The 10 Natural Laws Of

Summary

This book provides practical strategies to help individuals not only manage their time but also manage their life. Smith (1994) presents 10 natural laws that govern personal productivity and fulfillment. The two main sections of the book are the natural laws of managing your time and the natural laws of managing your life. Time management is essential to managing your life. I will provide a brief summary of the 10 natural laws which compromise most chapters of the book.

You control your life by controlling your time. The author defines time as a series of events. To control time we must gain control over the events of our lives. Those who fail to gain control over the events of their lives do so because of a lack of conditioning. There are events we believe we can control but we can't and there are events that we can control and believe we can't. In this chapter, Smith (1994) examines time robbers like interruption, procrastination, poor planning, shifting priorities and waiting for answers. He also provides suggestions to overcoming time robbers. For example, to overcome procrastination you can set a deadline, do the hardest part first, make a game of it and build in a reward.

Your governing values are the foundation of personal fulfillment. The author explains that governing values are part of one's personal constitution. He shares his own governing values and provides sample constitutions from participants in his seminars. Smith (1994) states that identifying your governing values is the foundation of the personal productivity pyramid.

When your daily activities reflect your governing values, you experience inner peace. In the third law, the author explains how to prioritize your governing values. He states that everything begins with governing values. If you set goals that aren't aligned with your governing values, you may accomplish much but not feel satisfied. If your daily goals do not reflect your long range and intermediate goals, you will be busy but not productive. In this chapter, the productivity pyramid is used because you sharpen your focus as you move from the short term to the long term, from daily tasks to governing values. For many of us, our core values do not drive the planning process. We may pay the mortgage and complete a work project but not have a meaningful conversation with our spouse or read a book to our child. Therefore, if we do not prioritize our values, we have conflicting goals and daily activities and difficult decisions ahead.

To reach any significant goals you must leave your comfort zone. The author defines a goal as a "planned conflict with the status quo".(p.79) He further explains that reaching a goal entails doing something new and leaving what is familiar and comfortable to explore new frontiers. However, most of us do not want to leave our comfort zones and is probably the reason why most people do not reach their goals. Further in the chapter, Smith (1994) suggests that we make SMART goals which are specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and timely. The three obstacles to leaving our comfort zone are the invisible committee (friends, family and peers), walls (circumstances, past mistakes, obligations) and fear of change.

Daily planning leverages time through increased focus. Leveraging time entails conducting a daily planning session. For a small cost, you will enjoy the benefits of clearly defined tasks with deadlines, increased focus on important tasks, and less time between projects. Despite the benefits of daily planning, we come up with excuses such as not having enough time to plan, not knowing how to plan, or not needing to plan because we already know what to do. Smith (1994) includes important considerations in the planning process. They are: 1) find a place with few distractions 2) review long-range objectives 3) make sure there is enough time in the day to complete tasks 3) set specific daily tasks 4) set specific daily tasks 5) anticipate obstacles 6) prioritize tasks. A planning tool such as a day planner is a necessity to accomplish these tasks. Furthermore, Smith (1994) defines character as the "ability to carry worthy out a worthy decision once the emotion of making the decision has passed." (p.128) In addition to planning tools, the author discusses the importance of good habits in maintaining character.

Your behavior is a reflection of what you truly believe. In order to illustrate this law, the author uses the Franklin Reality Model. He first explains the parts before explaining how the model functions. The first element is needs which are the need to live, the need to love and be loved, the need to feel important, and the need to experience variety. The second element is the belief window. We look at the world through our believe window and receive feedback through that window. Likewise, the beliefs on your window have a powerful influence on your actions and behavior. Our beliefs can be a reflection of our values. The third element is rules. "For each belief on your window,