Donna McGeorge - The 1 Day Refund

The productivity section of the self‐help bookshelf has never been my cup of tea. The genre has always been so intensely focused on maximising our ability to produce stuff that it rarely seemed conducive to actually enjoying a full and balanced life.

For that reason, Donna McGeorge's contributions deserve to be a category unto themselves. The 25 Minute Meeting and The First 2 Hours are each a gift to those of us that want to unshackle ourselves from the busyness of the status quo and embrace a life of calm and control. In that vein, I think the book you hold in your hands might be Donna's coup‐de‐grace. The stand‐out quote from the introduction is ‘Instead of trading time for money, we need to trade energy for impact’, which resonates down to my soul, and in true Donna McGeorge style the pages that follow describe and unpack a strategy for helping you achieve exactly that.

Since reading this book I'm trying a number of the experiments Donna suggests, with some very encouraging results. If you too deserve a day of your time back, I heartily endorse Donna and the ideas shared in this book.

— Col Fink, speaker, author of Speakership and Tribe of Learning, head of programs at Thought Leaders

Anyone who can give me back an extra day each week is a total genius! Thanks Donna.

— Kieran Flanagan, speaker and author of Selfish, Scared & Stupid and Forever Skills

DONNA McGEORGE

First published in 2022 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064

Office also in Melbourne

© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2022

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

ISBN: 978‐0‐730‐39820‐2

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 and part opener image: © Ankudi/Getty ImagesInternal illustrations by Donna McGeorge

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.

Donna McGeorge makes work work .

She is passionate about enhancing the time we spend in the workplace (too much, for many of us) to ensure it is effective and productive, and enjoyable.

Donna has worked with managers and leaders throughout Australia and the Asia–Pacific for over 20 years. In 2020 she, like many of us, transitioned her work from live, in‐person to online. She delivers productivity programs, keynotes and webinars globally across a mix of industries.

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 managed Theatre, Sports and Concert Tours for the UK‐based travel company Keith Prowse and been the Asia–Pacific Organisational Development Manager for the Ford Motor Company in Shanghai.

Donna also shares her knowledge for good through appearances on The Today Show , radio interviews across Australia and writing articles for publications including The Age , Boss Magazine , Smart Company , B&T Magazine and HRM . The 1‐Day Refund is the third book in her ‘It's About Time' productivity series. The other two are The 25‐Minute Meeting and The First 2 Hours , published by John Wiley & Sons in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

She runs her business from her home in Hope Island, South East Queensland, a region known for its world‐class beaches, but her most creative moments come while sipping tea on her balcony and gazing at the meandering waterways with her husband, Steve, and her dog, Prudence.

Donna believes that while workplaces are complex, they are not hard. 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.

www.donnamcgeorge.com

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 who supported me. In 2019, just a year later, I published The First 2 Hours and, following the global pandemic, here I am in 2021, publishing my third book. Again, it has been a team effort.

Lucy Raymond, Chris Shorten, Renee Aurish and the team at Wiley — thank you for offering me the opportunity to turn two books into a series and working hard with me to get the title and message right for this one. You have opened up my work to the world and I'm forever grateful.

Kelly Irving — legend. We worked at a rocking pace for this one! I have come to rely heavily not only on your editing skill but on your intellect, your deep knowledge (no doubt from reading HEAPS of books) and your no‐nonsense approach to writing great business books. Blessed to have you in my world.

Janine Garner — you loved my stuff so much you started sharing it far and wide before it was even fully developed in my head! Thank you for putting me in front of your valued inner circle and clients.

Anne Marie — once again your honesty and humour in applying your exquisite knowledge of the Queen's English are appreciated and loved. It was during our regular morning walks, where I shared, mused and debriefed many of the concepts in this book. Thank you.

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. Our location has changed since the last time I wrote acknowledgements for a book, but nothing else has. You are still of service. You still swap out empty cups of tea and bring me snacks without my noticing. I'm still blessed. Thank you, my love.

In 2020, Kim, like many workers around the world, found herself either in lockdown or being encouraged to work from home as authorities tried to get a handle on the pandemic.

Based in Victoria, she experienced one of Australia's toughest and longest lockdowns as it affected not just her but her family.