Cover of the textbook Speakout Advanced - Students' Book

The key answer of exercise 4

The key to exercise solutions in chapter 8.3 - Time savers for the textbook Speakout Advanced - Students' Book with authors Antonia Clare and J. J. Wilson from Pearson Education

Question

  1. You are going to listen to the beginning of an interview with a time management consultant. What do you think the job involves? Listen and check.
  2. Work in pairs. Listen again and discuss. What does John say about the things in the box?

Answer

a)

The job involves advising individuals / companies on how to maximise their time. He looks at the processes used to accomplish tasks, how deadlines are set and met, and people's working habits to find more efficient ways to do things.

b)

  • what he does → advises individuals / companies on how to maximise their time
  • who he works with → all kinds of companies - from very traditional manufacturing firms to internet start-ups
  • observing → the first thing he does is observe the person's routine
  • resources → journalists have great resources - people who can help, contacts, archives
  • how people typically start their working day → most people check emails, read the news, go on social media sites, respond to messages
  • lists → some people use to-do lists, prioritised tasks and some have lists next to their lists (contacts and other information needed to achieve the task)
  • distractions → How much media (which means distractions) is around you? If you have text messaging, Facebook, the TV, the phone, the mobile phone, you are probably distracted.