Communicating without words

Written by Super User on 15 February 2024.

Not everyone can be a great communicator.

Not everyone has been blessed with being articulate with words. But, if that's you, does that mean that you cannot communicate sustainability?

A few months ago I came across the Red Rebel Brigade via a Guardian article. I didn't know of their existence, but I admit it made me think about communication quite a bit.

Because we forget communication is not just done via language.

On the opposite, the strongest messages are often conveyed by images (here is an example of a Times of India's recent campaign which uses strong visuals to communicate a plastic pollution message). That's because they appeal to our emotions, and as such they are more memorable and evocative than words.

Art has always been a powerful medium for communicating social and environmental messages (Carrie Ziegler is just one of the many artists who do this for a living).

So, even if you are not a prolific speaker, how can you communicate sustainability?

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

Distraction is a full-time job

Written by Super User on 12 February 2024.

Did you know that we spend an average of 8 hours between TV and smartphones every single day??

The Netflix-ing, social media scrolling, Candy Crushing ones, you know? Those that we all say relax us and give us a break.

That's basically a full-time job in distraction.

If you are happy with that, that's OK. Be my guest.

But if not, what can you do?

The answer is not straightforward, since for many this is a proper addiction, no different from smoking or drinking.

One thing you can do to improve your productivity and reduce distractions is starting to schedule in your calendar a few deep work sessions every week (to learn more about deep work, you can listen to The Deep Life podcast by Cal Newport).

That means chunks of two to three hours of uninterrupted, focused work away from distractions.

Keep your phone in another room, shut any tab you don't need, and just focus on your work.

During your breaks, ditch your phone and do something "boring", like a few squats, looking outside the window, or making yourself a coffee. The brain will go back to your focused task easier if it's not hyperstimulated during the breaks.

If you want to go next level and feel like you could do with a lo-fi productivity system for a happier life, check out the Productive Gorilla.

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

Five easy steps towards highly productive meetings

Written by Super User on 20 February 2024.

You have managed to land a meeting with one of your prospective clients.

You prep your team. One of them updates the slide deck with your company's achievements and services.

Another one will come with you to take notes and learn.

You wear your best attire and on the way to the meeting, check your client's LinkedIn profile.

Ready to go,

Or are you?

In most meetings we attend we are reactive.

We go unprepared, or barely prepared, with the idea of talking about our company's offering and answering any questions like in the example I just shared.

When we do this, we waste an opportunity to achieve a business (and sustainability) goal offered on a silver plate.

Any meeting is an opportunity to establish or reinforce the relationship with your client so that they can trust you.

And when they trust you, they will listen to you, and your influencing power will double.

Do you want to nail your next meeting?

I created an infographic which summarises the five steps to a productive meeting (whether you are a team leader or an intern!) and which you can use before your next meeting.

You can download it HERE.

An important point is:

Before you even start prepping for your meeting, check your attitude.

Are you going there with an open and collaborative attitude and a genuine willingness to help your clients achieve their goals, or a fighting, hostile and closed attitude?

This is really important to create an atmosphere of collaboration and trust - fundamental for reaching your and your client's goals.

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

Flow with the wind

Written by Super User on 20 February 2024.

Do you know that nagging sensation when you feel you are not up to the job?

Maybe you have changed jobs recently and you feel like you shouldn't be there because you don't know anything...

Or that feeling of becoming part of the furniture of the place you have worked in for a long time, and that you could do your job with your eyes closed while catching up on Love is Blind (pun intended)?

These are symptoms that your skill level is not commensurate to the challenge you have been given.

Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (it took me a year to learn how to pronounce his name. Google sorted it in the end) was known as "the father of flow".

For most of his career, he studied what it means to find flow in the activities we carry out.

Flow is that mental state of complete absorption when you forget the time and sometimes the space you are in and really enjoy the process of carrying out a task.

Csikszentmihalyi argued that when your task poses a high challenge that is proportionate to your skill level, it's enjoyable and the results are powerful (see the drawing below).

Spending regular time in a state of flow makes you happier and healthier in the long run.

So my question for you is:

How can you take yourself from either a bored or stressed state to a state of flow?

What do you have to change in your life to make that happen?

If you find it tricky, consider hiring a coach.

Oh, I happen to be one 😬

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

How do you decide what to work on every week?

Written by Super User on 12 February 2024.

When planning for the week in the Productive Gorilla system, I suggest members that they should use the Eisenhower Matrix.

This is a simple, yet powerful way, to decide what to work on every week, by focusing your immediate efforts only on urgent and important tasks.

Anything else can be delegated, moved to a future date or scrapped altogether.

But how do you actually decide what is important and urgent?

A quick way to do that is to ask yourself:

Why am I undertaking this task?

and

Will accomplishing it take me closer to my important goals?

Try to ask yourself these questions while using the Eisenhower Matrix and let me know whether your productivity increases!

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

How do you get around Parkinson's Law?

Written by Super User on 15 February 2024.

In 1955 Cyril Northcote Parkinson wrote in a humorous essay for “The Economist” that

"work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion".

I'm sure you have experienced this in your own life.

You have a deadline to complete a piece of work. It's perhaps a couple of months away, and you might do some light research or reading on the subject; you might draft something and then put it aside, but you don't look at it properly until a week before the deadline (=procrastination).

Or you might start adding scope to the initial assignment and go on tangents that aren't that helpful to address the initial challenge (=added complexity).

But what if your client told you that they need the same piece of work two weeks from today? You would panic and think there is no way you could do that!

Now, arguably, some things just need to take a certain amount of time to be done to an acceptable quality standard - take a look at the video below as an example: you cannot expect the accuracy of the first SpiderMan drawing in 10 seconds.

But there is a point of diminishing returns after which you are not adding value to the project by working on it more.

So, how do you overcome Parkinson's Law?

By planning. Yep.

Start right at the kick-off by understanding the full scope of the project, including risks and opportunities;
Assign clear responsibilities and spell out expectations;
Set out intermediate milestones to keep the project on track;
Have accountability buddies (if this is a personal project).

BONUS TIP: add 30% extra time on the schedule, because life happens.

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

How does your brain work?

Written by Super User on 15 February 2024.

You might know that your brain’s left half is primarily responsible for speech and abstract thinking (i.e. logic and language), while the right side of the brain is responsible for image processing and spatial thinking (i.e. emotions and creativity).

It looks like, when we communicate sustainability, we tend to use only our "left side" thinking, our logic and rational side which focuses on data and facts.

However, there is evidence that our "right side" is a potent ally when it comes to influencing others: stories and images are memorable and impactful ways to catch someone's attention.

Additionally, every brain is wired in a different way and might prefer visuals vs. written/spoken language or vice versa.

How can we get the best of both worlds to ensure maximum impact?

Regardless of your communication's objective, whether to explain, enlighten, engage or change your audience, you need to give space to your right-brain wisdom.

A few years ago I came across these Forbes visuals which explains it all:

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

How to develop resilience

Written by Super User on 26 February 2024.

WTF is going on in the world right now?

Honestly, between the horrible news coming from Gaza and Ukraine, the latest on the climate crisis (recent floods happened in Italy shows how close to home this is now) and the general negative vibe surrounding us... add the day-to-day commitments we all have to deal with, and I personally feel my mental health is put to the test now more than ever.

So, if you feel like me, what can you do?

How can you build some resilience so that you keep overwhelm, anxiety and other negative feelings at bay?

1. Just hit that PAUSE button.

Take that nap.

Have an early night.

Take the afternoon off work if you can, and do something else, like:

Taking a walk in the crisp autumn daylight, watching a movie, drinking a hot chocolate while reading a light novel.

Stop doom scrolling (aka scrolling social media feeds for hours on end).

Visit an art gallery.

Observe the birds at a local park.

Take pictures.

Sit down and sketch people passing by.

Spot beauty and notice it. There is abundant beauty and stillness around you, you just need to capture it.

And once you do, you get down from the hamster wheel for a moment and breathe.

You manage to, even if only briefly, expand your life and consciousness and perhaps you are able to see things from a different perspective.

2. Try this great little tool that helps build up resilience.

It's called the Four "S" of Resilience.

To develop your resilience, sit down with pen and paper and brainstorm the following:

SUPPORT:

Who/what can you depend on at a time of crisis?

My suggestion would be to try and choose healthy options here. As much as a bottle of Chianti sounds appealing to take the edge off times of stress, it might not be the healthiest supporting tool in the long run.

STRATEGIES:

What strategies can you put in place or do you already use to keep you going?

Ditto as above.

Think about healthy strategies that have worked in the past at a difficult time that can work again.

Things like regular exercise, a nutritious diet, talking to a trusted friend, putting in place a routine or an accountability buddy to keep you focused on your goals. Taking a mental health day.

SAGACITY (i.e. Wisdom and Insight):

Do you have a favourite phrase that feels supportive when you are overwhelmed?

Sometimes I use "Just Do It" (Nike's words, not mine) when I don't feel motivated but I must do something, or "This Too Shall Pass" if I'm going through a bad patch. Seeing things as temporary can help enormously.

Sometimes I try and find the funny side of things.

SOLUTION-SEEKING:

What behaviours do you show that can help?

You might want to brainstorm ten possible solutions to the issue you are facing. Seek the help of a coach. Talk to your boss or to your team to address any underlining tensions. Look at the learnings and the silver lining of a crappy situation.

Keep your positive problem-solver hat on and see what options do you have to address the issues.

3. Techniques to lower your stress levels and anxiety.

At trying times, we need to find ways not to spiral into chaos and despair.

Here are some mindset shifts and techniques you can consider to reframe the situation.

I suggest you journal the ideas that you find most helpful, or just take yourself on an outdoor walk and ponder them.

THE CIRCLE OF CONTROL

I spoke about this in a previous edition of the newsletter, but it's worth repeating.

Think about what you can control and change if needed in your current situation: mainly, your thoughts and your actions.

There will be things you can influence: your feelings, which are a consequence of your thoughts; your body; and other people's thinking and behaviour.

Everything else is outside your sphere of control or influence.

Realising this can help make peace with the fact that there is much we cannot do - and getting anxious about it won't change things.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVITY

Bathing in negativity will not help the way you feel, and your energy levels, making it even more difficult to take positive action.

Take a break at least once a week and surround yourself with people and places you love, and positive news (for instance, take a look at this, aptly named, Positive News magazine). If you can, avoid the toxicity and aggressiveness of some social media platforms altogether.

LEARN TO BREATHE

Any breathing exercise is good for you, but one is proven to reduce anxiety instantly and calm your nervous system.

It's easy to learn, free and always available to you: the physiological sigh.

Listen to Dr Humberman's explanation and instructions:

Image credit: bearfotos

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

How to prioritise your work (a simple method)

Written by Super User on 20 February 2024.

I have talked before about the Eisenhower matrix, which is a good way to distinguish between useless tasks and important/urgent ones.

However, sometimes we need something more snappy and practical.

I was at a webinar a couple of months ago where Hailey Dawson, founder of The Blocks, shared this awesome (and super simple) method to work out your priorities.

It blew my mind!

You only need a piece of paper and a pen.

Fold the paper in eight as shown in the image, write on each segment a priority (up to eight), and then cut the paper along the folds.

Now, compare priority A with priority B:

Which of the two will move you closer to your goals and is more in line with your mission/values?

If, say, it was B, then compare it with C, and ask yourself the question again. Whichever is the 'winner', compare it to the next one and so on, until you reach the ultimate priority.

Simple!

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

Hugh's marathon

Written by Super User on 20 February 2024.

If you are a bit like me, you try and fill your time to the brim and use all your energies on the projects you care about.

There is always something you can do to move your projects forward, even those 15-minute waiting times at the doctor's. You could check your emails, reply to a work message, post something on LinkedIn.

You feel you have to be at your absolute best 100% of the time.

This week I read an article in which actor Hugh Jackman advocates for putting 85% of effort into your endeavours.

"What?! Only that?? And what do I do with the other 15%??

What a slacker!" you might say.

But actually, Hugh has a point (not only a pretty face, eh!).

If you manage to slow down and put just enough effort into achieving your priority goals, without spending every drop of your energy juices, you'll be able to maintain the momentum for longer.

It's like the difference between a sprint and a marathon, literally.

You put 100% of your power in a 100-metre run, or you pace yourself for a 42 km one.

You can go much further. And spend some of your leftover energies on your friends, family, hobbies... stuff that can make you happy.

So, a little bit of self-awareness here.

Are you pushing yourself like you are in a sprint run (but still want to cover a marathon length), or are you pacing yourself?

What do you need to do to change that?

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

In a Kanban Style!

Written by Super User on 15 February 2024.

If you ever used Trello or Asana, you have used a Kanban board-style system.

Kanban boards are a visual representation of the workflow of a project, invented by the manufacturing industry to track teams' projects, which have gained popularity in recent years in the productivity world.

I would encourage you to consider a Kanban-style system to keep your projects organised, especially if you are a visual learner and want to track the progress of your project - whether on your own or in your team.

In particular, Kanban boards will give you a snapshot of the whole situation at once and will allow you to identify bottleneck situations because you will see how many Work in Progress (WIP) tasks you have at the same time - whether you are using it in your team or for your personal productivity, understanding when you reach capacity is important to prevent overload.

Good news is, you don't need software for this, you can have a pen and paper board on your wall with Post-it notes.

Or, if you can't be asked, feel free to use this Canva template.

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

Left Brain Right Brain

Written by Super User on 15 February 2024.

So we have been talking about your brain, and the left/right functions...

The question now is:

How much space do you give to your left brain, and how much to your right brain?

Do you ever give a voice to your silent right brain?

Do you live just in your head, constantly preoccupied to quickly hit your to-do list, or do you spend some time every day doing time-suspending activities that feed your emotional, creative, more intuitive side?

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

Manage your energy, not your time

Written by Super User on 26 February 2024.

You might think you have time management issues.

But can you actually "manage" time?

Time is an objective (if we don't take into account the perception of time) dimension of our life and we cannot really change it.

It is what it is.

We only have 24 hours each a day, whether we are a prime minister, a farmer or a knowledge worker.

So it makes more sense to manage our energy instead.

Most people who naturally wake up early in the morning, usually feel happier and more motivated to work from the moment they wake up until around lunchtime.

They have a slump right after lunch, only for their motivation to pick up again in the early evening.

Their bodies' energy though might not be as high then.

If you are a night owls, everything shifts, starting from the time you wake up.

So how can knowing this help?

You can schedule the activities that are harder/more daunting/important to the time when you are high energy and high mood (that will help if you struggle to motivate yourself to start - if you are in a bad mood it will be even worse).

[And by the way, these are NOT your emails.

Plenty of fresh energy is wasted on dealing with emails - and consequently, other people's priorities - at a prime time of our day.]

Because I don't want to give the impression of divulgating toxic productivity here, please be mindful that one size does not fit all. Your individual needs, based on age, health, circumstances, mood, and even seasons will have an impact on your energy and motivation, and it is better to listen to those before using any productivity system.

As I'm writing this, I'm thinking of closing my laptop and take a nap.

At 9:45 in the morning.

I know my body and mind will thank me for that.

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

My favourite tools to automate work

Written by Super User on 15 February 2024.

Time is a precious and limited resource. And so is energy.

In my quest for better productivity (i.e. productivity that doesn't deplete me to the ground and yet produces quality outcomes) I realised that lots of my repeated daily actions can be easily automated, with the result of conserving my energy (and time!) for more important stuff that requires my brain power.

Here are my three favourite (free and/or cheap) tools to automate some of my working days:

1. Calendly

Definitely, the single app that has been saving me hours and hours of back and forth with people with emails like:

"What is your availability like next week?"

"I can do Wednesday am and Friday pm."

"Oh, no, I'm sorry, I'm only available Tuesday between 12 and 1 pm."

"Oh, let's look at the following week then..."

With Calendly (or other calendar appointment apps of the kind), you set up your available hours, the length of the meetings etc. only once, then send a link for people to book a slot in your calendar. Done.

2. Google Docs and Sheets

You will be thinking... doh!

Hear me out. I still have clients and collaborators that send Word and Excel files (that are supposed to be collaborative) via email.

This causes duplication, version confusion and overlaps, wasted time tracing back the files in my inbox rabbit hole and clogging up the memory of my old, refurbished, trusted laptop.

Using Google Docs and Sheets allows me to share and collaborate on the same documents simultaneously, keeping track of the latest version in a safe place (the cloud), in case my above-mentioned trusted old laptop says goodbye.

3. Notion

At first, I wasn't convinced about the value of Notion, but now I totally love it. I moved my whole business on it, in fact.

Notion (if you haven't heard of it) it's a connected workspace, with tons of functionalities, the opportunity to integrate tables, projects, pages, files, links and what-have-you.

I now store all my key processes and templates there, with an easy-to-navigate dashboard and links to Google Drive with all my files for easy access and collaboration.

These are my top three, what are yours? I'd love to hear what makes your life easier and more streamlined!

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

The 12-Week Year

Written by Super User on 20 February 2024.

You know I'm always looking for the next productivity hack... and I am surprised I recently found one I didn't come across before.

The book The 12-Week Year teaches you how to be more productive in 12 weeks than others are in 12 months.

It's a deceptively simple mind-shift to go from hairy yearly goals to achievable and predictable 12-week goals.

Yearly goals are usually not actioned until the bottom end of a year, or just started but never finished because the roadmap is too long and vague.

But if you think of every week as a month, you know every single day counts.

So you pick the must-do major actions and tactics that can get you to amazing results to reach your goals and focus on those each week.

It takes a bit of planning, but once that's done, there is no more guesswork.

You are a rocket fuelled by motivation and quick results.

Try it and see where that takes you!

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

The healing power of writing [free writing prompts]

Written by Super User on 15 February 2024.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been keeping a diary - you know, one of those with a padlock and Minnie Mouse on the front cover.

Now, I'd be lying if I said it has been a constant practice in my life. But even in its intermittent nature, writing has been a massive help at times of stress, sadness and difficulty.

It's the cheapest form of therapy I know.

If you are not a journaling fan, or you think you haven't got the time to journal regularly, but want to reap the wonderful effects of journaling, this is an exercise you can do in just three minutes a day:

Grab pen and paper (much better at digging deep into your subconscious than your phone or computer)
Set a timer for 3 minutes
Use one of the prompts HERE and start writing free-flow (i.e. without detaching the pen from the paper, as quickly as you can, and without caring about grammar, punctuation or even making sense).

Once you finish, record how you feel after this speed date with your subconscious, and see how this feeling evolves over the space of a few days of practice.

In time, add more time to your practice and see how this makes a difference as well.

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

The secret ingredient of habit creation

Written by Super User on 15 February 2024.

What is the secret ingredient of establishing new healthy habits, and sticking with them?

You might have invested your time watching countless YouTube videos on habit forming and read books, including the excellent Atomic Habits by James Clear, yet here you are, still struggling to stick with the commitments you made.

There is one single ingredient to sticking with your habits and it's not motivation or better systems.

It's alignment with your purpose.

Why do you want to do this thing you have decided to do?

But don't ask yourself this question only once, because you will answer it only superficially. Ask it several times.

e.g. You want to write a book.

Why? Because I have ideas worth sharing.

OK, but why do you want to share your ideas?

Because I feel I want to leave a legacy.

And why do you want to leave a legacy?

Because I want to make a dent in the universe (quoting Steve Jobs here...) and feel like I have contributed to a better world.

Additionally, ask yourself:

How does it align with my values?

See how the idea of writing a book starts aligning with your higher purpose and deeper motivation? This will give you a have a stronger hook than just a commitment based on superficial reasons, especially when your motivation will start dwindling.

I created the graphic below to help you remember the full process.

You can print it and stick it somewhere where you see it often to remind yourself of it.

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

The why, how, who and what of priority setting

Written by Super User on 15 February 2024.

Most people set priorities in relation to their ongoing projects and emails, without questioning most of them.

But this leads to neverending to-do lists, in which everything ends up being a priority.

In one of the past newsletters, I shared with you the Eisenhower matrix as a way to decide whether something is worth your time, based on urgency and importance.

Now, let's add another layer that will hopefully give you a powerful axe to slash your to-do list and really do meaningful work.

Let me introduce you to the Why, How, Who and What of priority setting.

Why do you need to do this particular task?

Does it align with your bigger, long-term goals?

If not, rethink whether you need to do it at all.

Who can do it (if not you)? Can you delegate it to someone else?

How are you going to carry out this task?

Can you automate it? Or can you allocate a defined amount of time so that is done and dusted quickly?

Finally, what is the actual task you have to do? Can you define its scope precisely, so you don't get sidetracked and you know exactly what you need to do to accomplish it?

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

Time compression challenge

Written by Super User on 20 February 2024.

If you only had three hours a day to work due to whatever circumstance, what would you choose to do?

I bet you'll be going through your endless to-do list and decide on the most urgent and important priority, maybe put a timer on and throw yourself into that piece of work.

Why don't you do it now, then?

Because you have more than three hours.

Pleeeeenty of time for checking your emails, checking group chats, ordering something on Amazon, putting a load of laundry if you work from home.

My challenge for you this week is *to pretend* you have only three hours a day, pick one or two urgent and important tasks, and power through them, shutting down everything that is related to that task for the duration of the challenge.

At the end of the three hours, drop the pen or laptop (figuratively, of course), take a break then work on something else less urgent or important.

This kind of "time compression" can be more productive than a full (distracted) day of work.

Will you be up for the challenge?

Let me know, and I'll keep you accountable!

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

What do you do with the 50 hours plus you are not working every week?

Written by Super User on 12 February 2024.

If you are like any other human being, on average you sleep for 7 hours a day, work for 8, attend to your body's needs (like eating, washing etc.) for 2, and commute or do errands or housework for another 2.

That leaves you with 5 spare hours a day.

Of course, you might have kids or parents to care for, and that might mean more hours attending to others' needs. Still, you probably have a few hours left for yourself.

[if you don't believe me, use this tool to check how many hours you spend every day doing your usual stuff]

Add to these daily spare hours at least a few others over the weekend in which you do not work, and you have some 50-plus hours every week to play with.

You know you said you wanted to learn how to play guitar?

You know that book you had in mind to write, but never seem to find the time?

You actually have the time.

It's how you use it that makes the difference.

This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/

Green Gorilla UK - Productivity