Do you ever feel like your life is crammed full of far too many things to keep track of? Do you have more things to do than you have time to do them? Join the club! All you have to do is look at the "daily planners" section in any office supply store to realize that there's a huge market for people trying to get their act together. But how do you do it? That's where organizing expert Julie Morgenstern comes in. She's widely known as a professional organizer, and in Time Management from the Inside Out, she tackles the topic of managing a busy schedule the same way she might tackle a messy closet.

Time Management from the Inside Out runs a reasonably concise sixty minutes, which feels about right: if you have lots to do, after all, you want your "time management" DVD to get to the point right away. Morgenstern is obviously aware of the many demands on her audience's time, and throughout the program she helps busy people "take home" the key ideas by being extremely clear about each point that she's making, and how it will help the viewer manage his or her time better.

Morgenstern approaches time management, as the title suggests, from the "inside": what you, the individual, wants and needs. Once you've established that, you can start figuring out ways to allocate and use your time in the way that will meet your own needs. I appreciated the way that Morgenstern emphasizes the individual at every step in her program; what's a priority for one person might be irrelevant for another. By avoiding blanket statements and by focusing on how her concepts can be tailored to meet the needs of different people's lives, Morgenstern makes it clear how you can apply these ideas to your own life.

In this program, Morgenstern is lecturing in front of a live audience, so there are no props or fancy graphics, though we do get useful on-screen captions on the DVD highlighting the key point that she's making at times. The emphasis is on Morgenstern herself, and she does a very nice job of keeping the material interesting and engaging. Her style is animated and genuinely enthusiastic, but never slipping into that annoying "hyperactive cheerleader" mode that some motivational speakers have; as a result, she's much more believable and easy to listen to.

Who will benefit from Time Management from the Inside Out? The most benefit will be to people who are having a really hard time even getting started with organizing their time, or who are really overwhelmed with too much to do (whether it's from work, family, or other causes). If you're already well organized, the program's content will mostly seem like common sense to you. Even if you're already pretty well organized, though, you may get some new ideas from some of her tips; Morgenstern does have some interesting approaches to topics like allocating time or the use of daily planners.

The DVD

Video

Time Management from the Inside Out is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and looks fine. Colors are clear and bright, and the image is clean and presentable. The close-up shots look sharp, but middle- and long-distance shots start getting blurry.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is straightforward and clean, presenting Morgenstern's voice in a clear and natural manner.

Extras

A 22-minute additional segment is included in the special features section, with Morgenstern answering audience questions. Naturally, it's not as focused as the main program, but it's certainly worth watching if you're looking for examples of how to apply her advice to real life.

Final thoughts

Time Management from the Inside Out is a reasonably useful program on time management, with expert organizer Julie Morgenstern offering a clearly organized, well-presented approach to getting your life more organized and satisfying. If you're already fairly well organized, the program will be mostly common sense, with a few interesting tips. It's going to be most valuable to viewers who are feeling a bit overwhelmed with all their obligations and don't really know where or how to start. Overall, it's informative and useful, and deserves a "recommended" rating.