Skip to main content

Book Review: Time Rich by Steve Glaveski

Time Rich Book - Steve Glaveski
I remember listening to a podcast interview with Steve Glaveski where he talked about 'being in flow' and how artists and other creative people struggled with time management because they needed to be in the 'flow state' to do their most creative work.

The 'flow state' is basically being on such a roll with whatever you're doing you don't want to stop just because your diary says you've scheduled something else for the next 30 minutes.

I don't remember too much from the podcast but it really resonated with me so much that I immediately ordered a copy of Steve's second book, Time Rich - Do Your Best Work, Live Your Best Life that he was promoting at the time.

To cut straight to the bottom line, probably one of the most disappointing books I've read in quite a while. Which is not to say the content is bad, it's just the title and blurb information, in my opinion, completely misrepresents what the book is about.

There is a strong suggestion of individual self improvement right from the subtitle "Do Your Best Work, Live Your Best Life" but virtually the entire first half of this 292 page book spends much of its time explaining how organisations routinely waste their employees time with unnecessary meetings, poor decision making, rigid work structures (probably... I don't know, I got so frustrated with how long Steve spends demonstrating how everyone's time is being wasted).

Then, when the book does start getting into the detail of becoming 'time rich' it still focusses on this, mostly, within the context of working within an organisation. This is a book about what you can do to streamline your time and your team's time so they can worker smarter rather than harder.

The concept of 'flow state' is covered in chapters 3 and 4, over about 20 pages, and really just explores what it is and ways to foster it within your own work day. Beyond that there is no big idea about flow and how to really use it to your advantage.

As a creative person, I can tell you, when I'm in flow on a project, everything else gets pushed to the side. Consequently all those things not getting done start to build into an overwhelming to do list. Hence why I thought Steve's book may have some insight on managing 'flow'.

The solutions this book offers on becoming time rich are not revolutionary or new. Automating mundane tasks, delegating better, only having people at meetings who actually need to be there, looking after your health etc. It's all useful information, even for solopreneurs like myself but there's no real focus or system to it.

Steve presents you with a bunch of things to try that you can sort of pick and choose what works for you if you can be bothered, or remember them. There are tasks to complete at the end of each chapter to put the things you've read about into practice, but who ever does those on the first read through?

The book also relies heavily on quotes and research from a whole range of people and organisations to illustrate various points, which is fine but in the later chapters I felt I was just jumping from quote to quote rather than reading original thoughts and ideas from the author.

I think what really killed it for me was the chapter on Productivity tips and tricks (6 pages). It leads with to-do lists, followed by the Pomodoro Technique...

The Pomodoro Technique is the enemy of being in flow. If you're not familiar with it, you set a timer for anywhere between 15-40 minute cycles. At the end of each cycle you take a five minute break. At the end of four cycles you take a longer break of 15-30 minutes, then start the sequence again.

I've tried the Pomodoro technique (there are even free apps devoted to it of which I downloaded one to my phone). Once you're in flow, even 40 minute cycles is too short. As a result you start skipping breaks so you don't break your flow. Once you've skipped several breaks in row, are you even using the Pomodoro technique anymore or are you just working how you always have?

I find the Pomodoro technique to be both distracting and stressful. There's never enough time to get what you're doing done inside a single Pomodoro but you'll still try anyway. I tried the Pomodoro method for several months. It wasn't anymore productive for me.

Anyway, Steve's book. If you're running a small to medium size business, or a team of any kind, there's probably a lot of useful information here for you. If you're a solopreneur, like me, maybe the chapter on automating tasks is going to be the most useful for ways to maximize your time.

If you're looking for a cohesive system to maximise your productivity, to give you more time, this book isn't that. Especially if you're an organisation of one. Maybe that can be the focus of Steve's next book? Developing a productivity system that allows for flow while still getting everything else done too.


* This article contains Amazon Associate commission links that help keep this site free.

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . ​​ Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur

Why Your Backside 180 Ollies Suck (Probably, if they're like mine)

Backside 180 Ollie by TET I've been doing backside 180 ollies on my skateboard for almost as long as I've been skateboarding. It's not really that hard a trick to learn, except it is, if you want to do them well. Usually, when I'm practicing my backside 180 ollies on flat, my first attempt will be my best, and then my technique will kind of deteriorate from there. Except for that one jaggy attempt where I successfully land the backside 180 ollie then continue to pivot on my back truck another 180 degrees. Which is only a cool trick if you actually meant to do it. Recently I spent an entire driveway skate session working on my backside 180 ollies. My goal was to get them higher, rotate my body more effectively, and to bend my back leg more (a common problem for most people is not really bending the back leg as you ollie). You can watch my session and decide if I made any progress in the video below. The thing is, I know everything I'm doing wrong with my backside 180

Can You Learn Skateboarding Basics on a Cheap Skateboard?

$20, Mambo 31" x 8", Department Store Skateboard. Over the years I've watched many high profile YouTube skateboarders repeatedly create videos where they purchase a cheap, department store skateboard, ride it like they would their regular professional skateboard, until it breaks (usually within an hour or so), and claim that as a reason for steering clear of these products. ​Inadvertently what they're doing is creating less demand for cheap skateboards, meaning it's less likely department stores will stock them, resulting in no easy way for first time skaters to 'test the waters' to see if skating is really for them. Even worse, parents looking to get their children into a new sport, may not even see skateboarding as an option as they browse through the department store sports section. At the time of writing, Australian department stores have shelves filled with many different brands of scooters, alongside a small shelf or two of skateboards (and

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023) *No Spoilers*

If you've enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 and Volume 2 then  Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3  will not disappoint. I would almost go so far as to call it the best in the series... except seeing the first movie for the first time is still one of my best memories of the MCU. While it's not essential to the story if you didn't see the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ it does kind of lead into and set up where the Guardians are at in Volume 3 quite nicely. In this installment Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still not coping with the loss of his timeline's Gamora (Zoe Saldada) when suddenly the team is attacked leaving Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in a very bad way. From then on it's a race to save Rocket as we learn quite a bit about his origin in the process. This movie is slightly darker than the first two and, if you're concerned about the animal cruelty that is causing some people to not want to see the film again, keep in mind, it's j

Movie Review: Bullet Train (2022) *No Spoilers*

I honestly don't understand why Bullet Train didn't do well in theaters? It's basically a live action, bonkers, cartoon but it's fun, has witty dialogue, quirky characters, and plenty of action. It's definitely underrated as something that very much reminds me of a cross between a Guy Ritchie and Edgar Wright film in terms of how it's written, filmed, and edited. The plot centers around unlucky assassin, Ladybug (Brad Pitt) who is hired to retrieve a briefcase containing a ransom from on board a Japanese Bullet Train. Unfortunately he's not the only one after the case. Confusion and mayhem ensues. The only thing that really bothered me is that the movie seems almost devoid of regular people on the train and at any of the stations. Those that are present, including the staff of the train, seem to be blissfully unaware of what is happening around them despite the interior of the train becoming increasingly more damaged and the body count climbing. The further