Secrets to Getting More Done in Less Time

by Donna Otto

Deadlines. Clutter. Unending responsibilities. These things and many others can overwhelm the daily experience of joyful living for most women. Now home and life management expert Donna Otto reveals how secrets of the trade will help readers get more done and have time left over. With Donna's proven methods and practices, the least organized or most overworked woman will discover easy ways to-- Handy forms, clever advice, relatable examples from Donna's life, and contagious enthusiasm make this a productive and inspirational read. Home owners, brides, stay-at-home moms, and women in the workforce will appreciate these easy steps to a better life. Formerly titled Get More Done in Less Time

Genres: Womens, Self Help, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2006

About the author

Donna Otto, home and life management expert, is the author of several books, including Get More Done in Less Time, The Stay-at-Home Mom, and Finding a Mentor, Being a Mentor. She is the founder of Homemakers by Choice and speaks to women's groups across the nation. Donna and her husband, David, have a grown daughter, Anissa, and have been married for more than 30 years.

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right off, I have to say that Donna Otto is perhaps the most organized person on the planet. This woman's custom-made super planner is beyond anything I've ever seen on the market. Her planner contains her entire life and she has everything from her plans for the day, month, and year through important addresses and phone numbers for all sorts of occasions to detailed plans and reminders about how she is going to achieve her short and long term goals for her intellectual, physical, emotional, financial, social, spiritual, and family pursuits. This planner even has built in quick methods for creating shopping lists and counting calories.

Wow! We may not all become as organized as the author but Secrets to Getting More Done in Less Time definitely contains a good deal of food for thought. I found the sections on goal planning and actually examining what was eating up my time particularly useful.

[Rach Novotny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good ideas, mixed with bad ideology

While some of Donna's suggestions were good, her book contained a heavy dowse of sexism that left me highly uncomfortable. She suggested most women who work felt guilty for working and laughed off truly awful comments her husband made about her weight and body.

Her planner ideas were pretty good, but also highly dated. There were no ideas for incorporating technology into an organized life.

I like many of her approaches to organizing, but it's really to get over some of the glaring sexist issues.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite insight is that “what makes you tired is not what you do, but what you don’t do”

Also I loved the section on Poochie, the Otto family’s “I love you” dog 🐶

A lot of this information is outdated and far too complicated for lives these days (certainly mine!) but it will lay a good solid foundation if you’re a very structured person and you don’t know where to start getting organised.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated, and yet I found a few helpful hints.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this book and I dearly love Donna Otto. She's an organizational guru and a highly gifted speaker and author. This book is for someone who is already organized and looking to take it up a notch. It's also great for someone who is looking to fine tune their calling as a Christian homemaker and needs encouragement their work at home really does matter. I especially enjoyed the chapter "Making Time for Prayer" (how to get organized in your prayer life!). This book gets three stars because it desperately needs to be rewritten and re-organized to reflect the world of internet, smart phones and other time saving electronic devices.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really do think this book is amazing! It's not that there are any new or earthshattering ideas in it, but she makes everything seem so doable. I've read other books and articles on organization and time management, and everything always seemed so beyond my ability to do, or I would try it and it wasn't a great system for me. With every idea, she basically says, "this is how I do it, but you need to make it work for you".

*I did pretty much skip the chapter on managing your wardrobe because I have a fashion book that I love, but everything else is great!

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I own and have read tons of books on organization and time management. I somehow can never put all of those great tips and wonderful advice to work in my life. I always say that someday I'll find the time to organize my time management and organization books.
There were a few 'lightbulb'.moments in this book and at least one piece of advise that I will actually put into practice (the person to person form).

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book!The book covers a variety of organizing subjects.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on time management, balancing all the responsibilities of motherhood/womanhood, and getting organized. I was born organized and even learned some things from this book!

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this author's podcast and this is much the same info, just in written form. It is basically how to keep a day planner.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots covered in this book, primarily about creating a very effective day planner. Not a whole lot of new ideas in here for me, but it was enjoyable and motivating nonetheless!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great forms and tips for organization...but I mostly used it to copy checklists that she uses.