Make Money Myself

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
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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