Can Franklin Covey help an overstressed editor who eats too many lunches at her desk transform herself into a doyenne of efficient time management?

By Leigh Gallagher, assistant managing editor

Like many others in this lean, mean, job-strapped economy, I entered 2010 thankful to be employed -- and with much more on my plate. As the months wore on and the work piled up, for the first time in my professional life I began thinking about all those time-management theories I'd always rolled my eyes at.

My colleagues offered some suggestions: One sent me a 12-step program for improved productivity (limit e-mail time, avoid newsfeeds). Another referred me to venture capitalist Fred Wilson's blog post declaring "e-mail bankruptcy." A third told me about a method he used called "(10×2)*5": Focus for 10 minutes, take a two-minute break, and repeat for an hour. But all of them seemed easier said than done.

So when Fortune's parent company offered a day-long Franklin Covey time-management course, I jumped at the chance. I would become a motor of productivity! I would find more hours in the day! I would tap efficiency resources I didn't know I had! The session, "FOCUS: Achieving Your Highest Priorities," was a full eight hours, prompting sarcastic comments from my colleagues when it fell on a busy day in our cycle. But I resisted the urge to cancel. More