I finished reading Jiří Toman’s book “How to Improve Yourself.” The book was published in 1980 in Prague, and in 1988 it was translated into Ukrainian and published in Kyiv by the publishing house for political literature.
The book covers questions such as:
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What would you like to achieve in life?
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And why improve yourself?
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Know yourself
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A person wonders: “What am I like?”
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How to begin
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The prerequisite for any success is the ability to use time
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Can mental abilities be developed?
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How to improve your abilities
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Taking care of your health
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Taking care of your appearance
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Developing physical capabilities
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Preparing for life
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Choosing a profession
...and many others that I just got sick of writing out. Overall, the book is like a collection of essays on various topics, but united by a common idea.
For example, the figure below shows a chapter with a diagram, also known as a “pinarik.” On this chart, with a resolution of 15 minutes, you’re supposed to mark phone calls, the work itself, breaks/lunches, meetings, correspondence. And after some time, go back over these diagrams and honestly admit to yourself that you haven’t done a damn thing.
Well, and, you know. Reading the book is clearly not enough to just suddenly become better like that.
Overall, though, the author’s other book, “The Art of Speaking”, seemed more interesting.