How to Have a Good Day by Caroline Webb

How to Have a Good Day by Caroline Webb

Time to Read: Three months, or 13 hours 23 minutes on audiobook.

£6.29 Paperback, from Amazon

Why

For those looking for evidence based, strategic and practical advice on time management, people management and motivation, especially executives, entrepreneurs or their coaches and advisors.

What

Webb is definitely not a one-idea author. Many self-help books feel as if there are just one or two core ideas reworded, reworked and rewritten repeatedly to fill the allotted 300 pages. Not this volume – Webb makes use of every paragraph she can squeeze in to bring ideas, tactics and vital learning to help the reader develop themselves.

I was impressed with the quality of the research and evidence underpinning her writing – this is not a cut-and-paste exercise from internet sources. She blends theory, ideas and concepts from many experts with her own detailed case studies provided by her consulting career. This potent combination allows Webb to create compelling tactics and suggestions, along with practical methods to implement them.

Webb outlines at the beginning of the book how using “deliberate brain” energy drains us more than “automatic brain” energy- this is why we find bad habits easier to stick with than change, even when we have identified a bad habit we want to shift. With a sense of irony, this book is not for those who struggle to use deliberate brain energy for reading: the sheer number of tactics can be overwhelming at times and may have been better split into two volumes as it did verge on relentless in parts. It can leave the impression it is nearly impossible to simply have a ‘good day’. But truly, those with the determination to stick with this book, probably reading it in small chunks, will be rewarded with a plethora of tactics to make that ‘good day’ happen more frequently.

How

Webb is an ex-McKinsey consultant who set up her own consulting practice. The volume is a very dense read, taking much longer than normal for this type of book. It was difficult to absorb more than eight pages at a time.

Topics cover a wide range of material, building upon each other in a loose sequence. Starting with how the brain works, the book moves into the psychology of dealing with the brain. From there the author gives guidance in separate chapters on time management, handling difficult people, motivation for yourself and others and creating space to think.

It is simply perfect for the entrepreneur starting or running their own business, as well as executives with large complex teams – but they are going to need to find the time to read it. It may even be better for their coaches or advisors to read it and dispense the wisdom in bite-sized chunks.

Please note, this book review is available as a pdf on request.

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