Scheduling - and wondering why my dress has holes in it?

So I know it looks like I’ve taken on a lot for the next 90 days - which is why a detailed schedule is crucial for success. Like most of you - I have a real job (well real in the sense that there is work to be done). I don’t subscribe to the 8-5 mentality of the corporate world - so I generally end up doing the bulk of my work in the evenings. Which frees my mornings up for things like - sleep. Of course - if this little adventure is going to be a success - I’m gonna have to sleep in less and maybe even reset my circadian rhythms.

According to my calculations this little adventure ends on December 2nd. I’ve drawn up a rough map of what the next few weeks look like.

I decided that the most effective place to start would be with The Personal MBA. I have a printed copy of The Personal MBA Manifesto from Changethis.com. Apparently this is an old version - because the parent site currently has an updated and revised reading list and manifesto. So the question becomes - which program should I follow - The Original? The New & Improved? Or a Combination of Both?

Since I only have a limited amount of time - I’ve decided to pick 1-2 books from each category and try to get through as many of them as possible in 90-days. Mixing and matching from the new and old programs I have chosen the following books. Some because I’ve always wanted to read them - or in some cases re-read them. Others because I found myself resisting them - it’s good to do things we fear - even if it’s just reading a book.

Reading List

• Personal Effectiveness
  • Getting Things Done by David Allen
  • The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
• Speak Your Mind
  • On Writing Well by William Zinsser
  • Flawless Consulting by Peter Block
• Do Your Own Thing
  • The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
  • The Bootstrapper’s Bible by Seth Godin
  • The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
• Rules & Morals
  • Law 101 by Jay M. Feinman
  • A Primer on Business Ethics by Tibor Machan & James Chesher
• Economics, Financing, & Accounting
  • Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
  • How to Read a Financial Report by John A. Tracy
  • The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance for Nonfinancial Managers
• Strategy
  • Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis
  • Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
  • Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter
• Analyze This
  • The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
  • Principles of Statistics by M.G. Bulmer
• Commercialization
  • The Art of Project Management by Scott Berkun
  • Citizen Marketers by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba
• Applied Psychology
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
• Management
  • Growing Great Employees by Erika Andersen
  • First, Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
• Business History & Reference
  • The Books of Business Wisdom Series by Peter Krass
  • Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days by Jessica Livingston
  • Business: The Ultimate Resource (2nd Edition) from Basic Books

That’s a pretty decent list - I’m sure that I left off a few of the Greats - but I won’t quit after 90 Days - just to be sure we get to them all. It looks like I’m going to have somewhere on average of 3 days to read each of the books on this list. After the first week - I may go back and revise the list up or down depending on my progress.

I’ll start by re-reading Getting Things Done by David Allen - followed by The Effective Executive.

Health & Fitness

Tomorrow Morning I’ll be drawing up my fitness plan - including my gym schedule for the next two weeks. I’ll also be meeting with Natalie to discuss my diet and nutrition goals. This is a short week because I’ll be leaving Thursday Night for Austin - where I will be attending a 3-day seminar called The Landmark Forum.

I’ll also be researching SmartLipo and learning more about my different medical weight loss options. Oh - and coding up the Snazzy new design for my site - which Greg is working on now

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