Tips for a stress-free lead-up to the holiday season
6 December 2019I was recently interviewed on radio about time tips to help manage pre-Christmas stress. After I’d shared the tips in the short article below, the interviewer said, ‘That’s not what I expected at all, Robyn. I thought you’d tell the listeners the usual things like “Get organised early”, “Make lists” and similar – the kind of advice […]
Does a 4-day week really work?
11 October 2018Have you seen some of the media about the 4-day week that Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand financial services company, experimented with earlier this year? Their CEO Andrew Barnes and his partner Charlotte Lockhart are personal friends, so it’s been a great chance to get an insider view of the company’s learnings, observations and next […]
A Completely New Edition of my First Book – At a Ridiculously Cheap Price!
2 September 2018I know I’m not supposed to say this, but where have the months gone! Actually, I do know where mine have disappeared to. Since returning in the latter end of June from a wonderful six weeks with friends and family in England and France, I’ve been head up/ bum down writing and publishing. (As well […]
How to Set-up a Distraction Free Workspace at Home
11 July 2018This week my blog is a guest post courtesy of Cloe Matheson from Dunedin. She has some great ideas on how to optimize a workspace at home and ensure that you maintain productivity and efficiency as well as the very important work-life balance. by Cloe Matheson Working at home is not as easy as […]
74% of Digital Task List Users Revert to Paper
17 April 2018We all know that technology has sped up and simplified the way we learn, shop, navigate and communicate with people. Few of us would want to go back to pre-digital days. But – there is a downside. Digital methods, even commonly used ones, are sometimes false friends. Let’s look at two commonly used tools: Beware […]
Busy? Wish You Could Get More Done? Try This 101-Minute Cycle
3 April 2018A guest article for you today from my lovely daughter-in-law Lauren Parsons, well-being and productivity specialist, living in Canada until December. From the beginning of 2019 she’ll be back home and working closely with me and the Getting A Grip business: by Lauren Parsons If you’ve been on this planet for a while, chances […]
Can We Really Work Less Yet Achieve More?
13 March 2018Perpetual Guardian’s decision to try a shorter working week http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11990560 has created some interesting discussion. I congratulate Andrew Barnes for his bold experiment. From my 26 years of global experience on the topic of productivity, I believe they’re onto something really good. Perhaps you’re wondering whether to follow their example? Or, maybe you’d keep a […]
Case Study: Four Tips on How to Complete Big Projects Currently Bogging You Down
24 January 2018Have you ever wanted to `embark on a big project, but felt stymied by the size of it? Everyone is busy. We all have our regular work, existing clients, prospects, staff or contractors, deadlines to meet – the game goes on. So, where do we find time to implement new projects? It’s so easy to […]
10 Tips for Better Work Life Balance
23 October 2017Does it ever seem that every waking minute is being consumed by work? How do we balance a growing list of home, personal and work commitments? Is it even possible? A couple of weeks ago I had fun discussing this topic on a panel at the Live Well Festival in Auckland with Art Green and […]
What To Do About The Non-Urgent But Useful Emails
2 October 2017My Melbourne friend Nigel sent me a great question about email. Because it’s an issue for many, I decided to share it in this week’s blog. Nigel: Here’s a dilemma that I face frequently with email and workflow. I stare at my email feed. It stares back at me, blankly. “So what are you going […]