How America's Most Successful Executives Accomplish So Much in So Little Time
They head the nation's biggest, fastest - growing companies. They're the movers and shakers and policy makers.
How does the "super - executive" manage to do it all—and still find time for a personal life？ A top productivity expert reveals the answer.
WASHINGTON D. C. (SPECIAl.) —It's the business epidemic of the 90s: Too much to do, too little time.
Downsizing and layoffs have decimated the ranks of many organizations. Yet those who retained their jobs are now saddled with more responsibilities, so they're busier than ever. If the rapidly escalating symptoms of stress, fatigue and burnout are any indication, many of these "lucky" survivors are killing themselves—sometimes literally.
Paradoxically enough, however, some of the word's most successful CEOs—just the folks you'd expect to suffer the most from chronic overload —lead very different lives.
Consider John C. Malone, president of TCL, America's largest cable TV company. Despite his enormous power and wealth, Malone works only five hours a day—and goes home for lunch, to boot.
When wildly successful Disney CEO Michael Eisner makes a commitment to his children, he simply refuses to work late.
And when Steven Spielberg decided to team up with his two high - powered pals, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, to launch the mega -studio DreamWorks SKG, he agreed to the venture only when he was sure that the partnership would allow him to spend ample time with his family.
All of these people have enormous responsibilities. Yet they somehow find time for leisure, family, hobbies, and other personal pursuits. In short, they enjoy life. How do they do it？
The Productivity Coach
Stephen Winston knows the answer. "These high achievers have mastered techniques that simplify their lives and make their work more efficient," she says.
According to Winston, they reserve serious work for "prime times" when their energy level is at its peak. They multiply their time with minimum effort by using a strategy called "leveraging."
"Anyone can learn these methods," claims Winston. "They can help people get more done faster, leaving plenty of free time for other things."
Stephen Winston was perhaps the first professional organizer. Equipped with an insider's knowledge of the corporate world, she began teaching overburdened business people how to make their work mole rewarding. Her popular books Getting Organized and The Organized Executive have together sold more than one million copies.
Today, Winston is America's top authority on sharpening organizational skills, successful time management, and personal productivity. She's a consultant to major corporations—ranging from American Express to Xerox—who collects $1,500 a day for her advice. Her clients seem to love her.
Success story
Take the ad agency vice -president who had trouble getting assignments done. Winston showed her how (and where) to block out periods of private time to accomplish creative work undisturbed.
Not only was her problem solved, but shortly afterward she was named senior vice - president. She attributes the surprise promotion to the change in her work habits that Winston engineered.
Expanding the day
Her clients are grateful for Winston's help. But she often heard comments like, "I wish I had you around all the time,"

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