How to Work the Competition Into the Ground Paperback – January 1, 1987

This is one of Mr. Molloy's best books (as if any are not best). He challenges the reader to examine themself to determine at what times of the day are best for doing specific tasks to help him/her work more productively. I loved the ideas of charting and evaluating my progress.And to "dissect" each task into smaller tasks to determine what needs to be done and the best time (based on energy levels, etc) for doing them. For example, as a seamstress, garment construction is composed of fabric preparation, laying the pattern, pining, marking button holes, hem lines, darts, notches for assemling pieces of the garment together. Then preparation to sew. And finally, getting the garment ready to deliver. I found there are certain times of the day I have more energy for sewing then cutting the pattern (usually early afternoon) Mornings are better for me to prepare the fabric for cutting and to lay the pattern. The message is clear: You can beat the competition by understanding yourself and your job, and then using this information to work faster and smarter. Most people do not uderstand these aspects of planning their work day.

I've read many excellent books over the years on time and self management. This one still remains at the top of my list. I read the book right after a car accident that left me disoriented for several months. By internalizing Molloy's concepts I was able to recover my edge and launch into hyper-productivity for many years. I still work on developing my sense of order, priority, time and place which he discussed in the book. The world has changed significantly since he wrote this book. I have found it useful to combine Molloy's findings with newer concepts about getting into the flow, zone or optimal life experience. I build on the foundation I learned from Molloy's work with the writings of Belitz and Lundstrom in The Power of Flow. We now live in a 24/7/365 world, but I don't think that precludes learning these fundamentals of being a highly productive person. Molloy's other books, Live for Success and Dress for Success also remain on my best ever book list.

Love John T. Molloy. Advice still useful, plus there's something delightful about reading such a dated work. And yet I keep going back for more tips.

Malloy helps you to organize yourself, your office and your activities for success. It builds a work ethic that will make all your tasks easier.

The spirit of this book is great, but it is a discredit to the publishing industry (more than the author) in the form published. I found the experimental, data-driven approach wonderful compared to virtually all the time management and personal productivity books I have ever read.Unfortunately, as published it is a late draft that still needs editing. At least one chapter needs to be dropped. Several sections are confusing. For example there are places where the author promises to make four points, but it is not clear after several readings of the following pages what the points were.I may decide to write the better book that this one should have been myself. Now all I need is a publisher. Anyone ?

This is a very useful and highly entertaining book. Molloy's research never goes out of date. I recommend all of his works.

I read this book many years ago, and have re-read it several times since then. This is a fantastic book on learning how to work more effectively. He strips away all the self-deception we have in the way we waste time instead of focusing on our work; he calls it gold-bricking. There are very practical exercises in tracking your time and exercises that increase concentration and improves work effectiveness. Highly recommend this book for anyone who is willing to work at improving your effectiveness at work, without whitewashing reality or engaging in the modern lie that we are all successful and great at what we do if we just try our best..... Just like it takes training to be a great athlete, so it takes personal training and effort to improve your work habits.

This is an excellent guide to very practical methods of improving one's work behaviors. Charts are included to teach one how to exactly monitor on-task and off-task behavior, how to find the things that distract one from concentrating and working, etc.This is a one-of-a-kind book, but if one is interested in improving one's ability to work in a concentrated manner, this is excellent and well worth having.