Cool Down: Getting Further by Going Slower

Cool Down: Getting Further by Going Slower

by Steve Prentice
Released March 2007
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470839027

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Book description

Tap into the power that cool thinking generates—learn how going slower can actually help you get more done, faster.

Before you check your wireless e-mail for the fourth time this hour, ask yourself, is this truly helping you get further ahead? Or is the pressure to address the immediate actually pushing you backwards?

Cool Down takes a look at our innate and powerful addiction to high-speed activity, and shows how it is robbing us of the ability to think creatively and to connect with others (clients, colleagues, managers, and even family) just when we need to the most.

Cool Down offers a provocative look at the value of slowing down in many aspects of our lives and demonstrates clearly that to get further ahead, faster, people do actually need to cool down. It's not about doing less; it's about achieving more by slowing down. Cool Down highlights the harmful effects of speed on productivity and reveals the value of slow in helping us to think clearly and prioritize more effectively.

Cool Down is a fascinating look at the world of work, revealing how and why slow is the next tool of strategic advantage.

  • Shows why and how to consciously step away from reactionism, pressure, and overload.

  • Reveals the numerous ways in which cooling down will improve your potential and abilities–intellectually, emotionally, and creatively–making you more productive by going slower.

  • Contains practical advice that will help you apply cool techniques to real-world situations: at work, on the road, and at home.

  • Explains how to improve communication with your boss, your colleagues, and your family.

  • Features lots of examples, practical tips, to-dos, and concepts that are memorable and easy to apply. Each end-of-chapter summary includes "Key Points to Take Away" and assessment questions to help you honestly observe and change your current habits.

A complete approach to managing the pressures of life in a fast-paced world, Cool Down allows you to slow down so you can get ahead–and stay there.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. INTRODUCTION
    1. THE SLOW MOVEMENT: WHO NEEDS IT?
    2. PUTTING SPEED INTO PERSPECTIVE: WHY ARE WE RACING?
    3. MAKING USE OF THIS BOOK
  3. 1. BUSY-NESS FEELS GOOD. DOES ALL EFFORT YIELD PROGRESS? MIRAGES DECEIVE.
    1. 1. THE ROAD TO BURNOUT
      1. 1.1. 1. PARKINSON'S LAW
      2. 1.2. 2. THE PAPER CUP IN THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE
      3. 1.3. 3. THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS
      4. 1.4. WHAT THESE THREE FUNDAMENTALS MEAN TO US
      5. 1.5. TIME AND STRESS
        1. 1.5.1. Walking
      6. 1.6. EMAIL AND MORNING VISCOSITY
        1. 1.6.1. Pumping Gas
      7. 1.7. INFOMANIA AND BOXER'S DEMISE
      8. 1.8. THE FLAT EARTH
      9. 1.9. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      10. 1.10. HOW TO COOL DOWN
        1. 1.10.1. True Workload: Look Back Over Your Past Two Workweeks
        2. 1.10.2. Identify Your Job
        3. 1.10.3. Deadlines: Think About a Project You Have Had to Work on Recently That Involved a Deadline
        4. 1.10.4. The Pace of Your Work
        5. 1.10.5. The Context of Your Work
        6. 1.10.6. Email
        7. 1.10.7. The Phone as a Business Tool
        8. 1.10.8. Wireless PDAs and Remote Email
        9. 1.10.9. Assessing Yourself
  4. 2. WE ARE CONNECTED. BOTH WIRED AND WIRELESS WE TALK, YET WE SAY LITTLE.
    1. 2. THE SILO EFFECT
      1. 2.1. INFORMATION OVERLOAD
        1. 2.1.1. Case Study: The Funeral Caller
      2. 2.2. THE NEED TO STAY IN THE LOOP
        1. 2.2.1. Mary's Interruptions and the Escalation Factor
        2. 2.2.2. How to Manage the Loop
      3. 2.3. PRESENTEEISM
        1. 2.3.1. The Tachometer on Your Forehead
      4. 2.4. INTELLECTUAL ISOLATION
        1. 2.4.1. Case Study: Mass Transit Chaos
        2. 2.4.2. Case Study: How a Busy Lawyer Escapes Intellectual Isolation
        3. 2.4.3. Case Study: Email Badminton
      5. 2.5. CANDID REACTIONISM
        1. 2.5.1. Robbery through Reactionism
      6. 2.6. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      7. 2.7. HOW TO COOL DOWN: THE SILO EFFECT
        1. 2.7.1. Putting Email Aside
        2. 2.7.2. Responding to Email After Hours
        3. 2.7.3. Staying in the Loop
        4. 2.7.4. The Sound of Silence
        5. 2.7.5. Human-to-Human Communication
        6. 2.7.6. Escalation Issues
        7. 2.7.7. Fire Your Weakest Client
        8. 2.7.8. Presenteeism
        9. 2.7.9. Meetings
        10. 2.7.10. The Tachometer
  5. 3. WHEN ONE TRAVELS FAST, TREES BESIDE THE ROAD BECOME A WALL MADE OF LEAVES.
    1. 3. PERSONAL BLUR
      1. 3.1. THE ILLUSION OF SPEED
        1. 3.1.1. The Cool Approach to Commuting
      2. 3.2. EVENT-TO-EVENT THINKING
        1. 3.2.1. What Are You Doing for Lunch? Cubicle for One?
        2. 3.2.2. Speaking of Washrooms ...
        3. 3.2.3. What Are You Doing for LUNCH? 100 M.P.H.?
      3. 3.3. HIGH-SPEED AT THE CUBICLE FARM
        1. 3.3.1. Ambient Momentum
        2. 3.3.2. Erosion of Human Contact
        3. 3.3.3. Ambient Momentum and the Departure Lounge
      4. 3.4. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      5. 3.5. HOW TO COOL DOWN: TIPS FOR AVOIDING PERSONAL BLUR
        1. 3.5.1. Blur
        2. 3.5.2. Lunch
        3. 3.5.3. Choosing What to Eat
        4. 3.5.4. The Dieticians of Canada Association Suggests
        5. 3.5.5. The 11:00 A.M. Snack
        6. 3.5.6. Immediacy and Blur: Recognize That There Is Always an Afterwards
        7. 3.5.7. Driving and Blur
        8. 3.5.8. Pulling Over to Eat
        9. 3.5.9. Meetings and Blur
  6. 4. MANY BOOKS TEACH SLOW. THE CHALLENGE: TO GET THROUGH THEM. A SPEED-READING CLASS?
    1. 4. WHAT IS THE SLOW MOVEMENT?
      1. 4.1. FEAR AND ANGER AS A REACTION TO PRESSURE
      2. 4.2. KAROSHI
      3. 4.3. THE SLOW CITIES MOVEMENT
      4. 4.4. THE SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT
      5. 4.5. SAY IT AIN'T SLOW
        1. 4.5.1. Alcan
        2. 4.5.2. AstraZeneca
        3. 4.5.3. Remember Esperanto? Memori Esperanto?
      6. 4.6. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      7. 4.7. HOW TO COOL DOWN: USING SLOW IN DAILY LIFE
        1. 4.7.1. The Term Slow
        2. 4.7.2. The Slow Movement
        3. 4.7.3. Eating
        4. 4.7.4. Role Models
        5. 4.7.5. Mentors
  7. 5. WHEN THOUGHTS GET OBSCURED, ANSWERS SUDDENLY APPEAR IN THE SKY'S BLUE FACE.
    1. 5. THE POWER OF THE BLUE SKY
      1. 5.1. A PRESCRIPTION FOR TENNIS
      2. 5.2. I LIKE COFFEE...
      3. 5.3. I LIKE TEA...
      4. 5.4. I LIKE CAUSING CREATIVITY
      5. 5.5. COMMUTING IN
      6. 5.6. COMMUTING HOME
      7. 5.7. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      8. 5.8. HOW TO COOL DOWN
        1. 5.8.1. Downtime
        2. 5.8.2. Blue-Skying (Type 1)
        3. 5.8.3. Blue-Skying (Type 2)
        4. 5.8.4. Blue-Skying (Type 3)
        5. 5.8.5. Coffee
        6. 5.8.6. Creativity
        7. 5.8.7. Commuting and Sleep
  8. 6. THE GREATEST PROGRESS IS GAINED THROUGH REVISITING THE HUMBLEST ACTIONS.
    1. 6. CREATING A COOLER WORKDAY
      1. 6.1. THE COOL ART OF GETTING UP
        1. 6.1.1. The Curse of the Alarm Clock
        2. 6.1.2. Change Your Alarm Clock
        3. 6.1.3. Use a Timer
        4. 6.1.4. Use Some Sort of Light
        5. 6.1.5. Lose the Snooze Bar
        6. 6.1.6. Benefit Statement
      2. 6.2. THE BENEFITS OF A COOL BREAKFAST
        1. 6.2.1. The Daily Famine
        2. 6.2.2. Finding Time for a Good Breakfast
      3. 6.3. THE COMMUTE IN
        1. 6.3.1. The Daily Warm-Up
        2. 6.3.2. A Mentoring Opportunity: Carpooling
        3. 6.3.3. The Daily Warm-Up for the Home-Based Professional
      4. 6.4. PLANNING AND ASSESSING THE VALUE OF TASKS
        1. 6.4.1. Case Study: Working for a Workaholic
        2. 6.4.2. Planning for Meetings
        3. 6.4.3. Alleviating Confusion While Prioritizing or Multitasking
      5. 6.5. GETTING ENOUGH EXERCISE
        1. 6.5.1. Case Study: "I have no time for exercise."
        2. 6.5.2. When Is a Good Time to Exercise?
        3. 6.5.3. The Benefits of Slow Exercise
        4. 6.5.4. Maintaining Commitment
        5. 6.5.5. Averting Boredom
        6. 6.5.6. Building Muscle the Slow Way
      6. 6.6. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      7. 6.7. HOW TO COOL DOWN
        1. 6.7.1. Getting Up and Waking
        2. 6.7.2. Exercise
        3. 6.7.3. Recommended Suppliers
  9. 7. IN ALL TRANSACTIONS THE CUSTOMER'S TRUE PURCHASE IS YOU. NOTHING ELSE.
    1. 7. BECOMING A COOLER PERSON
      1. 7.1. THE POWER OF KNOWING
        1. 7.1.1. Knowing What You Look Like
        2. 7.1.2. Knowing What You Sound Like
      2. 7.2. THE POWER OF WRITING
        1. 7.2.1. Planning Your Writing
        2. 7.2.2. Proofing: Making Sure Your Writing Is Ready
      3. 7.3. THE POWER OF PERSONAL PROOFING
      4. 7.4. THE POWER OF INFLUENCE THROUGH SELLING
        1. 7.4.1. Building Trust
      5. 7.5. ACTIVE LISTENING AND NEGOTIATION
        1. 7.5.1. Dealing with Multiple Tasks and Conflicting Priorities
        2. 7.5.2. Managing Up
        3. 7.5.3. Delegation
      6. 7.6. THE POWER OF PLANNING
      7. 7.7. PLANNING AHEAD
      8. 7.8. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      9. 7.9. HOW TO COOL DOWN
        1. 7.9.1. Image
        2. 7.9.2. How Do You Sell?
        3. 7.9.3. Active Listening
        4. 7.9.4. Managing Up
        5. 7.9.5. Delegation
        6. 7.9.6. Dealing with Anger
        7. 7.9.7. Orators
  10. 8. FEAR GRIPS THE BODY. IT PARALYZES THE SOUL AND PULLS BLINDNESS IN.
    1. 8. FEAR
      1. 8.1. FEAR OF LOSING YOUR JOB
        1. 8.1.1. Write It Out
        2. 8.1.2. Communicate It
      2. 8.2. FEAR OF OFFENDING THE CLIENT
        1. 8.2.1. Why Do People Read Books?
      3. 8.3. FEAR OF BEING OUT OF THE LOOP
        1. 8.3.1. A Counseling Example
        2. 8.3.2. The Cost of Globalization
        3. 8.3.3. Case Study: Time Trials
        4. 8.3.4. The Achilles Heel of the U.S. Dream Team
      4. 8.4. FEAR OF SAYING NO
        1. 8.4.1. Footholds for Negotiation
        2. 8.4.2. Case Study: Could You Say No to This Person?
        3. 8.4.3. The Bag of Guilt
        4. 8.4.4. Vicariously Living Out Our Fears
      5. 8.5. THE FEAR OF EMPTINESS
      6. 8.6. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      7. 8.7. HOW TO COOL DOWN
  11. 9. BUSY AS YOU ARE, THERE'S NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT TO CARVE YOUR FUTURE.
    1. 9. CAREER MAINTENANCE
      1. 9.1. THE FUTURE OF YOUR CURRENT JOB
        1. 9.1.1. What Are You Doing to Network at Work?
        2. 9.1.2. What Are You Doing to Spend Time with a Mentor?
        3. 9.1.3. What Are You Doing to Become a Mentor?
        4. 9.1.4. What Are You Doing to Manage Up?
        5. 9.1.5. Firefighting
        6. 9.1.6. Strategic Managing Up
        7. 9.1.7. Implementation
      2. 9.2. THE FUTURE OF YOUR CAREER
        1. 9.2.1. In Person: The Value of Slowing Down and Networking
        2. 9.2.2. Remembering Names
        3. 9.2.3. Know How You Look
        4. 9.2.4. Listen Actively
        5. 9.2.5. Give Business Cards "Face"
        6. 9.2.6. Close Memorably
      3. 9.3. LIFELONG LEARNING LEADS TO LIFELONG EMPLOYABILITY
        1. 9.3.1. Studying on Company Time
      4. 9.4. THE FUTURE OF YOUR PAST: WHAT DID I DO?
      5. 9.5. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      6. 9.6. HOW TO COOL DOWN
  12. 10. THE LOSS OF MY JOB, THE LOSS OF ALL THAT I AM? A NEW DOOR OPENS.
    1. 10. TRANSITION
      1. 10.1. SHELLSHOCK
      2. 10.2. BUILD A GAZEBO
      3. 10.3. I HAVE NO RIGHT TO WORK OUT
      4. 10.4. HOW LONG WILL I BE UNEMPLOYED?
      5. 10.5. AVOIDING LETHARGY AND DEPRESSION
      6. 10.6. THE BUSINESS OF LOOKING FOR WORK
      7. 10.7. THE HIDDEN JOB MARKET
        1. 10.7.1. Case Study: The Dental Firm
      8. 10.8. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      9. 10.9. HOW TO COOL DOWN
        1. 10.9.1. Identify Your Gazebo
        2. 10.9.2. Identify Your Unique Identifier
        3. 10.9.3. Strategize Your Optimum Meeting Times
        4. 10.9.4. Exercise
        5. 10.9.5. Schedule
        6. 10.9.6. Hunt Down Your Next Job
  13. 11. WE ALL WORK SO HARD FOR THE GOOD OF OUR CHILDREN, WHO WANT US TO PLAY.
    1. 11. THE FAMILY
      1. 11.1. TRYING TO BE BOTH A PROFESSIONAL AND A PARENT
      2. 11.2. DINNER: A TIME TO COOL DOWN
        1. 11.2.1. Blue Flag Day
      3. 11.3. THE LEGITIMACY OF DOING NOTHING FOR A WHILE
      4. 11.4. HOW PAUSE LEADS TO ACCOUNTABILITY
      5. 11.5. NO TIME TO BE THE "BAD GUY"
        1. 11.5.1. Case Study: The Hit-and-Run Cyclist
      6. 11.6. NO TIME TO BE A KID
        1. 11.6.1. Nw i ly ne dn2slp
      7. 11.7. THE POWER OF THE PAUSE
      8. 11.8. KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
      9. 11.9. HOW TO COOL DOWN
  14. CONCLUSION
  15. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Product information

  • Title: Cool Down: Getting Further by Going Slower
  • Author(s): Steve Prentice
  • Release date: March 2007
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470839027