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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
Do your most important work when you are your most resourceful Are you drowning in email? Overloaded with calendar invitations? Frustrated by wasteful meetings and an ever-growing workload? Then you know that being busy does not mean being productive. Most workers are being asked to take on more responsibilities with less support, advised to simply 'be innovative.' But you only have a finite amount of energy and thinking capacity available to you in a day. Most of us are wasting it on things that aren't contributing to our most important work: the activities that require problem solving, decision making and critical thinking. Developed for business professionals, The First Two Hours teaches you how to design your day, rather than be at the mercy of it. Using research on neuroscience, energy flow and the body's natural rhythms, it divides the workday into manageable blocks and helps you determine when you are most resourceful, and therefore when you should complete your most demanding tasks. * Optimize your day in blocks of two hours * Take back control of your work life by creating a workflow designed for you * Do your most important work at the right time of day so it gets the resources it deserves * Decide when you need to be 'on' and when you can be 'available' so you can maximise productivity In a time of near-constant information overload, this practical handbook helps you focus on getting done what you need to get done, when you are best able to do it. By learning to invest your energy strategically, you can be in the driver's seat every work day and achieve a level of productivity beyond what you thought possible. The First 2 Hours is the second book in Donna McGeorge's It's About Time series. With The 25-Minute Meeting, you'll learn to give your meetings purpose and stop them wasting your time; with The First 2 Hours, you'll find the best time of the day to do your most productive work; and with The 1-Day Refund, you'll discover how to give yourself the extra capacity to think, breathe, live and work.
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WOW! What a great, easy to read business book. The First 2 Hours is overflowing with great insights and practical advice to make sure you truly do get the most out of your day.
— Gabrielle Dolan, Global expert on business storytelling and author of Stories for Work and Real Communication
I am a massive fan of Donna’s two-part pragmatism and inspiration and The First 2 Hours meets all my expectations and then some. If you want an upgrade around how you live and do life then get your hot little hands on this one. You can’t afford not to.
— Georgia Murch, Author and keynote speaker
Many workplaces I go into are chock full of people blearily staring at screens in the morning, stressed and overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done. Donna’s book The First 2 Hours is jam packed full of pragmatic ways to change that. Giving us the lens of when rather than what, Donna turns what we do with our day on its head. Donna’s approach to how we use our time more effectively is accessible, doable and practical. The research is fascinating, as are the simple ways we can save ourselves from the crushing vortex of ‘busyness fatigue’. Along with Donna’s previous book The 25 Minute Meeting, The First 2 Hours is a game changer.
— Tracey Ezard, Professional Triber, Learning Culture expert, speaker, facilitator and author of Glue and The Buzz
Imagine that there were ways to set ourselves up to have awesomely productive days every day — rather than those days where we are struggling to get through our to do list, and find ourselves spending hours outside of work getting our work done. Donna has written a deceptively simple book and shows how, with a few tweaks to our day, we can tap into our energy levels and work so much more productively and enjoyably. Donna continues to set the benchmark for helping us manage our productivity and time, first with The 25 Minute Meeting and now with The First 2 Hours. If you are looking for a practical, evidence-based guide to help you design your day and take back control of your life, you must read this.
— Maree Burgess, Trainer, executive coach, facilitator and author of The XX Projectand Connecting Us
With much written about being our best, working at our optimum, needing more sleep and the problems with multi-tasking, The First 2 Hours gathers, presents and explains the leading thinking on what we need to be doing with the most important time of our day. Tasks, activities, self-assessments and tips, combine with practical advice that can be implemented immediately. Leaders and teams in organisations would do well to adopt the advice here to make significant gains personally and professionally. It’s time to stop fighting for productivity and start going with the elements that science, experience, research and data say will help us truly be our best. Aaaaah … it feels better already.
— Lynne Cazaly, Speaker, author and facilitator
The First 2 Hours
Make Better Use of Your Most Valuable Time
Donna Mcgeorge
First published in 2019 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064
Office also in Melbourne
Typeset in 12/15pt Bembo Std
© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2019
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.
Cover design by Wiley
Cover image © Rashad Ashur / Shutterstock
Disclaimer
The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.
List of Tables
Chapter 1
Table 1.1
Chapter 6
Table 6.1
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Figure A: the Deny to Design framework
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1: typical body clock
Figure 1.2: your chronotype
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1: the three key productivity factors
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1: intensity versus impact
Part II
Figure B: your day
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1: your first 2 hours
Figure 4.2: resources for the first 2 hours
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1: your second 2 hours
Figure 5.2: resources for the second 2 hours
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1: your third 2 hours
Figure 6.2: resources for the third 2 hours
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1: the fourth 2 hours
Figure 7.2: resources for the fourth 2 hours
Figure 7.3: planning template
Your first 2 hours clock
Figure C: your First 2 Hours clock
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
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About the author
Donna McGeorge makes work work.
She is passionate about enhancing the large amount of time we spend in our workplace (too much, for many) to ensure it is effective and productive, as well as enjoyable.
Donna has worked with managers and leaders throughout Australia and the Asia–Pacific for over 20 years. She delivers practical skills, training, workshops and facilitation to corporates — such as Nissan Motor Company, Jetstar, Medibank Private and Ford Motor Company — so they learn to manage their people well and produce great performance and results.
Her CV is as eclectic as her record collection (yes, classic vinyl). In addition to roles at Telstra, Qantas, Ernst & Young and Ansett, she has been Manager of Theatre, Sports & Concert Tours for the UK-based Keith Prowse, and Asia–Pacific Organisational Development Manager for Ford Motor Company in Shanghai, China.
Donna also shares her knowledge for good, writing articles for the likes of The Age, Smart Company, B&T, HRM, and other publications. The First 2 Hours is her second book; The 25 Minute Meeting, her first book, was published by John Wiley & Sons in 2018.
She runs her business from 20 acres in Heathcote, Victoria, a region known for its world-class shiraz, but her most creative moments come while sipping tea on her verandah and gazing at the rolling hills alongside her husband, Steve, and dog, Prudence.
Donna believes that workplaces are complex, but not hard to get on track. More often than not it’s getting the simple things right, consistently, that has the greatest impact.
She also knows that when we decide to be intentional, we can surprise ourselves with what we can achieve. Read on and you’ll soon see.
www.donnamcgeorge.com
Acknowledgements
In 2018, I published my first ‘proper’ book, The 25 Minute Meeting. It was a super steep learning curve and I couldn’t have done it without the team that supported me. Now here I am in 2019, publishing my second book (can you imagine?) and, yet again, it has been another team effort.
Thank you to my friends at Wiley — Lucy, for having faith in doing the second book before we saw how the sales for the first would be. Ingrid for answering any and all questions with such patience and forbearance. Peter and the marketing team for getting my books into stores and positioned to their best advantage.
Kelly Irving — legend. You demystify every part of writing a book, and break it down into digestible chunks that not only make the process fluid and manageable, but downright enjoyable. With each book our relationship deepens, making working with you just like hanging out with a mate.
The Brains Trust — I love the fires of creation we spark every time we hang out together. Whenever I need anything, I need simply ask. You gals always have my back, and I’m lucky to have you. Thank you Maree Burgess, Tracey Ezard, Lynne Cazaly and Deb Dalziel.
Anne-Marie Johnson — we’ve known each other for so long that when I put my manuscript in your hands I know I’m going to get no-nonsense, nothing-but-the-truth feedback. I have come to love and trust your expertise in the Queen’s English. Thank you also for rearranging books in bookstores so mine are front and centre.
Alexandra Martindale — writing this book took a greater toll on the business than I intended. Your patience with me while I worked through it and got on the other side of it has been nothing short of phenomenal. I’m so grateful to have you in my life.
Emma McGeorge — you continue to be the inspiration for much of my writing as I strive to create a better corporate working environment for everyone, and, particularly, for you. I love you my darling girl.
And finally, there is NOTHING I could do in my professional or personal life without the loving support of my husband, Steve. Nothing has changed since the last time I wrote acknowledgements for a book. You are still of service. You still swap out empty cups of tea and bring me snacks without me noticing. I’m still blessed. Thank you, my love.
Introduction
The alarm goes off and you jump out of bed towards the bathroom. You splash some water on your face and stare at your wardrobe trying to think of what to wear to the office. Wait — no time for that, you’re going to miss your train!
The next hour is a blur of carparks and kid drop-offs. When you finally get to sit down on your commute, you open up your laptop and are horrified to see 100-plus new emails have pinged into your inbox.
In the following 30 minutes, you manage to delete 27 newsletters, reject 11 meeting invites and respond in detail to just two emails. It’s only 8.30 am and your brain is fried.
By the time you get to the office you are exhausted, not to mention 10 minutes late to your first meeting.
Unfortunately, scenarios like this are all too common for all too many people.
We start off our day on the wrong foot, stressed and rushing for the door, only to open up our computers and be inundated with requests from other people and actions that take us away from our most valuable tasks for the day.
How can we expect to get a valuable day’s work done if we start it by reacting to whatever is in our inbox or whoever is at our desk?
You’re stuck in a vicious cycle: starting the day tired, doing the best you can through to the afternoon, working late, going home grumpy and then waking up the next morning to start the cycle all over again.
To try and fix the problem, you’ve been to endless time management courses and read all the productivity books in the world. Yet still, nothing seems to be working. The volume of your work is ever increasing, and you are now being asked to do more with less — I mean, c’mon!
The problem is that traditional time management theories haven’t kept pace with modern workplace demands.
They focus too much on the what of our work. They require us to list all the tasks we need to do, then prioritise them according to what is most urgent and important — but what if all of your work is urgent and important?
We need to focus less on what we do, and more on when we do it.
In his book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg explains that there are things that we can do upon waking that have a positive impact on our mental and physical wellbeing throughout the day. The same can be said for the habits we have in the first two hours of our working day.
There are things we are currently doing when we arrive at the office that drag us and our productivity down for the entireday: checking our inbox, tidying our desk, responding to ‘urgent’ queries, discussing the football scores from the weekend or the latest exit from our favourite reality show. Sure, these things still hold a place in the day, but is first thing the best time to do them? That’s the question this book will answer.
What if I told you there are particular tasks that, if done first thing, would actually add value to your role and to your whole day?
Before you throw this book away in horror at the thought of not being able to grab a coffee on the way into work (I would never advocate that), what we’re talking about here is understanding that our mind and body have innate cycles that can help or hinder our productivity at certain times of the day.
What you’re about to discover is that there are optimum times for doing certain types of work — responding to emails, conducting meetings, devising next year’s strategy — not just in the first two hours of your day, but at all hours of the workday until home time.
