I couldn't write very often in 2020. I had to confront the self-help myth I believed: we need to pursue productivity at all costs, and optimise ourselves at every turn. In doing do, I learned that writing less is better for me.
Is it possible just to ‘switch off’?
Let’s be honest: “switch off” is a misleading phrase. There is no switch that would cause us not to keep thinking about what’s on our mind. That is why people often remark that the first few days of a holiday do not really feel like a holiday at all. We cannot turn concentration or care on and off.
Reflecting
Do I trust everyone and hang all hope on just remembering when we get to July and rip into planning? Is “just remembering” a sound business strategy, ever?
Love Letters: to those who won’t know
I’m fifty posts in now. I remember distinctly what it felt like to set up this website and start writing. What made me finally do it?
What do they really want?
Where is she asking you? Who else is listening? What information do you already have? What else do you need to know?
Safety
We can learn how to make a space safe. We can practise making a space safe. This takes time and trust and buy-in from everyone. It also takes someone to take the first step.
Remote work
Those three things - autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward - are, most people will agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. -Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers
9 July
It was one year ago today that the prompts got released for altMBA23.