One Second Ahead: Enhance Your Performance at Work with Mindfulness

Excellent, practical and thoughtful book for anyone interested in mindfulness and how it relates to daily work-related activities like commuting, emails, planning and creativity. I have read a lot of books on mindfulness and yet I felt that this one of the best I have ever read both in terms of content covered and ease of reading! The book is clearly worded, and easy to read, with an accessible way of writing. After looking at the structure of the book, I started with Part 3 to start with the foundations of mindfulness, then moved into the Workplace Techniques, but you could probably start anywhere in the book, read a chapter or two, and gain helpful knowledge about managing your day more mindfully. I particularly liked the section on "Mental Strategies" - with titles like Kindness, Acceptance, and Letting Go - these chapters were rich with information about how thoughts and the mind affect our ability to be calm and clear. Though this book is about mindfulness for performance at work, I found that I could use most of the information in all aspects of my life. As an executive coach, I plan to give this book to my clients, as it is a resource for how to manage yourself, your thoughts, and your mental energy. Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in mindfulness and especially those with an interest in a more mindful work life and being more productive and effective.

One Second Ahead is brilliant, and should be on the desk of every executive. It is essential reading for, and an antidote to, the fast paced modern world we live in. The tools and practical advice enable both work performance and well being to be maintained simultaneously. There are many books out there, which focus on performance or mindfulness, but Rasmus Hougaard, Jacqueline Carter and Gillian Coutts have elegantly combined practical mindfulness techniques for a more successful work life, which are backed by scientific evidence, and the real life examples bring the techniques to life.It a beautifully written and easy to read well presented book, divided into three sections, which make it easy to dip in and out of. The first section focuses on practical techniques for the workplace, the second section details strategies to develop better thought patterns, and the final section, details two mindfulness training practices for sharp focus and open awareness, which are great for both in and out of the office.The practical and cleverly developed tools and techniques can not only lead to greater work life success through increased clarity, focus, enhanced performance and efficiency, but also make you a happier, more relaxed, more confident person, who feels more in control of your life. One Second Ahead allows you to incorporate Mindfulness seamlessly into your work life and has the potential to make you a better person and the world a better place.

WHOHigh achievers seeking balance, action addicts keen to de-clutter their minds, busy professionals wanting to develop clarity and calmness to solve complex problems with ease. Last but not least, proud multi-taskers willing to prioritize effectively. These are some of the people who will benefit heaps from this precious book.WHYThe chapters on workplace techniques and mental strategies provide straight forward tips to be applied immediately that have a huge impact not only on productivity and time management but also on relationship with your team, peers and upper management. Enhanced ability to plan and prioritize on the spot are other outcomes you can expect from reading and applying the techniques and mental strategies. The book also includes some gems on how to apply mindfulness to have better meetings, manage your emails and manage conflict.It also cover the two classic components of authentic mindfulness training: sharp focus and open awareness in a simple and clear manner.Congratulations to the authors for translating such an ancient and complex practice into basic steps that any non-initiated busy professional can get it and benefit from.WHATSome of the topics covered in the book:• Attention Economy• Multi-tasking myth• Scientific research, loads of references to books, articles etc• Real stories from organizations in several industriesJust gold!

I found this book very helpful for understanding all the many ways I can use mindfulness in my life. It has a strong focus on application, and the link between meditation (or mindfulness training) and the results it produces. The stories about organizations that have used mindfulness...have put their staffs through Potential Project training also close the gap between my understanding of what mindfulness is and how it can make a difference in a work environment. The science offered to support the methods is very solid as well. The book is written so clearly and offers simple steps you can take...as many or as few. The author talks about how you don't have to make mindfulness into a big project, like so many other things in life. You can just start small and see what happens. And he gives you a lot of ways to do that and a lot of motivation for doing that.

Great book!! Easy to read and rich. A lot to learn from. The content is coherent and consistent, very well organized.

This is what people with "busy" lives needed. A very practical, very clearly laid out guide to learning the powerful practices of mindfulness and applying mindfulness to everyday working situations such as emailing, meetings, planning, etc. What I particularly like is the level of detail, just enough to provide clear, concise information without extraneous fluff that could have filled many more pages without any extra value. I highly recommend this title to anyone is interested in increasing their ability to stay calm, focused and productive at work as well as increasing their capacity to appreciate their lives and the lives of their colleagues and families.

One Second Ahead is brilliant, and should be on the desk of every executive. It is essential reading for, and an antidote to, the fast paced modern world we live in. The tools and practical advice enable both work performance and well being to be maintained simultaneously. There are many books out there, which focus on performance or mindfulness, but Rasmus Hougaard, Jacqueline Carter and Gillian Coutts have elegantly combined practical mindfulness techniques for a more successful work life, which are backed by scientific evidence, and the real life examples bring the techniques to life.It a beautifully written and easy to read well presented book, divided into three sections, which make it easy to dip in and out of. The first section focuses on practical techniques for the workplace, the second section details strategies to develop better thought patterns, and the final section, details two mindfulness training practices for sharp focus and open awareness, which are great for both in and out of the office.The practical and cleverly developed tools and techniques can not only lead to greater work life success through increased clarity, focus, enhanced performance and efficiency, but also make you a happier, more relaxed, more confident person, who feels more in control of your life. One Second Ahead allows you to incorporate Mindfulness seamlessly into your work life and has the potential to make you a better person and the world a better place.

such a useful book for the workplace. simple and easty to follow. loved it!

This book is a revelation - a highly practical, transformational and stimulating manual for anyone who wants to quickly understand, practice and apply the life changing benefits of mindfulness. Well referenced and wonderfully applied to the trials of modern life in the always-on and highly demanding working world. As someone who has ducked in and out of mindfulness practices in my life, this book has given me many new and unexpected 'hooks' for it to now make a sustainable and tangible difference in my life.

i love all self development books and this one is brilliant. highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning, expanding and developing and discovering themselves a person.

Good