I love this idea to schedule your “Uh Oh” moments:
Have you ever had a moment where you look at the state of your work and feel, "uh oh, I'm already halfway through my timeline, and I haven't made as much progress as I should have"?
These are your "uh oh" moments.
The workdays of so many professionals are dictated by urgencies and emergencies.
But there is another way to work, which I call ‘Calm productivity’. This is a major paradigm shift, which not many organisations are willing or able to make.
We can build slack into our lives. We can create cycles so that we don’t need to dance with a crisis around time on a regular basis.
How is it possible that I have to pay 90€ for a digital license key for Microsoft 365 Family, while for only 70€ they will send me a physical box containing the license key at home?
I am thinking about buying a Kindle to use instead of the iPad for reading at night to avoid light exposure before going to bed. What’s kept me away until now is that I trust Apple more than Amazon with my data, but maybe in this case my health should get priority over my principles.
Waiting on a sunny day…
This is because environmental noise has a significant and negative impact on cognitive tasks that require concentration. Noise pollution leads to increased mental load, making it more difficult for employees to concentrate and causing errors to occur more quickly. This effect is particularly noticeable in tasks that require a longer duration and a high level of accuracy, such as problem solving or complex calculations.
Additionally, research shows that noise pollution does not directly affect the effort of employees, but it does affect their ability to think clearly. This means that employees may not be aware of the negative impact of noise on their performance, as they are still putting in the same amount of effort. However, the quality of their work suffers, resulting in lower productivity.
Research shows that a little background noise can help you think more creatively. This is because a moderate noise level, such as 70 decibels, stimulates your brain to think in a different way. This allows you to be more creative, as you look beyond the obvious solutions and discover new ideas. It’s similar to the effect of a café or a busy street, where the constant noise distracts your thoughts just enough to flow freely without becoming overwhelming.
On the other hand, too much noise, such as 85 decibels or more, can actually be detrimental to your creativity. At this high noise level, it becomes harder to think clearly, which can reduce your creativity. It’s like trying to solve a difficult problem in a concert hall; the loud noise makes it difficult to concentrate and think clearly. Therefore, it’s important to find a balance in the noise level of your environment if you want to be creative. A little background noise can be helpful, but too much can be counterproductive.
By setting aside time for tasks that are not urgent but important, you create space to think strategically and work on long-term goals. This prevents you from constantly being in a reactive mode, where you’re only focused on putting out fires. It gives you the chance to be proactive and concentrate on what truly matters, ultimately leading to greater satisfaction and less stress.
Time blocking is an effective technique that can help with this. By reserving specific time blocks in your schedule for these important tasks, you protect this time from daily distractions and urgent requests that often come your way. This ensures that you consistently make progress on important projects without feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to do everything at once. Additionally, planning these blocks can help you structure your workday better and use your energy more efficiently.
Whenever I show the new iPhone 13 Mini I bought a few weeks ago to friends or family, often I get the same reaction: “Nice! But it’s really small…”.
Yes, it is small, but that is exactly what I want from my mobile phone.
I know that the general consensus about phone sizes is to get the biggest screen possible in the smallest device possible, but my phone use is atypical.
For many people, and especially the younger generations, the phone is their main communication device. It is their most used ‘screen’, on which they communicate with friends, watch videos, write their notes, read information and many things more.
If I look at the ‘screens’ in my life, my phone comes at the fourth place.
My main ‘screen’ is my computer. I not only use it for my work, but also for watching videos, playing games, writing, messaging and reading in my free time.
My second most used ‘screen’ is my iPad, which I use mainly in our living room and at the patio. This device is mainly for information consumption: books, feeds, saved articles, videos, messaging and social networks. I also use it a lot for looking up information.
At the third position, we have our television. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but still use it more than my phone.
That leaves my phone on the fourth position. I hardly ever use it when I am at home, as I usually have a way bigger screen available. For me, the most important function is to be mobile and easy to carry with me. That is why I chose the smallest possible device.
I’m not so sure about this.
