Jeroen Sangers logo Jeroen Sangers

Posts in "Digital garden"

A Inipi ritual is a spiritual cleansing ceremony focused on connection and healing

An Inipi ritual is a traditional cleansing ceremony originally from the Lakota Indians of North America. The name “Inipi” means “to receive life again” and refers to the main goal of this ceremony: cleansing the body, mind, and soul. In the Netherlands, this ritual is also known as the sweat lodge ceremony. Although this specific form comes from the Lakota, similar rituals with hot stones have existed for thousands of years worldwide— from the Finnish sauna to ancient Irish sweat lodges, remains of which have been found by archaeologists dating back more than 10,000 years.

The ceremony takes place in a low, dome-shaped hut built of willow branches and covered with blankets. In the center of the hut, a pit is dug where glowing hot stones are placed, brought in from a ceremonial fire outside. When participants sit in the dark hut, water is poured over the hot stones, creating intense steam and heat. The ritual usually consists of four rounds, each with its own theme, such as welcome, connection, prayer, or thanksgiving. During these rounds, people sing, pray, or sit in silence.

The Inipi ritual goes far beyond mere physical cleansing, as in a regular sauna. It is intended as a spiritual experience where people connect with ‘All That Is’ and can experience the power of gratitude. The hut symbolizes the womb of Mother Earth, and the entire process represents rebirth and healing. Participants use this time to let go of their daily worries, give attention to those in need, and achieve personal growth and insight. The ceremony concludes with the expression “Mitakuye Oyasin,” meaning “we are all related,” emphasizing the interconnectedness of all life.

Work-related interruptions help you stay more engaged during your workday

Research shows that not all interruptions during your work have the same effect. There is an important difference between work-related and non-work-related interruptions.

Work-related interruptions (such as your manager stopping by to ask about a task, or a colleague messaging you about a project you’re working on together) actually have a positive effect on how engaged you feel during your workday. This goes against the common belief that all interruptions are bad for your productivity. Work-related interruptions don’t break your concentration; instead, they help you stay more connected to your work and colleagues.

Non-work-related interruptions (just chatting about the weather, sports, or what you’re going to eat tonight) do have the negative effect you might expect: they make you less engaged and disrupt your work rhythm so much that it really gets in the way of your work.

Bonus podcast episodes use the number of the main episode

When you create a podcast and want to publish extra content related to a specific episode, this bonus content receives the same episode number as the original episode. This means that both episodes, the main episode and the bonus episode, are published under the same number in your podcast feed.

"Revenge bedtime procrastination" is the deliberate delay of bedtime to regain control

“Revenge bedtime procrastination” is a phenomenon where you deliberately delay your bedtime to regain a sense of control over your life. This often occurs in people who have little personal time during the day due to busy schedules or demanding jobs. By staying up later at night, you try to reclaim some personal time, even if it comes at the expense of your sleep.

Although the term is relatively new, the behavior it describes has been known for a longer time. After a long day, you want to relax, for example by watching TV or scrolling on your phone, even though you know you have to get up early the next day.

While it’s understandable that you want this time for yourself, delaying your bedtime can have negative consequences for your health. Lack of sleep can lead to fatigue, reduced concentration, and even long-term health issues. Therefore, it’s important to find a balance between your personal time and getting enough sleep.

Use AI to reduce unnecessary difficulties, not to avoid essential effort

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the learning process offers a unique opportunity to reduce unnecessary difficulties. For example, AI can help you by providing clear explanations, offering useful examples, and giving you quick feedback. This can eliminate frustrating obstacles that you often encounter while learning, such as unclear sources or insufficient practice material. By reducing this unnecessary hassle, you can better focus on truly understanding the material and developing your skills.

But beware: AI is not meant to avoid the essential efforts you need for effective learning. Essential efforts include activities like active practice, retrieving information from memory, and consciously working towards a good understanding of the subject matter. These activities are important for building knowledge that sticks. While AI can make your learning process easier, it should not replace the core activities you need to truly learn.

The danger exists that you might use AI to avoid the necessary effort, for example, by simply copying answers without understanding the underlying ideas. This can lead to superficial knowledge that does not last long. Therefore, it is important to find the balance between reducing unnecessary hassle and maintaining the essential effort needed to truly learn. By using AI wisely, you can reap its benefits without jeopardizing the real learning process.

Encourage your fast-talking conversation partner to keep talking using non-verbal cues, without increasing your own speaking pace

In communication, it’s important to adapt your style to that of your conversation partner. This can be challenging if your partner speaks quickly and you struggle to keep up. Instead of speeding up your own speech, which can lead to stumbling over words and confusion, it’s better to use non-verbal cues. Hand gestures and head movements are super helpful in this regard. By subtly moving your hand or nodding, you can encourage your partner to continue talking without having to speak faster yourself.

Non-verbal communication is a powerful tool in conversations. With hand gestures, you can hold your partner’s attention and encourage them to speak faster. By nodding your head, you show that you understand and that they can continue. These tricks ensure that your partner feels understood and can tell their story at their own pace, while you can think and respond calmly.

By smartly using non-verbal signals, you can communicate better without having to speak faster yourself. This is especially useful in work situations where it’s important that you both understand each other well. If you adjust your non-verbal communication to your partner’s pace, your conversations become more effective, and you both feel better understood.

Hiding your phone doesn't help you concentrate better

The idea that you can concentrate better by hiding your phone sounds logical, but research shows that this is not always effective. Although people indeed reach for their phones less often when they are further away, they often replace this time by sitting at their computer, keeping the total screen time roughly the same.

In the study, participants had to work for 5 hours, of which an average of 3.5 hours was spent productively, regardless of whether their phone was within reach or not.

Notable findings:

  • With your phone within reach, you spend almost twice as long on it, an average of 14 minutes more per session
  • The duration per use remains the same, but you pick up your phone more frequently when it’s nearby
  • When the smartphone was not accessible, participants spent more time on their computer, but the number of activities on the computer remained unchanged

This suggests that the problem is not the devices themselves, but rather your habits and time management. Concentration issues seem to be more related to your environment and activities than to the technology itself.

The research emphasizes that it is more important to adjust your habits around technology use than to focus on the devices. Hiding your phone is therefore not necessarily the solution; a more conscious and controlled approach to technology can be more effective in reducing distraction and stress.

The client being coached already has the answer within themselves

People can often solve their own problems. They sometimes just need a little help to find the right solution. A coach therefore does not provide ready-made answers but helps people find answers themselves. This is like peeling an onion: layer by layer, you get closer to the core of the problem.

A coach asks questions, listens carefully, and helps people think about what they are saying. This makes someone feel safe to think about what they want to achieve and the problems they encounter. By discussing this together, someone gets to know themselves better. This gives more confidence to make decisions on their own. The coach only helps - the person themselves knows best what is good for them.

It is important that the coach believes that someone can find answers themselves. When people realize they can come up with solutions on their own, they feel stronger. They then take more responsibility for their own growth. Because they have found the solution themselves, it suits them well. As a result, the changes they make are often lasting and they feel good about them.

Although time pressure makes us work faster, it does not automatically mean we work better

Under pressure, we can indeed accomplish more work in less time, but this often comes at the expense of accuracy and depth. Researchers like Don Moore and Elizabeth Tenney have shown that while deadlines can help us complete tasks that might otherwise be left unfinished, the quality of the work often suffers due to the rush. This is because, under pressure, we tend to make quicker decisions and spend less time checking our work, increasing the likelihood of errors.

Additionally, the heightened state of alertness we experience under time pressure, caused by substances like dopamine and adrenaline, can give us the feeling that we are performing better. However, this state of readiness can also be achieved in other ways, without the drawbacks of hasty work. For example, some people use physical activities like trampoline jumping to get into an energetic and focused state. This can help to be productive without the risks associated with working under time pressure, such as overlooking details or making unnecessary mistakes.

Finally, it is important to recognize that while time pressure can help us work faster, it is not always the best way to ensure quality. It is essential to find a balance between speed and accuracy and to understand when it makes sense to use time pressure as a tool to increase productivity. By being mindful of deadlines and how we allocate our time, we can work both efficiently and effectively.

Trust in yourself, the process, and the client

Trust is the foundation of coaching and personal growth.

It starts with self-confidence, which is very important for any coach or professional. When you believe in yourself and your knowledge, you can better help and support others. This self-confidence helps you remain calm and assured, even when things get tough. Remember, as a coach, you don’t need to have all the answers; your task is to help the client find their own answers.

The process, such as the GROW model (Goals, Reality, Options, Will), offers a structured approach that helps streamline conversations and provide direction. By following the process, coaches can work step by step towards the client’s goals. Trusting this process means believing that the client, by taking the right steps, will come to important insights. The model helps both the coach and the client stay focused and goal-oriented.

Finally, trust in the client is essential. Every client already has the answers within them, and the coach helps them find these answers. This means believing that the client can grow and change. By being genuinely interested in the client and their story, you naturally ask the right questions that help them move forward. This mix of self-confidence, trust in the process, and trust in the client ensures successful coaching and personal growth.