My only complaint about the book is that it seems biased towards salaried professionals who work in offices. Her suggestions about reducing your work time, taking more breaks, etc., aren't relevant to hourly wage workers who HAVE to work a certain amount of hours or else get a cut in pay. Those same workers also can't take breaks whenever they want to. A lot of her examples revolve around people who have their own businesses (much like herself). Of course THEY can manage their own time--they're their own boss!

Even so, a lot of the other tips she gives can be applied to everyone. Whether you need ways to find more time for yourself or need to reduce the stress in your life, this is the book for you! Easy to read and to the point.

For example, there were these thought-provoking passages:
One way to seize time is to get into the habit of taking
five minutes at the end of your day to clean up your space
and get organized for the next day's work. Even if you're
in the middle of a project you want to continue with the
next day, you'll find it helpful to straighten up your paper
and files and put away books, folders, notes, and other
materials for which you don't have an immediate need.

One of the most important steps you can take to
reduce the pressure you put on yourself is to avoid
making promises you can't keep that will throw the rest of your
life out of balance. So if your boss asks when you expect to have
a particular project completed, never, ever answer on the spot.
Always respond with "Let me figure it out and I'll get back to
you." Then actually take the time to realistically estimate,
given your other duties, when you could have the project
completed. Then double that estimate.

One of the main concerns Marie had when she was trying
to decide whether to take the leap and go for her doctorate
was that she was too old. I pointed out that I hadn't written
my first book until I was forty-five. Julia child didn't make her
first television appearance until she was fifty-five. Thomas
Edison didn't discover electricity until he was fifty-nine.
Eleanor Roosevelt didn't become a delegate to the United
Nations until she was sixty. And, as it turned out, Marie's
own husband, Joe, didn't do his most creative engineering
until he was sixty-two.

SECOND act deals with LEARNING TO SEIZE TIME and deals with issues like getting a jump on tomorrow, learning how to schedule better, using the phones and technology to your advantage. And something we all need to know in this Internet age, handle e-mail wisely. Her ideas on how to cut back on email will save you at least two hours of stress a day.

THREE deals with BEING MORE PRODUCTIVE and deals with eliminating distractions, bringing your full attention to work, Take your lunch break, laugh more, take a nap and get a life.

FOUR deals with BEING MORE EFFECTIVE WITH PEOPLE and covers issues like Speaking up, figuring out why you say yes, and how to work more effectively with those you are with.

FIVE deals with BEING MORE EFFICIENT WITH YOUR MONEY and covers living within your means, understanding what you make and what your taxes are. Knowing how much house we can afford and how to avoid debt, and simply learning how to handle money.

SIX CHANGING THE WAY YOU WORK and is about finding a work friendly environment, creating our own options, starting your own business and finding a Coach.

SEVEN is called CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT WORK and she deals with Understanding how you got where you are, rethinking your belief system, imagining and seeking the ideal work life and following ones heart and head. And finally if not now then when?

I keep picking the book up and reading new parts and re-reading chapters and seeing things I missed the other times. I think this is a book every workaholic needs.

I really enjoyed reading all the insightful statistics included in the book because they revealed so much about our society and its expectations-- we have longer work days but crave more time with our family. Beyond a philosophical book which labels the problem, Simplify Your Work Life provides multiple solutions for loving our work and living with less. This book is a must read for anyone suffering from office overload.

How do they do it in Europe? Well, people in our European office work extremely long hours (people here routinely past 8pm) but most have a shorter commute than in the US. Often we take small blocks of time to walk (!) to the bank or post office because of short store opening hours; grocery stores close at 7pm and don't open at all on Sunday.

So I really like this book for the "time block" idea. Seizing blocks of time is really important and works for me, and is the only way I have found to spend some time NOT doing either housework or office work or paperwork. I could easily spend every waking hour either working in the office or home, even Sunday. I've learned to seize those blocks of time and make them work for me. But home cooperation and even finding domestic help is a must or you may find like me, that the only time you have to vacuum the floor and do your laundry is on Sunday, and that's a darn shame. It should be the day of rest, not the day for the rest of the stuff you have to do.

The author speaks from her own experience, having gone from being an active head of her own real estate investing activities for 15 years to successful, best-selling author of five previous books. In the process, she cut her work week down to 30 hours . . . and eventually quadrupled her income in the process.

She reports that recent Yankelovich surveys show that 80 percent of people approve of those who put their families ahead of work, half of the people have taken jobs that allow them to get more time away from work, and one-fifth changed jobs for lower-paying employment in exchange for more free time.

There is no doubt in my mind that if you follow through on even 10 percent of what she suggests you will spend less time working, feel better, and be a lot more fun to be around.

The book is organized into seven sections, comprised of 85 individual concepts. The seven sections are:

(1) Cutting back on the amount of time you work

(2) Learning to seize blocks of time in ways that allow you to have more time to get things done

(3) Being more productive when you are working

(4) Being more productive in your relationships with people while working

(5) Being more effective with the money you earn and save

(6) Changing the way you work to provide more flexibility

(7) Changing the way you think about work.

Like many books filled with lots of lists, the materials are complete enough for anyone in somes cases (like stop working weekends), while much less than what you need in other cases (making better decisions, starting a business, and improving your money management).

In the latter cases, I suggest that you also read books about personal decision making (such as "Smart Choices") and improving your finances (like "The Finance Doctor") that have a bit more meat on them. You can obviously go on to more advanced material as your interest and expertise grow.

In a few sections, you are encouraged to use "body-mind" techniques based on meridians (accupuncture points). These I will leave it up to you to assess. I have no experience here to draw on. I would suggest that you add meditation to the list of what is encouraged here.

I also think that those who would just like less stress will find this book helpful, even if you don't want to cut down your work week. A good complementary book for women is "Outsmarting Female Fatigue."

For those sections that were complete enough on their own that no further reading is needed, I was impressed by how many included sample dialogues that you can use to help you negotiate changes in your workplace. Most people will benefit from that kind of help. We often say "yes" because we don't know how to say "no" gracefully. In many other sections, you are referred to excellent resource materials like "Common Sense on Mutual Funds" by John Bogle. Where I knew the referred to sources, there are superb in each case.

Now, let me tell you about my experience with cutting my work week. I was very good at it, and soon found myself with lots of time for "getting a life." I did this for several years, but eventually found it dissatisfying. I became reengaged in new "work" activities that have me working longer hours again, but I'm really enjoying it more this time. As you can see from my book reviews, I also engage actively in my hobbies as well. So a reduced work week is probably a way-station rather than an end destination unless you are very close to retirement. That point isn't addressed here.

I was pleased that the book talks about starting up your own business and investing. I think that "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and "Cash Flow Quadrant" would be good complements to this book for many people.

I suggest that you follow up on the author's advice and discuss your reactions to this book with your family, coworkers, friends, and neighbors. They will probably help you develop more confidence, better ways to implement the advice, and encourage you to go forward. In fact, if you can do this with a "buddy" who wants to reduce her or his work week as well, that would be the best. The book has several suggestions for how to do this.

Have much more health, happiness, peace, and prosperity . . . wherever and however you choose to spend your time!