At present I'm reading an autobiography by Lee Iacocca who is a legend in the US auto industry.

Son of an immigrant Italian, who grew up during the Depression years, the book makes good, inspiring reading and is suitable for any intermediate or above student.

Though in his 80's, Iacocca (pronounced similar to "try a coke ah") certainly shoots from the hip.

Inside many issues are tackled that would be of use to an English Language test taker having to speak or write about globalization, pollution, energy, environment, development, family and religion.

What stuck in my mind however was a comment he made regarding the necessity for giving ourselves time away from work.

Remembering he is a multi millionaire, he writes that "except for periods of real crisis I've never worked on Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday."

He then goes on to say that he is "constantly amazed by the number of people who can't seem to control their own schedules" and ridicules high flying business men who are too busy trying to make money rather than spending time with family.

This really put me in a quandary and made me reflect.

To confess, unless I am really organized, over time spent at work isn't that much more productive than if I had spent the usual 9-5 Mon – Fri hours on the job.

At times I try to make myself feel good about the fact that I spend a lot of time at work, but I wonder if sometimes, some days I have got it all wrong.

For students and language learners possibly this is also true.

How often do you sit down to study but with no clear goal in mind, or with no clear objective for the time? Nevertheless you make yourself feel good by saying, "Oh I was in the library, or at my desk, or I had my books open?" And in reality you spent a lot of time day dreaming, reading a magazine or surfing the internet or just doing something completely unrelated to the real task?

I know the very nature of society, sees people work and study very hard, but perhaps we need to ask ourselves if the time we are devoting is really that effective, and if it is coming at the expense of other, just as important activities?

Also as a society, the pressure to dedicate long hours at the office or in the classroom may need to be looked at for its wide reaching implications on our quality of life.

Of course the situation in 1960's baby boom America of which Iacocca was apart of is far different to 2008 China – though our needs as people and as families are still just as relevant.

I wonder if we have a choice and if we are able to work more effectively with the time we have available?

For greatest efficiency and effectiveness, I find drawing up a list of "to do's" at the start of every day, first thing when I get to work, really helps. It also allows me to look back over my diary and assess where I have achieved and where I have let things slip.

I also use a 4 colored pen that allows me to clearly detail different projects and assignments and makes it easier for me to group tasks. So if you open my diary you'll see it's a mess of red, green, blue and black, circles and boxes and crossed out tasks.

As in work as in study, a good plan, a clear set of goals and the knowledge of what we need to do to achieve those goals, can give us more chance at success.

And if we listen to the multi millionaire 'Try a coke ahh' Iacocca, success is more than money, it's about quality of life, which means friends, family and free time to laugh and be happy.

Language Tips

• shoots from the hip = this refers to the old cowboys in the western films, they were brave and fast and could shoot the bad guy very quick without having to take their gun out of their belt, where it was still placed at their hip, hence shoot from the hip; these days it means getting straight to the point when you say something, to be direct e.g. "The teacher really shot from the hip when she told Brendan he was a lazy student"

• issues are tackled = to tackle an issue means to address a subject, to confront a topic, not just lightly but more deep and investigative, to really explore for understanding e.g. "the Bush administration refuses to accept ownership of the chaos and tragedy that has resulted from their invasion of Iraq. They are not tackling the issues that they have created"

• quandary = dilemma, difficulty, problematic situation

• baby boom = The term baby boom most often refers to the dramatic post-World War II increase in the number of births. People of this generation experienced favorable economic conditions compared to earlier years.

• let things slip = when you do not complete duties, responsibilities, chores etc properly, eg. I've been so lazy with my studies recently, I've really let things slip and I am so far behind now.

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