[1週間は金曜日から始めなさい - 臼井 由妃 (著)] Book Review

 

You can purchase the book on this Amazon Link.

It's difficult to tell from what I write on my blog, but I have a huge absent-minded spirit. I consider myself to be in the late stages of amnesia, forgetting not just vital items like mobile phones, cards, and wallets, but even the appointment I scheduled 5 minutes ago. It wasn't so severe till I was 20, but after a long time in the restaurant business, my work habits changed and I became a person with a hasty and busty demeanor.

If you are engaged in the culinary or service industries, you always get chased by time. When I'm busy, I have to take care of the customers by helping them pay or preparing food, and when I'm not busy, I also have a lot of work to do, such as cleaning the store, organizing the refrigerator, and ordering supplies and food materials. After working frantically for several years, it was not easy to keep up with my mind even after I changed jobs.

When I started studying languages and various hobbies, such as music and writing, I realized that I couldn’t handle it anymore. I felt the need to organize my schedule like a book in the library. But the last time I tried to organize my schedule was when I made a timetable for my middle school's summer vacation assignment.

Isn't this about me?

While searching for a solution through the Internet, my social network, and acquaintances, I came across a review of this book on Twitter. "The story of a widow who suddenly took over her husband's business after his bereavement and succeeded after she realized the importance of time management!" The review explained it that way. It wasn't a long review, but it was enough. For a moment, I've been immersed in the author's point of view. The company's assets that suddenly she had to take responsibility for, the jobs of many people on her hands, the regular business partners... the pressure of dealing with it all on her own. The situation was different, but it was sympathetic.

I was also under heavy pressure for a while. Pressure of duty to my family (I can't tell in detail because it's a personal story), responsibility for my own life, and since I was engaged in a rock band at the time and practiced and recorded regularly, the loyalty to my friends who made music with me is also heavy in my heart.

After all, self-help books are for practice, aren't they?

In this situation, I had to set my life right. I had to take the initiative in life and move towards my goal. So I needed this book even more. But being rebellious by nature, I don't really like self-help books. This is because there are many books that are usually self-promotional and do not explain practical solutions or actual plans. They are just some books with hundreds of pages that explain "how wonderful and lucky I am."

 

I was worried that this book might be that kind of self-help book, but after reading the first chapter, I changed my mind. The author emphasized that she was also an ordinary full-time housewife, showed the experience of failure when she started her first business, and the frustrating situations and emotions she has had to face.

 

With responsibility on your shoulders

The unique point of this book is that it presents realistic alternatives to how to manage time, human resources, and surrounding networks as a boss or a manager who leads the employees rather than as a subordinate. In particular, the "Art of Dividing Work" chapter describes the importance of division of labor, the necessity of will, and the courage and communication skills needed to ask subordinates for help.

I read this chapter, recalling my experience working as a manager and employee at several restaurants. Even as an employee, work cannot be more painful than meeting an inefficient boss who is full of ego. I recommend this book especially to managers and people working in executive positions. Also, for ambitious people who dream of being promoted, it would be good to study social life and working styles as a leader through this book in advance.

It's not about pushing your back, it's about giving yourself a footing to start

There is a clear reason why I hate self-help books. Most self-help books focus on abstract "effort." Also, most self-help books do not admit that the life lived by the author is different from the life lived by the readers. "After work, I studied for four hours and achieved my goals. This method will work for anyone, and if that doesn't work, your efforts are insufficient," they say in their books.

Tired of this kind of arrogance, I turned the page with the thought, "This book is the last self-help book I've read." But somehow, the author of this book was too humble.

< Instead of saying, "If I work hard, I can achieve this far," say, "This is what I can definitely do," and make sure to achieve it. >

-A quote from the book

The author confides in his failures due to his excessive motivation. As a reader, what I felt while reading the book was that what the author recommends to the reader is not "unconditional will and passion", but "analysis of ourselves, plans, and practices that fit into us". It is a guidebook that tells you how to set a foothold on which you can start on your own, rather than pushing you into doing it unconditionally.

Not only that, this is the book that tells you how to make your footing, starting with how to analyze your foot size, posture, etc.

Practice is ultimately on me

No matter how good a self-help book is, in the end, it is up to us to put it into practice. But with this book, I am sure you will be able to make a gradual change in small areas of your life. I first read this book in June. I am writing a book review after 5 months to deliver a review of practicing this book (and maybe, because I was a bit lazy).

I made a plan as recommended in the book, and the plan continues today. There are no major changes in my schedule or work, but my mindset has become much more relaxed. Even if it is the same room and contains the same items, seeing when everything is messy and when everything is neatly organized is a completely different feeling.

No matter what you do or what position you are in

The work is still going on, and the hobbies are gradually increasing. Music, painting, and recently started blog management and language study. But surprisingly, there is no pressure on my shoulder about the schedule. I got into the habit of taking a note of all the schedules for the week and taking notes of what I need, so I feel lighter because I just do what I wrote on the note. It also helped a lot with forgetfulness. As I checked the schedule, I could remember whether there was anything I needed or anything to buy.

No matter what kind of work you do or what social position you are in, this book will be of some help to you. This book cannot change our lives dramatically, but as the author of the book, Ms. Usui, puts it into practice, little by little, within what we can do, some time passes, and when we look back, we are going to see the path we had been walking along has changed.

Aisha Sin, Korean-English translator/interpreter

"Garage of Aisha" Korean Blog : https://blog.naver.com/aichasgarage

Contact : spi.d0417@gmail.com