Use Time Or It Will Use You

All around us, people are living in time poverty. Days, months, and even years can slip by without accomplishing anything truly satisfying. Most of us are so busy reacting to the demands of everyday life that we struggle to find the time to read even this short book.

First published in 1997 and now in a fully revised third edition, Use Time Or It Will Use You is a modern classic of time management, written not as a productivity system but as a way of thinking. Its central idea is simple and demanding: treat time the way wise investors treat capital. Investing time well is a skill, learnable like any other, and this book teaches it in plain language, in a handful of short chapters.

Inside, you will learn:

• The Laws of Time Investment: how to create a compelling future, choose goals worthy of your hours, and invest in the people and pursuits that make a life rich
• The Laws of Time Utilization: how to value your time, prioritise, plan, and guard your hours from everything that wastes them
• A Plan for Action: practical planning methods that turn principle into daily practice

This is not another book of hacks for squeezing more into a crowded day. Its laws are simple to grasp and demanding to live. Practiced consistently, they are how ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things.

New in the Third Edition: this edition has been carefully revised for today's reader and pairs the book with Use-Time, a companion app that turns its planning templates into a living daily practice.

About the Author

R. Geoff Dromey (1946–2009) was Foundation Professor of Software Engineering at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, founder of its Software Quality Institute, author of the classic How to Solve It by Computer, and originator of the Behavior Engineering method. He wrote this book for the general reader, from a simple conviction: that the disciplined, purposeful use of time is what allows anyone to build a richer and more accomplished life.

Most authors hope their books will just be read and appreciated. This book is different: it seeks to change the way you value your time, and to show how time can be invested to lead a fulfilled life.