Very useful and practical book. The irony of most of these kinds of books is that if you really need a time management book, you won't actually make the time to read the time management book, much less put the lessons into practice.

Unlike most "get organized" books, this one doesn't require very much time investment (1-2 hours) to start seeing a benefit. You can start by just following the step-by-step instructions to reconfigure Outlook so that the task system works more intuitively than the default settings in Outlook. I've done that, and it's worthwhile.

The "mastery" sections are optional and available when you have time to invest in time management.

This book helps teach you some great tips on how to use Outlook and it's task area more effectively. I learned some great tips on the system. Overall, It is a bit complicated and honestly just easier to keep a task list on paper (I carry a small folio with mine...) Enjoyed the book though - it's a scan read, not a line by line read.

What I appreciate about Michael Linenberger's approach is that it is simplistic, yet very powerful. I felt like my workday was not as effective and productive as it could have been - mainly because of the way I approached the planning and tasks that came with each new day. What excites me about this process is that you do not have to use everything in the text to be effective - it is not an all-or-nothing venture. I have utilized a few key aspects and have seen immediate results. I have learned how to competently organize my day, all while staying current with emails and tasks. Michael's thought process and approach to tasks and emails is getting the job done for me. Along with the crucial basics, I am now learning some of the finer aspects of workday management in later chapters so that my thinking is getting transformed along with my actions. I feel like my day is not disjointed anymore and that I am able to tackle what is most important and not let the menial tasks fill my day. What I received for the price of the book has been remarkable. Kudos to Michael for a text that is well-written, fully illustrated, and easy to read.

I have been delighted to have found the book "Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook (Second edition)" by Michael Linenberger. Mr. Linenberger identifies common problems experienced by Microsoft Outlook users such as important tasks not getting done, having a full email inbox, and feeling overloaded and overwhelmed. Prior to reading this book I knew that using my inbox as a place to store email was not a way to use Outlook correctly, but I didn't understand how I could reasonably handle all the email I receive in a day. It is not unusual for me to receive over 200 emails per day. When I began reading this book I had over 1000 emails sitting in my inbox. Now I am down to less than 200 and expect that in less than a week I will be down to zero emails in my inbox. I feel as though a heavy weight has been lifted.

Mr. Linenberger's writing style is casual and easy to read. His suggestions are easy to understand and follow. His detailed information explains each step that he recommends.

After reading this book each reader should be able to empty their inbox every day. By setting 3 - 5 priorities and keeping them displayed throughout the day you should be able to get your important tasks done during the day. This means that you should now be able to leave work on time with a clean slate. Wouldn't this be a great feeling? I sure think it is!

It is helpful to have been using Microsoft Outlook for at least a little while before implementing the suggestion in this book. This book is a technical book about using Microsoft Outlook effectively and efficiently. It is not a book about how to set priorities, so turn to this book when your need is for a technical tool to help you improve your focus and productivity.

I like Outlook 2007, but after a brief trial, never used the "To-Do" window or Tasks list. This book has inspired me to try the To Do window again, and I must say I am glad I am giving it another try. I have my To Do window set up to always display on the right side of the screen. Configured it to show my next 3 appointments, and my task list ordered by importance (low, normal, high). Seeing that list really inspires me to get to work.

I like the trick of dragging an email to the "Tasks" bar on the left Navigation pane to turn the email into a Task automatically. This keeps my inbox clear and makes me happy. I use the GTD idea of creating "Next Action" steps for projects, so, I change the task subject to a "Next Action" step so that action item is what I see on my To Do task list.

I like having my next 3 appointments show on the top of the To-Do bar - I can quickly click on an appt. and see info like telephone numbers, etc for that appt - seems to save the trouble of finding it on the calendar.

I like being able to sort my Tasks on the To-Do Bar by category - I have categories for "Critical", "Routine", "Email" and "Hold"

This book reads like a computer user guide, but odds are good you will glean a tip or two like I did to make your purchase worthwhile.

Like so many other information professionals, I'm drowning in email with implied tasks and info I may need some day. The rate is about 150-200 emails per day. It is difficult to stay on top of the flow coming in, and still find time for planning, work, and team building AWAY from my computer.

Outlook out of the box claims to offer answers to this challenge, but in reality it does very little. Stuffing mail in folders after reading it makes me feel organized, but actually makes it HARDER and more time consuming to find the info later. Urgent tasks get lost.

I found myself blaming my correspondents for the problem. They don't send very good email - they misuse subjects or totally omit them, they change the topic utterly but keep the subject the same, they bury implied questions for numerous people in a single email, they have 20 round pin-pong email tournaments with 20 "players" lasting 3 hours on topics that could be much better handled in 2 minutes over the phone, they....etc. I had given up hope of retraining them.

Now along comes "Total Workday Control" and I have techniques that enable me to easily adapt to all of my coworkers habits that are not convenient for me. The author has devices a system that simplifies handling all the incoming email, and turning it into tasks that are easily managed in Outlook.

I especially like the fact that he is extremely concrete and directive, down to the point of instructing you exactly how to set up each and every filter, view and sort for Tasks and Mail. He gives general principles and reasons why, and he also tells you exactly how to get it done. The system is logically clear and prevents items getting lost. I'm only 20% implemented and I can't say enough good things about what it's done for my productivity and work mood.

This book includes very useful ideas and methods for using Outlook for task management and email management. I have searched for a task management method and this has provided the solution. It is far superior to GTD for me. You have to become a devotee of GTD and people talk of YEARS until it is ingrained. Not so with these methods. This requires no add on software.If you work in Outlook you will find many useful answers to its baffling presentations. I don't personally agree with the author's email system of one inbox and one processed mail folder. For me outlook's rules which move emails to folders automatically are most valuable, and the author does not even mention the Unread Mail folder which accomplishes his aims but much more simply. I was looking for more on tagging, not just use of Outlook's categories. Good sections on mobile devices and archiving. The book is too wordy, going into long explanations, but if you really want too understand outlook it is good. In fairness, he provides methods for three versions of outlook, and you can skip the sections which don't refer to your version. The first third of the book is the basis of his methods and that is enough to get going effectively. You can leave the rest for later. Highly recommended if you work a lot in outlook.

I agree with the other reviewers. Master David Allen's book in manual form. Develop the basic processes and discipline. Then ... skim read this book to get a sense of how comprehensively it addresses ALL of the challenges of the high volume electronic communications world. Are you ready to invest 30 hours in the next month to implement this and an extra 2-3 hours per week to have "total workday control"? Do you have the discipline and technical skills to use these tools effectively? If so, make the investment and you will be repaid TENFOLD in time, effectiveness, error reduction and stress reduction. You'll have to pick and choose what parts of his advice to follow, but if you are a technical professional or consultant, this will really pay off. You don't need all of this. Some won't fit for your situation.

If you are a NORMAL professional from outside the process and technical disciplines -- be careful. You'll want to implement a LITE version and master it. You'll want to find a technical friend or IT help-desk professional to help you. You'll want an accountability partner to speak with, provide feedback, advice and encouragement. This system is NOT elementary. It's not rocket science, but it is at the heart of your daily work life, so don't treat it as insignificant. After a year of using a "appropriate technology", skim read again and determine what incremental benefits can be captured, if any.

This is a great "value added" book, but needs to be read, digested, evaluated and implemented based on where you are and what you need. It is easy to overdose, and then lose the great value of this prescription.

I found the 1st edition very helpful, but this one is much more in tune with how our world works today. It's very difficult if not impossible to keep up with all that we need to do in a single day. Total Workday Control helps you achieve that goal and the Manage Your Now strategy is very easy to implement and maintain. I work with so many clients who have e-mail overload and task lists that are endless. This book teaches a GREAT prioritization system and I like its use with Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity philopshy. The book is an easy read and although it seems rather large, you put the system into play after reading the first 4 chapters. Michael gives instructions as to when to skip sections if you are an experienced Outlook user, or if you have read the 1st edition, or if certain things do not apply to you. All in all it's a great book and system for making Outlook the productivity tool it was intended to be.

Lori Krolik
More Time For You
[...]

I've used the 1st edition of Michael Linenberger's for several years now, and the 2nd edition surpassed my expectations. The basics of the system are nothing short of revolutionary for someone currently using their inbox as a default task management system. There is little that has relaxed me more than constantly having an empty inbox and knowing that everything I needed for each task was nestled within that task (even the e-mail that instigated the task!) waiting to pop up on its appropriate day without causing me any irritation or stress beforehand. Before implementing Linenberger's system, I never could have guessed that this e-mail to task conversion process could be so simple. It is a phenomenal system that has changed the flow of my workday completely and I would estimate that it has increased my efficiency by about 70%. This is also been the case for the COO of a midsized company to whom I recommended the book.

The one problem with the book is that it does need some serious editing. Unnecessary repetition, excessive, though always well-intentioned, verbosity as well as an overly generous use of catchphrases and abbreviations make some parts of the book a bit of a slog. But it is a slog that is absolutely 100% worth it. Push on through and the rewards will be great.

I've read many many books and attended way too many classes on "time management" only to wonder what I was doing wrong when I couldn't sustain writer's magic method. That was until I found Total Workday Control. Michael Linenberger has finally developed a practical, real-world approach to managing the workday. It's clear that he gets how today's world in the office works.

Michael Linenberger offers a no-nonsense and immensely practical guide to managing email, tasks, projects and goals effectively.

I have read and admired the goal setting and time management concepts of people like Stephen Covey, David Allen, Julie Morgenstern et. al. And I am addicted (big time) to my Tablet PC and cellphone/PDA (Powered by Microsoft Outlook). But try as I might (using both self built solutions and software solutions from Covey and others), there was always a chasm between the scheduling/communications/planning tools in Outlook and the big picture, long range and strategic goal setting I needed to be doing. To be perfectly blunt, Outlook couldn't do it. It just made additional work.

Linenberger has spent years (and now is in his third book) developing and perfecting an elegantly simple, direct and effective way to use Outlook to manage emails, to plan out multi-step tasks, to delegate and follow up, to put ideas out of mind for now without losing them so you can come back later, and to do it all with a minimum of fuss and bother, without complicated or esoteric theory, and in a manner that actually REDUCES rather than adds time to your processes.

It is all laid out in this book with admirable, step-by-step instructions. Or, if you are lazy, Linenberger has an Outlook add-in software package that will create the different task and email views in Outlook for you.

Once you're done with the book, you might be tempted to react: "This isn't rocket science. Any idiot could figure out how to do this." That's the beauty of the system. Simple, effective. Once you have adopted the approaches outlined in the book they DO seem so simple and obvious. But that's hindsight speaking. I, for one, never would have gotten there without this book.

Highly recommended.

To begin, those of you who fear reading "instructional books" have nothing to be afraid of here as it is an incredibly easy and enjoyable read. Whether this says more about me than the book, I have to admit that I couldn't put the book down after the first page. In other words, I was immediately sold on the methodology and was convinced that my productivity (and sanity) would be different after this book. My intuition did not steer me wrong and I'm indebted to Mr. Linenberger's willingness to create this 2nd edition. The fact that I've never written a review on Amazon should say enough about my personal conviction. Anyone even remotely considering purchasing this book should just go ahead and order it as it is well worth the money. As the subject of this review says, TWC has saved my life many times at work (and home!) and has maintained my sanity! Make Outlook worth your investment and purchase TWC. If for some crazy reason you read the book and don't feel the same why I do, then stomp on the ground really hard....you'll feel better. ;-)

I don't say this often, but it is well deserved... reading this book and implementing its recommendations has been nothing short of life changing. I've been using the techniques and framework as outlined in the book and immediately recognized the benefits and realized significant time-saving and stress-reducing results. What a great feeling it is to zero out my inbox on a daily basis!

I have a demanding job and get more mail than I can process every day, and I've often wished that I had some better strategy to deal with all of my incoming mail. One day I declared I would have a clean inbox, and then I just moved all of my mail out of my inbox...just to see some space in it. But after a day or two, I had an out of control inbox again...after a few weeks...I was basically back where I started and I was frustrated.

When I first saw this book, I was intrigued. But what dragged me in was the clarity with which Linenberger seemed to understand modern workday problems. I found myself nodding my head over and over again and saying "this guy speaks the truth!". His language is direct, clear and concise, and he seemed to really understand what I had to go through every day. So I kept reading until I just had to buy the book.

I've read a few reviews here where reviewers say the book is too basic, and another that the book is too technical...but that misses the whole point.

This book is about a process that many of us have little to no control over and need help with...managing alot of email AND the obligations that come with it. And true to his background as a former consultant from Accenture, one of the worlds leading consulting firms, Linenberger makes a very detailed and thoughtful analysis of these problems and teaches an effective solution to managing them. In my opinion its brilliant...and its working for me. And thats why I say...I Love This Book!

Thanks Michael for sharing these ideas!

Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook, 2nd Ed.

I have been using this weekend to go through this book (Total Workday Control - Michael Linenberger's 2nd edition revised for Outlook 2007) and configure Outlook according to his recommendations. I am very impressed. He is completely thorough, sophisticated, and has done his homework. He also makes things very plain and simple to understand and start using. He thinks according to the "Getting Things Done" philosophy (David Allen), but incorporates some of his own ideas, specifically:

1. Using Outlook start dates and priorities to move your task review along on a daily basis.
2. He gives several options for configuring Outlook to recognize projects.
3. He has a fantastic system for keeping email under control.

So far, I have not needed any add-in software and don't believe I will.

Hands down the best Outlook book ever. What makes it so good is that Michael teaches a system of thinking and using Outlook within that system. If you just "learn Outlook" you'll be better with Outlook but not much better at managing your day and to-dos. Michael and his system (Manage Your Now) gives you a WAY to manage your days that uses Outlook as the platform.

Michael shows you how to completely reconfigure Outlook AND use it's inherent power. Outlook is a great program - once you unleash its true potential using Michael's book!

****If you use Outlook to process email then do yourself a favor and buy this book!****

Using Michael's system of task management I scheduled a task many weeks ago to write a review on this book. I figured if the system worked then I would easily remember to do so and would have the time to do it. I have been eagerly anticipating writing my first review for Amazon.com because this book has truly changed my life!

As a senior professional in my career field and an Outlook user of almost seven years I can honestly say this book delivers on the promise of returning control to your workday. I have read many books and tried numerous methods to try to organize my time and resources, but none have had the impact that this book has on giving me back my time. The system is fun, it is easy, and it works!

After attending training on GTD and other personal productivity workshops, I was lost on how to integrate all that efficiently with Outlook that I use at work. This book bridged that gap. I have been working at a higher performance level in the office and that is getting noticed.

This book is an absolute MUST, and I truly believe should be required reading for both college students and those entering the business world. Michael's simple, common-sense techniques go far beyond being organized and effective at work, but I believe fall into the category of `life skills'. While his first version was outstanding, this book goes well beyond those strategies. I most strongly recommend this book for both those who missed his first book, as well as those who read it.

I purchased the first edition of this book about 3 years ago (1996) in order to get a better grasp on my daily workload and emails. It has become an easy, indispensable means for working efficiently. Unlike other methods that employ their own reasoning and workload(a-1, c-3, etc.), this is more of a mindset and thought flow that is much easier to use and digest. You will not regret purchasing this book. It's a very easy read and is even easier to implement. I have recently purchased the 2nd edition and have enjoyed the new updates made to the system. Michael Linenberger saved my sanity and helped my career tremendously! If you're too busy to read this book, you need this book!

I am a former Franklin/Covey user and have attended/taught time management. I've even read David Allen's book (but didn't put it to work). What was missing was an Outlook system (not software) to keep up with the regular flood of information, tasks, and projects. Before, it was like mowing the yard with scissors. I knew what I wanted the yard to look like, but couldn't get there. Now, I have a productive system that's more like a large riding lawnmower! I spend much less time and energy on the normal work and can effectively move on to value-add projects.

Please do yourself a favor and read this book. At least read the excerpts on Amazon.com. You'll be amazed at how he accurately describes the productivity problems and provides step by step, effective solutions that you can really use every day.

Thank you Michael! From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!!

I have been using the author's recommendations for processing email in Outlook for several weeks now. It is quite pleasant to have an empty in- basket by the end of each day and a god grasp of where I need to take action. Book is well written and leads you through the changes to make in Outlook. I have been using Outlook for years, but now I feel I can use it efficiently.

If you've bought into the GTD way of task management, you may reach for this book to help you tame your email and to do lists with Outlook. The book definitely has lots of information in it and is a nice companion to the system. But overall, this is a very basic book on some Outlook features slightly tailored to GTD. If you know GTD and you're good at Outlook, then this book is very basic and almost useless. I was hoping for more of an advanced book which used the deep Outlook features in a very unique and productive way. Ultimately this shows how to set up tasks and define rules and perhaps a bit of color coding. If you just use Outlook to read email, this book will be an eye-opener. But for those of us who already use tasks, categories, etc. this book will disappoint.

I'd been tinkering with Outlook for a while trying to use it to manage my email and scheduling, but it just seemed too complicated. Mr. Linenberger presents a well thought out, efficient and effective method for using Outlook that I easily adapted to my own needs.
The day I first started reading the book I set about cleaning out the 2000+ emails in my inbox, and after a day and a half my inbox was empty. More importantly, I have been able to maintain an empty inbox each day for the past three weeks so I am sold.
Although I bought the book thinking it would help me to tame Outlook, as Mr. Linenberger alludes to in his book the benefits of having an empy inbox and control over my schedule are much, much larger than that. I was having serious stress issues with the number of projects that I handle simultaneously, and using this system I have eliminated about 75% of this stress.
This book has allowed me, more and more, to leave my work behind at the end of the day (which is still well into the evening but not quite as late as before). I can actually be "present" at home now instead of thinking about what I MAY have forgotten or missed.
Mr. Linenberger has done me an invaluable service by writing this book and it is worth every penny.

I bought both Total Workday Control by Michael Linenberger and Take Back Your Life by Sally McGhee. They are both excellent. I prefer Total Workday Control. Like many people, I have too many top priority emails and tasks to ever complete. Michael's book provides a simple framework for quickly processing email and prioritizing the resulting tasks. He then describes his system for handling a high volume of tasks, so regardless of how many you complete, you always know what needs attention so you can avoid surprises!

I also recommend Outlook users get very familiar with using the Activities tab in Contacts to track tasks. It's very effective for tracking all current tasks by contact. And a great program to extend Outlook functionality for Treo and Palm users is Keysuites software, www.chapura.com.

I found this update version easier to used than the original. I use the ClearContext plug-in for Outlook.

It took me about 3 hours of reading the philosphy behind the system (this is important - don't skip it) and another 2 hours of setting up and tweaking Outlook. The first day or two afterwards were strange as I tried to get accustomed to the system, but now, after a few weeks, I couldn't live without it. It's not all about email management (that's a minor concern for me, although having a perfectly empty inbox is wonderful for your stress level) - it's really a great tool for managing the dozens of tasks that pop in and out of your head all day long along with the medium and long-term projects that have been staring at you from your task list for the last year or so.

Before this book, I really, really, really tried to like and use GTD, but I could never internalize the methodolgy and use it effectively. In contrast, TWC/Manage-your-NOW just makes sense to me.

Bottom line - it's a good book with a good system - definitely worth your time to try it.

The system covered in this book works well, in my experience, for handling large volumes of e-mail. One of the central premises of this system involves transforming e-mails into tasks. This approach is action-oriented and keeps one focused on execution and deliverables.

A number of Chapters in this book may not be applicable for all users (e.g. the Chapter on "Topic-Based E-Mail Filing"), but the book is worth reading.

I have found the system covered in this book to work only if one puts the time and effort into implementing it as advised by the author.

Linenberger does it again.

If, like me, you've struggled with applying the excellent ideas from David Allen & Stephen Covey then this is the book for you. I have read many titles in this genre but it is Linenberger's advice that passes the test of time. He has an uncanny nack of addressing the problems in workflow management that have been nagging at you, and offers solutions that just work. No need for fancy software, his techniques work with the tool you already have to hand - Microsoft Outlook.

Stop reading this review already and purchase this title - you will not be disappointed!

I find this book, especially the second edition, to be so helpful with my ongoing attempts to get better organized.

The new task views (Now-Tasks, Defer-to-Review Tasks, Goals, etc.), as well as subtle changes to the TaskPad/ToDo Bar, make it much easier to stay focused on what needs to be done now, while giving reassurance that everything else is still within the system and that each task will appear in its own due time.

Thanks for a great tool and for THE manual on processing and managing tasks.

Most recommended!

I know that you've heard it before..."This book has changed my life...yada yada yada". But the truth is, this book has really changed the way I organize my work life. Everything is now more organized, easier to manage, and simplier. It that's not life changeing I don't know what is.
If you're busy, and you use Outlook to help you stay in control. This book is a definate 'must have'.
They have very clear instructions to customize Outlook but being the lazy person I am, I bought the software and glad that I did.

This is an excellent book. I appreciated the first edition, but, as with most of the task management systems I've investigated, it really didn't work for me on a practical, day-by-day basis. I found myself beating myself up for not following the system...one more task that I wasn't getting to.

What he lays out in the second edition is a very different approach, one that works well for me. It seems to match the way my brain approaches daily and longer-term tasks. Highly recommended!!