The First 2 Hours

What’s the first thing you do when you get into the office? If you are like most people you probably answered, “open my email and start working through them”. Depending on the nature of your work, this could be anything from 10 new messages to 200.

This act of attempted efficiency (getting on top of your emails) is having the opposite effect on your daily productivity. You only have a finite amount of energy and thinking capacity available to you in a day, and most of us are wasting it on things that aren’t contributing to our most important work.

Busy does not mean productive.

This book is for middle managers, frontline staff, supervisors and business professionals who want to take back control of their work lives. Those who are drowning in email, overloaded calendars, wasteful meetings and an ever-growing workload. Most workers are being asked to do more with less with the advice of “be innovative or creative”. This is a practical handbook in a time of information overload to help people get done what needs to get done and avoid feeling powerless, which contributes to low wellbeing.

This book will help you design your day, rather than be at the mercy of it, based on what we know about neuroscience, energy flow, and the body’s natural rhythms so that you can do your most important work when you are your most resourceful.

We will explain how you determine how much energy or focus you need to get work done (intensity) and therefore the best time of day to do your most important work. Activities like problem solving, decision making and critical thinking. By understanding when we need to be “on” and when we need to be “available” we can plan our day more effectively and achieve a level of productivity beyond what we thought possible. This book will help you be in the drivers seat and not simply a passenger.

About the Author

Donna McGeorge is a speaker, author and mentor who helps people make their work work. Using a creative, practical approach, she improves workplace effectiveness while challenging thinking on leadership, productivity and virtual work.