Michael Brecht will be awarding 5 Doodle Premium Accounts for Free to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.
The Productivity Book
by Michael Brecht
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GENRE: Non-fiction/time management
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1. How did you come up with your idea
for your book?
I wanted to understand productivity from the point of view
of the experts – how they start their day, approach challenges and achieve a
consistently high output. Many of these productivity experts have become
friends in the past years, so it is a book about shared experiences and a joint
passion for helping others become more productive.
2. What expertise did you bring to your
writing?
I write every day, for several years now. My daily job as
the CEO for Doodle, the world’s favorite scheduling application, makes me talk
to many people from the productivity scene. Hence, I write what I experience in
my daily business. Straightforward and to the point.
3. What would you want your readers to
know about you that might not be in your bio?
I always wrote a lot, published a children’s book in
Australia and besides managing my personal productivity blog also write a
wine-blog called www.downunderwines.net with news on wines, wineries and
winemakers from Australia and beyond. What turned out to be a hobby has become
a great way of communicating with both the wine industry and the many million
wine-drinkers and enthusiasts from around the world.
4. What is the best and worst advice
you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)
The best advice was to stay honest and write like I speak;
the modern media would call this ‘blog-style’, this suits me.
Worst: Any kind of advice that does not have the interest of
my readers in mind is bad advice; you get a lot of this type of advice from
people that are into making money with your writing.
5. Do you outline your books or just
start writing?
No, I go with the flow.
6. How do you maintain your creativity?
I write
like I speak, no hidden facts, all very much blog style. This is when I am most
creative. In the Productivity Book we have gathered the advice from 30 time
management experts, hence we added the creativity of these 30 fascinating
people.
7. What is the number one piece of advice
you can share regarding being productive?
The time management methods of our 30 productivity experts
help all of us getting more done. It is completely normal that they all face
hurdles on a daily basis but these 30 time management experts know how to
overcome these obstacles. And so can you – follow some of their recommendations
and get more stuff done.
8. Anything else you might want to add?
Make some of these pieces of advice part of your daily
routine and work smarter, not harder. If you stay open to these suggestions, you
will save time during the day and you can spend more time on private matters,
e.g. with family.
BLURB:
Ever
wondered what the secret is to productivity? Here’s a hint: there isn’t just
one. Introducing the Doodle Productivity Book! Containing in-depth interviews
with 30 of the world’s top productivity & time management experts, this
book lifts the lid on the industry’s best kept tips and tricks. The result? An
engaging and practical guide that will help you find your natural pace, so you
can work smarter—not harder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
Quote Laura
Stack:
What are
some of your favorite productivity tips & apps?
Obviously,
I love Doodle! I use it to schedule client conference calls and I talk about it
in my presentations! Other apps I like:
TripIt.
I use this for plane, hotel, directions and ground transportation. Simply
forward your confirmation emails and TripIt automatically populates your
digital itineraries. It also means I can access all my details on my phone as
I’m walking through the airport.
Evernote.
Sync content from the cloud to your desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone.
When I see an article I like online, I simply right-click, clip the page, file
it in a Notebook and tag it for easy searching. I drag large PDF documents into
new Notes to read on upcoming business trips. I use Evernote in conjunction
with my Livescribe Smartpen, so my handwritten notes from meetings and
conference calls sync through Wi-Fi to my online account. I can listen to
recordings right before meetings to refresh my memory.
TouchDown.
Microsoft Outlook users can sync their data to their phones, which is really
handy, except the native apps require them to tap multiple icons to access different
modules. Instead, I use the TouchDown ActiveSync Exchange client. This allows
me to click ONE icon to access my Email, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes,
as well as handle Out of Office and Rule settings.
Square.
My smartphone is a portable credit card processing machine. Using a small
scanner that plugs into the earphone jack, I can accept payments for things
like book sales and speaking fees. I slide the card through the scanner, enter
the dollar amount and ask the buyer to sign with a fingertip. The buyer can
enter an email address to receive a receipt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I am a serial entrepreneur,
have more than twenty years of experience in IT and Digital Media and have held
several international leadership positions in Europe and AustralAsia.
Since the beginning of 2014
I am CEO of Doodle – the world’s favourite online scheduling tool. Together
with my fantastic team we have integrated Doodle into the Digital Portfolio of
Tamedia AG, Switzerland’s largest media company. Our focus is to grow the
business into a global application while strengthening its product offerings
and continuing its successful monetisation. Doodle AG is a highly profitable
business with offices in Zurich and Berlin.
My experience ranges from
founding a start-up to various exits to multi-national corporates and
subsequent integration. I enjoy topics of digital transformation and the
leadership of highly innovative teams with a particular focus on growing a
business internationally.
Now that digitalisation is
increasingly becoming a topic for all businesses from start-up to large
corporate, I have decided to start my own blog. Here you’ll find information on
productivity topics, quotes about personal and professional efficiency, my
reviews of awesome apps I use myself and I am trying to present a few stories
that aren’t meant to be too serious too.
In my private life I am
married and our home comprises of four children and our dog (an Australian
Labradoodle). We are currently living in five different countries and I myself
carry a German and an Australian passport. I enjoy sports, in particular
football, swimming, tennis and all kinds of outdoor activities and I am passionate
about the discovery of great wines.
Links:
Buy links:
Book links:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Michael Brecht
will be awarding 5 Doodle Premium Accounts for Free to randomly drawn winners
via rafflecopter during the tour.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1585
WELCOME TO THE ANGE'S BLOG. I hope you have a great tour. Allana Angel
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should read your book BEFORE I put my office back together! Hope you have a successful tour!
ReplyDelete--Amber Angel
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDelete