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The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit: 25 Productivity Tools for Adults with ADHD and Chronically Busy People
Do you find time constantly slipping away from you? Or does completing a to-do list feel totally unachievable? We all have 24 hours in a day, but sometimes putting them to good use can feel like an impossible task. The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit is here to change that!
Written by a clinical therapist and author of The Ultimate Anxiety Toolkit, this book focuses on practical methods and strategies, including creative worksheets and easy to use techniques, to help you find your motivation, achieve your goals and feel less stressed about organizing your time.
With 25 different techniques based on CBT, mindfulness and narrative therapy, you can find out which strategies work best for you to help transform how you use your time and learn how to feel empowered to make positive changes to habits in your daily life.
Written by a clinical therapist and author of The Ultimate Anxiety Toolkit, this book focuses on practical methods and strategies, including creative worksheets and easy to use techniques, to help you find your motivation, achieve your goals and feel less stressed about organizing your time.
With 25 different techniques based on CBT, mindfulness and narrative therapy, you can find out which strategies work best for you to help transform how you use your time and learn how to feel empowered to make positive changes to habits in your daily life.
- GenresAdhdSelf HelpNonfiction
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 18, 2022
About the author
Risa Williams
17 books3 followersRisa Williams is a LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist).
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 10, 2022
[b]Why do you write like you're running out of time?[/b]
As a student, then as a teacher (briefly), and now as a publishing professional, time management has always been essential to me, juggling personal, academic, and then professional commitments. Managing the tension between my MPhil studies and the part-time job that paid for them was my first real dilemma, and then teaching is a constant time management struggle. In many ways, getting a 9-5 office job was liberating: I'd learned a huge amount about time management from teaching, and selling advertising kind of dictated my priorities - you made sales calls while people tended to be at their desks, and then did the admin when they were likely to be away from their desk. I thought I was sorted.
But then I started taking my writing more seriously, and I started acting in community theatre groups, and things began to get a lot more complex. I began to feel that I never quite had enough time in the day to do the things I wanted, and my life now feels like a constant struggle to balance work, "paying hobbies", my personal life and social commitments, all while avoiding burnout. It's led to insane periods in my life where I'm rehearsing three plays at once all while working a 40 hour week, and trying to meet a short story competition deadline, and then friends get offended when I try and duck out of a party invitation. Because I don't like offending people, I am very bad at saying no to things. When I started self-publishing, where I do my own formatting, often design my own covers AND record my own audiobooks, not to mention the marketing side, I crossed an event horizon of constant stress and panic. I don't even know what to do with free time when I have it these days.
Gosh that's a lengthy intro. Suffice it to say that The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit could have been designed for me. Written to help people with ADHD, anxiety disorders and CHRONICALLY BUSY PEOPLE - which was the term where I recognised myself most clearly. Risa Williams has put together 25 tools to help people think about their relationship to time and the tasks they feel they have to achieve.
This 200 page book is a pleasure to read, text nicely spaced out, with fun illustrations, lively terminology like the "task-intensity metre" and "the frustration surfboard", and worksheets that include colouring exercises, etc, but the fun is clearly underpinned by the author's expertise as a therapist, and backed up by copious citations and a substantial bibliography.
If you can carve out the time to read this book, and spend some time with the tools, exercises, and worksheets contained therein, then I can't promise that all your piles of busyness will suddenly melt away, but there are some great techniques for changing how we think about our tasks and to-do lists. It's certainly helped me think seriously about how I approach my day, whether I'm working from home or going into the office. I used to think I was good at time management, but then the world changed, and this book feels like a tool that will help me to get on top of things again.
As a student, then as a teacher (briefly), and now as a publishing professional, time management has always been essential to me, juggling personal, academic, and then professional commitments. Managing the tension between my MPhil studies and the part-time job that paid for them was my first real dilemma, and then teaching is a constant time management struggle. In many ways, getting a 9-5 office job was liberating: I'd learned a huge amount about time management from teaching, and selling advertising kind of dictated my priorities - you made sales calls while people tended to be at their desks, and then did the admin when they were likely to be away from their desk. I thought I was sorted.
But then I started taking my writing more seriously, and I started acting in community theatre groups, and things began to get a lot more complex. I began to feel that I never quite had enough time in the day to do the things I wanted, and my life now feels like a constant struggle to balance work, "paying hobbies", my personal life and social commitments, all while avoiding burnout. It's led to insane periods in my life where I'm rehearsing three plays at once all while working a 40 hour week, and trying to meet a short story competition deadline, and then friends get offended when I try and duck out of a party invitation. Because I don't like offending people, I am very bad at saying no to things. When I started self-publishing, where I do my own formatting, often design my own covers AND record my own audiobooks, not to mention the marketing side, I crossed an event horizon of constant stress and panic. I don't even know what to do with free time when I have it these days.
Gosh that's a lengthy intro. Suffice it to say that The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit could have been designed for me. Written to help people with ADHD, anxiety disorders and CHRONICALLY BUSY PEOPLE - which was the term where I recognised myself most clearly. Risa Williams has put together 25 tools to help people think about their relationship to time and the tasks they feel they have to achieve.
This 200 page book is a pleasure to read, text nicely spaced out, with fun illustrations, lively terminology like the "task-intensity metre" and "the frustration surfboard", and worksheets that include colouring exercises, etc, but the fun is clearly underpinned by the author's expertise as a therapist, and backed up by copious citations and a substantial bibliography.
If you can carve out the time to read this book, and spend some time with the tools, exercises, and worksheets contained therein, then I can't promise that all your piles of busyness will suddenly melt away, but there are some great techniques for changing how we think about our tasks and to-do lists. It's certainly helped me think seriously about how I approach my day, whether I'm working from home or going into the office. I used to think I was good at time management, but then the world changed, and this book feels like a tool that will help me to get on top of things again.
September 10, 2022
Excellent Book! This book provides a great tool kit for living in the 21st century. With many individuals juggling work and other day-to-day personal responsibilities, this book should be in everyone's bookcase!
I bought this book for my spouse as a gift due to their hectic work schedule. After reading it, their time management and productivity has greatly improved. As a result, I ended up reading the book and was able to apply some of the suggested strategies before I finished with the 1st chapter! I highly recommend this book for anyone who seeks to improve their productivity.
I bought this book for my spouse as a gift due to their hectic work schedule. After reading it, their time management and productivity has greatly improved. As a result, I ended up reading the book and was able to apply some of the suggested strategies before I finished with the 1st chapter! I highly recommend this book for anyone who seeks to improve their productivity.
June 10, 2025
(10.06.2025)
4/5✨
Ciekawa książka. Wiadomo każdy jest inny, komuś pomoże coś a komuś innemu nie. Jestem w trakcie próbowania niektóry sposobów
Naprawdę momentami fajne tipy.
I ciekawe informacje
4/5✨
Ciekawa książka. Wiadomo każdy jest inny, komuś pomoże coś a komuś innemu nie. Jestem w trakcie próbowania niektóry sposobów
Naprawdę momentami fajne tipy.
I ciekawe informacje
September 9, 2022
Another great book from Risa Williams! We live in a fast-paced world. So it's easy for me to feel easily overwhelmed and lose track of things. Reading The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit allows me to take a pause and spend a good 15 minutes being present. This is a great book for those who feel the need to take back control of their busy schedules and want to learn how to prioritize better. These exercises help remind us that we have full control of our own lives. That we shouldn't let our jobs, projects, and calendars, take control of us and our emotions.
November 27, 2023
A wonderful and quite accessible book with some great tips and insights.
October 30, 2023
Ciekawa pozycja, szczególnie dla osoby, która dopiero ma stwierdzone ADHD i sama doszła do pewnych sposobów z książki na własną rękę. Język książki jest bardzo prosty, przejrzysty, z przykładami i ćwiczeniami. Nie zastąpi terapii ani samodzielnej pracy, ale może być przydatną wskazówką dla osób, które borykają się z produktywnością.
May 13, 2023
The tools in this book make a lot of sense. I bought my own copy after originally borrowing this from the library.
July 15, 2026
Książka jest ok, dobrze i szybko się czyta/słucha (chociaż autorka radzi zatrzymać się na kilka dni po każdym rozdziale... no nie wyszło mi ;) ), ale nie wydaje mi się szczególnie odkrywcza. Tak czy siak, ponieważ to tak ważny dla mnie temat, wdzięczny jestem za każdy drobiazg i jakieś nowe drobiazgi na pewno z niej wyciągnę ale po prostu no nie rewolucjonizuje (mojego) życia. Rady są trafne: np. bycie szczerym ze sobą i określenie dokładne co z czynności wykonywanych jest dla nas bardzo męczące, a co mniej - to może być zupełnie różne dla różnych osób. Np. dla mnie wykonanie telefonu, choć może trwać 2 minuty, jest zajęciem "o wysokiej intensywności" i powinienem przeznaczyć na nie więcej czasu w odpowiednim też momencie, kiedy będę miał na to jeszcze dość psychicznej energii, podczas gdy dla kogoś to może być drobiazg pomiędzy innymi zadaniami. Równie ważne jest określenie w ten sposób hobby! A tymczasem mamy tendencję do niedoszacowywania intensywności, czasu... chociaż to akurat już odczułem i wiem ;)
Pewną nowością dla mnie może być jednak "rozgrzewka dla mózgu" - kto wie, może jak rozwiążę krzyżówkę, to potem rzeczywiście "na fali" tego działania wezmę się za coś z listy łatwiej? ;)
Co mi się jeszcze rzuciło w oczy, to że autorka zauważa:
- być może trafiła w sedno! Może stąd tyle ADHD dzisiaj (w większości samodiagnozowanych ;) ), bo to może wcale nie ADHD, tylko ADT... I o ile z pewnością nie mam ADHD, tak ADT już oczywiście czasem doświadczam, właśnie jeśli idzie o wykonywanie postanowionych sobie zadań to odczuwam najmocniej...
Inne cytaty:
- oo, dodawanie do koszyka tak... to jest moja "ulubiona" dziura czasowa :/ Aczkolwiek i tak jest to lepsze niż:
- bardzo mocno odczułem to rozpakowując ostatnie zamówienie online... wszystko co kupiłem było mi naprawdę potrzebne, albo przynajmniej zamierzałem przetestować ale już ta myśl, że części się będę musiał pozbyć (odsprzedać), była tak przytłaczająca, że aż mi się odechciało kupować cokolwiek... Dlatego nie lubię zakupów, już rzadko cieszą, częściej mam wizję tylko tego, że tymi nowymi rzeczami trzeba się będzie jakoś zaopiekować (nawet jeśli wszystkie są potrzebne).
- chatGPT (czy inne Gemini) też się doskonale do tego nadaje, sprawdziłem i polecam :P
(czytana/słuchana: 12-13.07.2026)
4/5 [7/10]
Pewną nowością dla mnie może być jednak "rozgrzewka dla mózgu" - kto wie, może jak rozwiążę krzyżówkę, to potem rzeczywiście "na fali" tego działania wezmę się za coś z listy łatwiej? ;)
Co mi się jeszcze rzuciło w oczy, to że autorka zauważa:
"Czasem zdarza się jednak, że w obliczu nasilonego stresu niektórych objawów syndromu deficytu uwagi mogą również doświadczać te osoby, które nie mają zdiagnozowanego ADHD."
(pdf.str. 13)
- być może trafiła w sedno! Może stąd tyle ADHD dzisiaj (w większości samodiagnozowanych ;) ), bo to może wcale nie ADHD, tylko ADT... I o ile z pewnością nie mam ADHD, tak ADT już oczywiście czasem doświadczam, właśnie jeśli idzie o wykonywanie postanowionych sobie zadań to odczuwam najmocniej...
Inne cytaty:
"Czy zdarzyło ci się kiedyś marnować czas na oglądanie przypadkowych filmów, klikanie na różne artykuły w Wikipedii lub dodawanie przedmiotów do koszyka w jakimś sklepie internetowym bez zamiaru sfinalizowania zakupu? To bardzo popularne dziury czasowe, z jakimi zmaga się wiele osób."
(pdf .str. 48)
- oo, dodawanie do koszyka tak... to jest moja "ulubiona" dziura czasowa :/ Aczkolwiek i tak jest to lepsze niż:
"Fala dopaminy, która zalewa nasze mózgi, gdy pozwalamy sobie na zakupy impulsywne, trwa bardzo krótko, jeśli porówna się ją z przytłoczeniem i stresem towarzyszącymi nam wtedy, kiedy musimy rozpakować, posortować i uporządkować wszystko, co właśnie kupiliśmy. To może prowadzić do poczucia „wyczerpania dobrami materialnymi” wynikającego ze „zmęczenia decyzyjnego”. Koncepcja zmęczenia decyzyjnego zakłada, że konieczność codziennego podejmowania drobnych decyzji może się skumulować i zaowocować bardzo silnym wrażeniem wyczerpania umysłowego."
(pdf.str. 99)
- bardzo mocno odczułem to rozpakowując ostatnie zamówienie online... wszystko co kupiłem było mi naprawdę potrzebne, albo przynajmniej zamierzałem przetestować ale już ta myśl, że części się będę musiał pozbyć (odsprzedać), była tak przytłaczająca, że aż mi się odechciało kupować cokolwiek... Dlatego nie lubię zakupów, już rzadko cieszą, częściej mam wizję tylko tego, że tymi nowymi rzeczami trzeba się będzie jakoś zaopiekować (nawet jeśli wszystkie są potrzebne).
"Opowiadając komuś innemu o swoim celu i regularnie zdając mu raporty z postępów, zwiększasz swoje szanse na zrealizowanie swego dążenia. Jeśli masz problemy ze znalezieniem grupy, która mogłaby cię wspierać na drodze do celu, spróbuj użyć następnego opisywanego przeze mnie narzędzia – notatnika do śledzenia celów. "
(pdf.str. 163)
- chatGPT (czy inne Gemini) też się doskonale do tego nadaje, sprawdziłem i polecam :P
(czytana/słuchana: 12-13.07.2026)
4/5 [7/10]
August 27, 2022
Another accessible, immediately applicable treasure chest of tools from Risa Williams. I've started using several strategies straight away including the task intensity meter, the brain warm-up, and the gear shifter. I'm a pretty organized person already and still found these tools helpful to better understand and monitor how and where I spend my energy. I'm also a therapist and have been incorporating Risa's tools and explanations into my work with individuals who struggle with productivity. Brilliant!
August 24, 2022
I worry about time a lot. I burn myself out a lot because I worry the things I need and want to get done won’t. The tools in Williams book are thoughtful, realistic tools. The tools have changed my relationship to time, how I prioritize my tasks, how to give myself credit for my accomplishments and most importantly when to take a break.
April 19, 2023
Useful and easy to read. I'm looking to implement some of the suggestions and see if they help with my time management / energy levels. I would suggest you don't rush through it, but consider the tools in turn and work through some of the worksheets. It's the type of book that you'll get out what you put in.
June 27, 2023
The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit is a fantastic guide to help you be more productive and get more done in a day. I especially liked the focus on what to do when you need to feel calm, as I find that often when we get stressed or busy that's when it becomes so much harder to focus and follow through. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to make better use of their time
October 8, 2024
Jest w tej książce kilka pożytecznych rad do zastosowania
January 5, 2025
Some good self care and self talk ideas along with the usual time management stuff. Liked the neuroscience nuggets, interesting to see what the research says.
February 1, 2025
Lots of very helpful usable tips.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews