Now that Elaine St. James has helped readers simplify their homes, closets, and holidays, she shares her expert advice on simplifying the workplace. St. James points out that most of the conveniences Americans rely upon to make work easier--such as fax machines, e-mail, and cell phones--really make it "easier to do more work" at any time of day or night. As a result, the 40-hour workweek is a distant memory. "American workers could learn a lot from the European workplace," she writes. "In most European countries, the 32 hour work week is mandated by law."

How is it possible to be like the Europeans and still get the job done? This is where St. James gets specific. At first she asks readers to set firmer boundaries between work and home. She makes seemingly radical suggestions, such as "stop working weekends," "add one day to your vacation" (to allow for transition time), and "eliminate your commute." She also offers on-the-job advice, such as "be selective in giving out your e-mail [address]" (to eliminate distracting messages) and "double your estimate" ("face it, things always take twice as long to complete as you think"). Ultimately, she suggests ways to be more efficient spenders in order to have more flexibility (which results in saner and more meaningful work). This Queen of Simplification may seem simplistic to her detractors, but her advice-packed books really do get results. --Gail Hudson


From Booklist
St. James is the author of five best-selling books, including Simplify Your Life (1994) and Inner Simplicity (1995). She divides her latest book into seven sections: cutting back on the amount of time you work, learning to seize time, being more productive, being more effective with people, being more efficient with your money, changing the way you work, and changing the way you think about work. Within these sections are 89 recommendations, which include using modern phone technology, getting off junk mail lists, minimizing the paper glut, getting organized, using the Internet consciously, and eliminating distractions. Other of her suggestions sound good, but probably would be impossible for the average worker; these include cutting back to a 30-hour week, no working on weekends, no commuting to work, taking a nap, and finding a worker-friendly environment, to name a few. But there is plenty of sound advice here--for overworked people who have time to read a 300-page book. George Cohen
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Book Description
With more than 2 million copies sold, Elaine St. James' SIMPLIFY series has taught the world how to start doing less and enjoying it more. In her first bestseller, she showed us how to reduce the clutter in our lives, from cleaning out our closets to cleaning up our relationships. Since then she has helped readers simplify their inner lives, their lives with their kids, and their holidays. Now Elaine helps us cut back in one of life's most difficult arenas -- the world of work. With tremendously helpful advice -- and easy yet profoundly smart suggestions -- she shows us big and small ways to scale down and simplify life on the job, such as: --Break the habit of bringing work home from the office --Always estimate the time it will take to complete a project, then double the estimate --Cut back on the amount of time you spend working --How to make the right decisions quickly --How to minimize paper glut --Let your callers know what your work hours are and stick to them --How to make it easier to return to work after your vacation --Ways to enhance your energy so you can get more done in less time and leave work early and much, much, more Highlighting such high-tech "conveniences" as the cell phone, e-mail, fax machine, and time management systems, she helps readers understand the difference between making work easier and making it easier to do more work. Elaine explains not only how to change the way we work, but how to change the way we think about work. Written in the some upbeat, relaxed, and matter-of-fact tone that won millions of readers to the simplicity movement, Simplify Your Work Life is certain to attract even more followers as it shows how work can be fulfilling and challenging without taking over one's life.


Download Description
With more than 2 million copies sold, Elaine St. James's Simplify series has taught the world how to start doing less and enjoying it more. In her first bestseller, she showed us how to reduce the clutter in our lives, from cleaning out our closets to cleaning up our relationships. Since then she has helped readers simplify their inner lives, their lives with their kids, and their holidays. Now Elaine helps us cut back in one of life's most difficult arenas; the world of work. With tremendously helpful advice and easy yet profoundly smart suggestions;she shows us big and small ways to scale down and simplify life on the job, such as:; Break the habit of bringing work home from the office; Always estimate the time it will take to complete a project, then double the estimate; Cut back on the amount of time you spend working; How to make the right decisions quickly; How to minimize paper glut; Let your callers know what your work hours are and stick to them; How to make it easier to return to work after your vacation; Ways to enhance your energy so you can get more done in less time and leave work early, and much, much, more Highlighting such high-tech;conveniences; as the cell phone, e-mail, fax machine, and time management systems, she helps readers understand the difference between making work easier and making it easier to do more work. Elaine explains not only how to change the way we work, but how to change the way we think about work. Written in the same upbeat, relaxed, and matter-of-fact tone that won millions of readers to the simplicity movement, Simplify Your Work Life is certain to attract even more followers as it shows how work can be fulfilling and challenging without taking over one's life.


About the Author
Elaine St. James had her own real estate investing business for over 15 years. She is the author of five bestselling books, including Simplify Your Life, Inner Simplicity, and Simplify Your Life with Your Kids. She now lives a quiet, simple life in Santa Barbara, California.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

With more than two million copies of the Simplify series books in print — now there are two million and one reasons to simplify, simplify, simplify.

Elaine St. James' Simplify series has taught the world how to start doing less and enjoying it more. Now Elaine teaches us to balance one of life's most difficult areas: the work world. Filled with tremendously helpful advice, and easy yet profoundly smart suggestions, her new book shows us big and small ways to scale down and simplify life on the job, such as:

—Breaking the habit of bringing work home from the office —Estimating the time it will take to complete a project, then double the estimate —Cutting back on the amount of time you spend working —Learning how to make the right decisions quickly

Written in the same upbeat, relaxed, and matter-of-fact tone that won millions of readers to the simplicity movement, Simplify Your Work Life is certain to attract even more followers.

Author Biography: Elaine's syndicated weekly column Simplify Your Life is carried in 50 newspapers nationwide and is read by more than 2 million fans each week.

Author Biography: Elaine St. James ran her own real estate investing business for over 15 years. She is the author of five bestselling books, including Simplify Your Life, Inner Simplicity, and Simplify Your Life with Your Kids. Her books have been translated into 27 languages.

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