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The Inefficiency Assassin’s Guide to Maximizing Your Time: Negotiate Time with Yourself and Others
This is a companion workbook for Helene Segura's time management workshop of the same name.
38 pages, Paperback
First published April 12, 2016
23 people are currently reading
746 people want to read
About the author
Helene Segura
15 books16 followersAs The Inefficiency Assassin™, productivity expert Helene Segura empowers stressed out professionals on the go with the tools to slay wasted time. Personal inefficiency at work leads to increased stress levels, lower morale, higher absenteeism, more turnover – and rising spending on employee health care and hiring. Why not improve productivity, decrease stress levels, and increase profits instead?
The author of two Amazon best-selling books, Helene Segura has been the featured productivity expert in over 100 media interviews including publications such as Woman’s Day Magazine and Money Magazine, as well as on Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC affiliates.
She has coached hundreds of clients to productivity success and performance improvement by applying neuroscience and behavioral modification techniques to wipe out destructive, time-wasting habits. Kanban, Kaizen and time management may be fuddy duddy terms; Helene’s content-packed keynotes and workshops, however, are anything but. Helene turns time management on its head by sharing both client case studies and pop culture examples to teach her mind-bending framework for decreasing interruptions, distractions and procrastination so that companies can spend more time generating revenue.
The author of two Amazon best-selling books, Helene Segura has been the featured productivity expert in over 100 media interviews including publications such as Woman’s Day Magazine and Money Magazine, as well as on Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC affiliates.
She has coached hundreds of clients to productivity success and performance improvement by applying neuroscience and behavioral modification techniques to wipe out destructive, time-wasting habits. Kanban, Kaizen and time management may be fuddy duddy terms; Helene’s content-packed keynotes and workshops, however, are anything but. Helene turns time management on its head by sharing both client case studies and pop culture examples to teach her mind-bending framework for decreasing interruptions, distractions and procrastination so that companies can spend more time generating revenue.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 31, 2021
ETA: although this wasn't the book for me, I actually bought a paperback copy as a gift for someone, so I do think it's got a lot to offer.
Original review:
I would definitely recommend this book to new graduates entering the full-time office workplace for the first time, or for someone who is a recovering hoarder, or reentering the workforce after a long break. There's good stuff in here, but it would be most useful for people who need a good amount of hand holding. There are chapters detailing various types of file storage ¹, email wording, how to physically lay out your desk/office etc, as well as the most efficient way to handle your workflow.
If you are already experienced in the workforce, and what you want is to make a real difference to your life by an order of magnitude, skip this. Read instead The 4-Hour Workweek, or, even better, read the summary.
¹ you think I'm kidding about the handholding thing? There's even a link to "a brief video on how to contain papers on your desk." Here's a real quote from the book:
Determine what kinds of paper holders or containers would be easiest for you to use.
If the paper-capturing devices that you use are not über-easy to manipulate, then you won’t have an easy time storing those papers. If this step isn’t as simple as possible, then you won’t do it. So, what works, and what doesn’t?
Binders: These are great for holding reference materials that you need occasionally. They’re terrible for holding papers that you need to file or handle every day. I used to be a binder girl. I had binders for everything. But then I realized that it took far too much effort to use them. I had to punch holes, then pull out the binder, then open it up, then open up the rings, then load the paper, then close the rings, then close the binder, then put the binder back where it belonged. Egad! That’s a lot of work to do every day! Now, if I had nothing else to do, I’d have time to load binders all the livelong day. But if you’re like me and have a ton of other tasks that need completing, don’t use binders to store incoming daily papers.
Cubbies or stacking trays: These are terrific if you deal with a lot of handouts and brochures or printer paper. It’s hard to see what all the different papers are in one slot, but if they’re all the same, it doesn’t matter, since you just need to grab from the top of each stack.
Accordion or pocket folders that have flaps that fasten with a band: These are terrific if you are mobile and need to keep your papers organized as you get in and out of your car. They’re terrible if you’re planning to use them for filing daily incoming papers for the same reason as the binder above — they’re too much work to open, load, and close. Find flapless accordions for daily incoming papers.
File sorters: Taller ones are a convenient way to store manila file folders that you’re currently working with — say, for client files or project files. Shorter sorters can store your Do something papers (see chapter 19, “Deal with Incoming Daily Paper”).
Magazine holders: These are great for holding thicker materials such as magazines and bound material, or for holding a large amount of papers related to the same subject. They’re not so great if you have only a few papers at a time in that particular category, because the papers will just flop over.
Hanging files: These are awesome! Open the drawer, open the file (per Lorie Marrero, the tab should be on the front of the folder so that it easily opens), drop the paper in, and close the drawer. Sooo much easier! These can be utilized in a file tote or crate on top of your desk for daily papers, in your desk drawer for weekly papers, and in a file cabinet for all others.
If you’re going to ask what order the folders should be in, I’ll have to give you my standard answer: whatever order works for you. Examples:
Alphabetical
Chronological
By subject
By frequency of use
There’s no law on how the folders in your file cabinet or container should be placed. What will function best for you? I have a “Favorite Products” list at www.HeleneSegura.com/30tactics if you’d like to see some examples of containers for your office. There’s also a brief video on how to contain papers on your desk. At this point, it’s perfectly fine if you don’t yet know which containers you want to use. But your brain should be pondering this as you sort through your papers and set up your system.
Original review:
I would definitely recommend this book to new graduates entering the full-time office workplace for the first time, or for someone who is a recovering hoarder, or reentering the workforce after a long break. There's good stuff in here, but it would be most useful for people who need a good amount of hand holding. There are chapters detailing various types of file storage ¹, email wording, how to physically lay out your desk/office etc, as well as the most efficient way to handle your workflow.
If you are already experienced in the workforce, and what you want is to make a real difference to your life by an order of magnitude, skip this. Read instead The 4-Hour Workweek, or, even better, read the summary.
¹ you think I'm kidding about the handholding thing? There's even a link to "a brief video on how to contain papers on your desk." Here's a real quote from the book:
Determine what kinds of paper holders or containers would be easiest for you to use.
If the paper-capturing devices that you use are not über-easy to manipulate, then you won’t have an easy time storing those papers. If this step isn’t as simple as possible, then you won’t do it. So, what works, and what doesn’t?
Binders: These are great for holding reference materials that you need occasionally. They’re terrible for holding papers that you need to file or handle every day. I used to be a binder girl. I had binders for everything. But then I realized that it took far too much effort to use them. I had to punch holes, then pull out the binder, then open it up, then open up the rings, then load the paper, then close the rings, then close the binder, then put the binder back where it belonged. Egad! That’s a lot of work to do every day! Now, if I had nothing else to do, I’d have time to load binders all the livelong day. But if you’re like me and have a ton of other tasks that need completing, don’t use binders to store incoming daily papers.
Cubbies or stacking trays: These are terrific if you deal with a lot of handouts and brochures or printer paper. It’s hard to see what all the different papers are in one slot, but if they’re all the same, it doesn’t matter, since you just need to grab from the top of each stack.
Accordion or pocket folders that have flaps that fasten with a band: These are terrific if you are mobile and need to keep your papers organized as you get in and out of your car. They’re terrible if you’re planning to use them for filing daily incoming papers for the same reason as the binder above — they’re too much work to open, load, and close. Find flapless accordions for daily incoming papers.
File sorters: Taller ones are a convenient way to store manila file folders that you’re currently working with — say, for client files or project files. Shorter sorters can store your Do something papers (see chapter 19, “Deal with Incoming Daily Paper”).
Magazine holders: These are great for holding thicker materials such as magazines and bound material, or for holding a large amount of papers related to the same subject. They’re not so great if you have only a few papers at a time in that particular category, because the papers will just flop over.
Hanging files: These are awesome! Open the drawer, open the file (per Lorie Marrero, the tab should be on the front of the folder so that it easily opens), drop the paper in, and close the drawer. Sooo much easier! These can be utilized in a file tote or crate on top of your desk for daily papers, in your desk drawer for weekly papers, and in a file cabinet for all others.
If you’re going to ask what order the folders should be in, I’ll have to give you my standard answer: whatever order works for you. Examples:
Alphabetical
Chronological
By subject
By frequency of use
There’s no law on how the folders in your file cabinet or container should be placed. What will function best for you? I have a “Favorite Products” list at www.HeleneSegura.com/30tactics if you’d like to see some examples of containers for your office. There’s also a brief video on how to contain papers on your desk. At this point, it’s perfectly fine if you don’t yet know which containers you want to use. But your brain should be pondering this as you sort through your papers and set up your system.
April 20, 2017
This is an excellent, practical book about how to eliminate time waste from your day and get more done by planning more efficiently.
This is a book I will read again--lots of great strategies for evaluating your goals, time use, workspace, and more.
This is a book I will read again--lots of great strategies for evaluating your goals, time use, workspace, and more.
April 28, 2016
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance can seem like a mission impossible, but not when you've got Helene as your comrade! As a Certified Professional Organizer and a former military officer, I know all too well the necessity of having clarity of mission and establishing work-life priorities. Helene's amazingly effective tactics and strategies will keep you focused and able to turn any mission impossible into mission complete! Her advice and down-to-earth, realistic approach to prioritizing and getting things done is like no other productivity book I've seen. I highly recommend enlisting this book as THE secret weapon in your productivity arsenal!
May 8, 2019
Some really good actionable tips. Retained on Total Boox shelf for rereading
December 21, 2018
Excellent book on time management. Full of things you can put to work in your life so that you can make the most of your time.
April 11, 2021
I struggle with staying organized and staying focused. It’s a product of having too much to do and feeling like there isn’t enough time in the day.
Helene Segura was a speaker at a business conference I attended several years ago. She walked through the basics of her strategies with handouts, and talked about just a few ways to better manage time.
I was intrigued, and I knew I had to read her book.
In the book, Segura talks about more than just managing your time on a calendar. It’s not just keeping track of it. It’s about how you think about time. It’s about how you view your work and the time it takes to get it done.
This book offers so many helpful and practical tips! Completely practical. Things you can implement now, as you read. I’ve worked in a few myself as I’ve read through the book. The others? I’ll get there. My copy of this book is marked up… underlines, asterisks, brackets. There’s just so much to go back to review and implement.
If you struggle with stress from never feeling like you can get done what you need to get done, read this book! You can thank me later.
Helene Segura was a speaker at a business conference I attended several years ago. She walked through the basics of her strategies with handouts, and talked about just a few ways to better manage time.
I was intrigued, and I knew I had to read her book.
In the book, Segura talks about more than just managing your time on a calendar. It’s not just keeping track of it. It’s about how you think about time. It’s about how you view your work and the time it takes to get it done.
This book offers so many helpful and practical tips! Completely practical. Things you can implement now, as you read. I’ve worked in a few myself as I’ve read through the book. The others? I’ll get there. My copy of this book is marked up… underlines, asterisks, brackets. There’s just so much to go back to review and implement.
If you struggle with stress from never feeling like you can get done what you need to get done, read this book! You can thank me later.
August 16, 2017
This guidance book leaves you desiring depth , sure for basic concepts and structure their are son decent tips. Yet most of the information could be have attained with a smaller word count and possibly a pamphlet or Internet article. The book claims to be a source for time management tactics and much of it was mainly common sense . What could be obtained from the book could be found online , if your a conservative spender like me it's not worth the 17$ price tag I borrowed a copy from my local public library . If you want to save time here are the chapters I found beneficial Ch. 3, 21,27,28 and 29
May 7, 2019
Endorsements:
“With Helene Segura’s help, you can say farewell to guilt and exhaustion and to being overworked and overwhelmed.”
— Erin Rooney Doland, editor-in-chief of Unclutterer.com and author of Never Too Busy to Cure Clutter: Simplify Your Life One Minute at a Time
“Wow, Helene Segura really gets it…. She knows how to go from the big picture down to the little details and how to create the right context to not only get more done but also feel better about it. She doesn’t just have great ideas; she also organizes them in a user-friendly way so you can get the most out of them. This is the book to get.”
— Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA, ADHD expert and author of More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD
“Helene Segura offers innovative solutions for your productivity roadblocks…. Follow her recommendations, and you’ll gain countless hours of newfound time.”
— Laura Stack, founder of The Productivity Pro, Inc., and author of Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time
“The Inefficiency Assassin slays chaos and indecision. As a person with attention-span and follow-through issues, I was grateful to discover that Helene Segura shares the doable secrets to take my creativity from ideas to reality. And she does it in bite-sized, digestible chunks even I can handle. Everyone who wants to achieve something important needs The Inefficiency Assassin.”
— Jeff Anderson, writing consultant, speaker, and author of 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know
“Teeming with strategies for becoming more organized and effective.”
— Library Journal
“I am a big fan of managing your time as effectively as possible. Helene outlines the quickest ways to make that happen. It’s a must read.”
— Jane Atkinson, author of The Wealthy Speaker 2.0
“With Helene Segura’s help, you can say farewell to guilt and exhaustion and to being overworked and overwhelmed.”
— Erin Rooney Doland, editor-in-chief of Unclutterer.com and author of Never Too Busy to Cure Clutter: Simplify Your Life One Minute at a Time
“Wow, Helene Segura really gets it…. She knows how to go from the big picture down to the little details and how to create the right context to not only get more done but also feel better about it. She doesn’t just have great ideas; she also organizes them in a user-friendly way so you can get the most out of them. This is the book to get.”
— Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA, ADHD expert and author of More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD
“Helene Segura offers innovative solutions for your productivity roadblocks…. Follow her recommendations, and you’ll gain countless hours of newfound time.”
— Laura Stack, founder of The Productivity Pro, Inc., and author of Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time
“The Inefficiency Assassin slays chaos and indecision. As a person with attention-span and follow-through issues, I was grateful to discover that Helene Segura shares the doable secrets to take my creativity from ideas to reality. And she does it in bite-sized, digestible chunks even I can handle. Everyone who wants to achieve something important needs The Inefficiency Assassin.”
— Jeff Anderson, writing consultant, speaker, and author of 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know
“Teeming with strategies for becoming more organized and effective.”
— Library Journal
“I am a big fan of managing your time as effectively as possible. Helene outlines the quickest ways to make that happen. It’s a must read.”
— Jane Atkinson, author of The Wealthy Speaker 2.0
June 2, 2016
this book is marketed towards people who are
much more busy and successful
than i am, and more specifically for those in a business career. this book is for people who need time management skills to help them better organise their limited time with their chaotic schedule, as opposed to people like me, who are just, frankly, hopelessly incompetent and procrastinate every little thing in our lives like our lives depend on it. for me, to put it as succinctly as possible, it's a case of chronic procrastination that is slowly and constantly eroding my life.
so, spiel over, while i'm not at all the target audience of this book, i thought the overarching ideas would still be relevant, and wanted to give this book a read. i flipped between the table of contents and chapters, choosing sections that seemed relevant to my own life -- goal setting, for example, is not something i'm exactly ready for as i have never been able to comprehend how to set a goal. the chapters i found useful: 4, 14, 20, and all of part 4 (ch 31-43) - specifically chapter 36: i procrastinate...a lot. from these i took notes and i put up some reminders around my room and turned it into a sort of mini-time management workshop.
tl;dr: in a sort of detached, adjusted way, i found the information in this book quite useful. whether i'll follow through, we just don't know, but there's good stuff to pull from here. some content might be reminders of things you already know, but i find reminders are always a good thing to reinforce and get your subconscious mulling over.
so, spiel over, while i'm not at all the target audience of this book, i thought the overarching ideas would still be relevant, and wanted to give this book a read. i flipped between the table of contents and chapters, choosing sections that seemed relevant to my own life -- goal setting, for example, is not something i'm exactly ready for as i have never been able to comprehend how to set a goal. the chapters i found useful: 4, 14, 20, and all of part 4 (ch 31-43) - specifically chapter 36: i procrastinate...a lot. from these i took notes and i put up some reminders around my room and turned it into a sort of mini-time management workshop.
tl;dr: in a sort of detached, adjusted way, i found the information in this book quite useful. whether i'll follow through, we just don't know, but there's good stuff to pull from here. some content might be reminders of things you already know, but i find reminders are always a good thing to reinforce and get your subconscious mulling over.
June 14, 2016
The beginning was promising, laying out your priorities/goals for work and personal life and then planning according to those priorities. However, there wasn't much new beyond that, just the same things I could/have read by searching "productivity tips" online. The book did persuade me to turn off most of my email notifications at work, but other than that, I didn't learn anything new.
August 15, 2016
I wasn't crazy about the wording of the title, but the book has useful content and some targeted tactics and strategies. There's good information about scheduling and time blocking, tips I'll share with incoming students. Although it's geared toward people who work in business, there are enough pertinent strategies for others, as well.
June 22, 2018
grown-ups book #1 🤓
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews