Tired of trying to manage your time? How about creating time instead? The Go Zone is an interesting “time creation program” by Mark McKeon that creates habits incorporating a number of productivity techniques, to help you accomplish your work, while carving out extra time for yourself, your family and your personal success. In this free Get in the Go Zone summary, we’ll give a key synopsis of the powerful productivity tips and ideas in the book.
What is the Go Zone Program About?
When properly executed, the Go Zone program helps us to:
• Develop positive habits to improve personal efficiency and get important things done in less time
• Control when to focus and when to cruise, hence control and enhanced well-being.
• Develop a habit of enjoying “me time” with no guilt of losing productive time
• Learn to have fun in all 3 zones
Get in the Go Zone: The 3 Zones
Here’s a quick overview of the 3 zones:
Let’s take a brief look at each of the 3 zones. For each zone, McKeon outlines 10 features or tips which we’ve summarized into 4 key categories in our full 8-page summary.
THE GO ZONE
The Go Zone is about functioning in our personal “Ideal Performance State”. It involves “repeatable, two-hour periods of high intensity focus on some or all days of the week”. It develops our skills in doing key things that matter, and frees us from the stress of an endless task list. It’s liberating because we will be handling just one thing to do at a time, rather than stressing ourselves over 100 things to do. Once that task is completed, you’ll then be faced with a new task, but still only one task”.
In our complete summary bundle, we elaborate on several productivity tips including how to :
1. Create a ritual & form a non-negotiable habit (including using time blocking, breathing and tokens to transition in and out of the zone);
2. Prioritized Do and Don’t Lists;
3. Set a time goal, not task goal (doing one thing at a time); and
4. No distractions and no excuses
THE SLOW ZONE
This is our default zone, and also our comfort zone, where we are less stressed but also less effective. Most people are in this zone every waking hour, and never even reach the Go Zone or No Zone. The No Zone:
1. Is when you perform at medium levels with less stress;
2. Spans across lengthy periods, often ≥100 hours per week;
3. Acts as a transitional zone between Go Zone and No Zone; and
4. Is when you should avoid key decisions or key actions.
Check out more tips in our full book summary on how best to use your slow zone.
THE NO ZONE
Stress isn’t really the key factor that we face daily. The lack of recovery is the real problem. This is where the No Zone comes in – to provide regular, scheduled periods of total recovery, to reward ourselves and recharge for our next Go Zone.
Like the Go Zone, it requires absolute focus, but in the opposite extreme of staying totally away from work. Here are some of the key features of the No Zone
1. No work and no thinking about work;
2. Total recovery for next Go Zone;
3. Proper selfish use of time; and
4. One No Zone hour for each Go Zone hour
Gearing up for the Go Zone
The Ideal Performance State (IPS)
Operating at your peak during the Go Zone doesn’t happen by chance. You need to prepare yourself physically and mentally in order to reach your IPS for the Go Zone. Here’s a quick overview of the tips detailed in our summary:
Being in Control
The key idea is to be totally deliberate and never to blur the lines in between the zones, so you are in total control of choosing which Zone you are operating in. So, what happens when you urgent things crop up in the middle of the day? Mckeon suggests 3 simple steps:
a) Ask yourself: “Do I need to take action now?”
b) If the answer is “yes”, then, take a deep long breath.
c) Say “I’m going in (to the Go Zone)” and then move in.
Mckeon also dives into several useful concepts including:
• Dial up to the Go Zone. Transiting to a full Go Zone system won’t happen overnight, and Mckeon suggests how we can ramp it up.
• Dial up to your IPS. Unsure of your current ability to operate at peak conditions for your Go Zones? Mckeon dedicates 2 whole chapters to help us assess our current IPS levels, and a series of workout suggestions for rebuilding your IPS capability.
• Know your hot spots. Mckeon discusses our 4 intrinsic needs of love, belonging, power and freedom, and reminds us to get clear about which needs matter most to us, so we can get ourselves in the right environment, set up our life correctly, and use the Go Zone system to super-charge it.
If you are interested in a detailed overview, check out our complete summary bundle.
Getting More From Get in the Go Zone
So, are you ready to stop managing time and start creating time? Get more detailed insights, tips and examples in our complete summary bundle which includes a one-page infographic summary in pdf, an 8-page text summary in pdf, and a 14-min audio summary in mp3.
You can purchase the book here visit markmckeon.com for more details and resources.
For more resources on managing your time and energy, do also check out our summaries for: Make Time, Getting Things Done, and The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working.
Who should read this:
• Leaders, managers, and busy executives;
• Anyone feeling overwhelmed or wish to improve their personal effectiveness and productivity.
About the Author Of Get in the Go Zone
Get in the Go Zone: Making the Most of Me is written by Mark McKeon–an Australian author and an advocate of work life balance and team cohesion. He is a former Magazine Editor and AFL footballer and Conditioning Coach. McKeon is also Consulting Editor to ‘Ultra-Fit’ Magazine (in Australia and the U.K.) and a keynote speaker who has worked with many of Australia’s largest corporations. Besides Get in the Go Zone, McKeon is also the author of Work a Little Less, Live a Little More and Every Day Counts.
Get in the Go Zone Quotes
“The busier you are, the more vital your No Zones become.”
“Treat each No Zone with the same respect as you treat your Go Zones”.
“(Be) at our best, physically and mentally, in order to stay on task, resist distractions and avoid excuses.”
“Most people never really reach the Go or No Zones, because they are in the Slow Zone every waking hour”
“The Go Zone is liberating because you will no longer be faced with one hundred things to do. You will be faced with one thing to do. Once that task is completed, you’ll then be faced with a new task, but still only one task”.
