractions.IF you read the book and decide to implement the McGhee Productivity Solutions Workflow Model, I strongly suggest you purchase the accompanying $59 Outlook Add-in... it adds some great features to Outlook that make processing e-mail SOOO much faster. I downloaded the add-on trial and used it for 30 minutes before realizing just the Quick-File feature alone was well worth the cost... then I learned how to use the other half dozen features.GREAT book to get organized... but like any productivity methodology, if you think you can read the book, not make any changes in how you do things, and then expect magic to happen, don't bother.

I bought this book after reading the recommendations on Amazon, and have been more than impressed by the contents. It took me several weeks to work through and implement, but the difference in my work and home life has been phenomenal. Prior to reading this book I only used Microsoft Outlook for email, and my inbox was overflowing. I was stressed, anxious, and constantly worried that there were things I had forgotton.I now have a complete task list, where I store everything I have to do. I transfer this onto my calender and work from there. I've used the suggestions for working through projects, and setting my goals for the year, and that alone has been incredibly useful. I now have a clear idea of what I can say no to, and, for the first time, I am comfortable saying no, as I can see where things fit into my overall goals, and also see how much time I have available.The difference this book has made is amazing. Each day I wake up and cannot wait to get started. I know exactly what needs doing, and I can forget about upcoming jobs as they are on my task list, not in my head. I have changed the way I write emails: I pay attention to the content, think carefully about who I copy in, and write specific subject lines. I am stricter with myself about sticking to my working hours, have set up systems to that colleagues know when I am available and when I am not and have stopped doing countless hours unpaid. Despite this, my productivity has shot up.In my personal life, I am getting through hundreds of jobs on and in the house, and gradually am transforming my home into the place I want it to be. I feel happier, more in control and a whole lot less stressed.My recommendation would be to buy this book if: you have any projects to manage, you have a hectic work and personal life to balance, you want to sleep through the night and not wake up worrying about unfinished jobs, you want to be more organised, you want to know how to deal with email overload.Any negatives? Well, it takes time to put the principles into action and you need to silence that nagging voice that says you don't have time for this. My personal view is that it is definitely worth the effort. The time I spent setting the system up, is nothing compared to the time I now save. As I set up my management system I occassionally found myself wondering why the book recommended doing it a certain way. If this happens to you, I would say, have faith in the system and go with it, as the reasons for doing things become clear as you go on. A couple of times I didn't do it as they suggested, thinking it seemed a bit unneccessary, but I always ended up going back and doing it their way, as the reason for it became obvious later on.I am recommending this book to all my friends and colleagues.

some really simple ideas to make your work life easier, everyone needs a system so you may as well design yours around the familiar platform of Outlook. Everyone could benefit from reading this

The book was in great condition and has allowed me to completely organise my life with the simple systems promoted throughout.I'd recommend it to anybody who is struggling with workloads in a professional job.

Great

Sensationell, unterbewertet, unerkannter Ratgeber, der das hält, was er verspricht und darüber hinaus unglaublich praktisch angelegt. Man kann die Inhalte direkt anhand von Übungen im eigenen Leben umsetzen.Nachdem Sie das Buch gelesen haben, sind Sie besser organisiert!GTD konnte ich nicht umsetzen, dieses Buch hingegen hat mein Leben massstäblich verändert und ich habe wieder die Kontrolle über selbiges.Übrigens: Ich nutze das Buch mit Google Tasks, Mail und Kalender - nicht Outlook. Es ist möglich!Kaufempfehlung!