Nicholas Bate

Relaxation

It’s sometimes hard to achieve. A state where there is no ‘pull’ to task nor notification awaiting nor anxiety skulking.

It needs practice (the noun).

So, practise (the verb).

Put it down, let it go and be here now.

The Greatest Productivity Tips, 136

Take frequent mini breaks.

Aim for on the hour take 5 mins.

And ask:

-what’s really important now?

And truly listen to the response.

That’ll keep your compass set correctly.

Catch Up Sunday 35

1. 25 Mini Standards.
2. The Writing Primer.
3. Bram, A Spy Story: a story of coming of age, of Queen and country and the origins of Covid-19. “Once you start reading this book, it’s difficult to put down. Initially, you are immersed in the delights of Oxford academia, only to then be exposed to the starkness and brutality of Moscow during the Cold War. Bram, a brilliant Oxford chemist, turns spy whose mission is to save the world from a highly dangerous and ubiquitous threat. This book is characterised by most of the attributes of a good spy story with action, heroic exploits by a larger-than-life protagonist and a strong plot. Well worth a read.”
   
4. How to Start your Very Own Business.
5. Instant Productivity.
6. Seven choices.
7. 22 Essentials.
8. How to Create your Home Office.
9. plus The Start Up Myths
10. Stay STRONG
11. Crazy Bold Experiments
12. Just say NO to PPT
13. The Marketing Primer.
14. Being the Best version of you, the book, back in stock.
15. Redundancy
16. Hunter-Gatherer 21C
17. Tackling Stress.
18. Manage that career
19. Be Bold 101
20. You still haven’t read Being The Best?! 
21. Things They Don’t Teach at Business School
22. the secrets of success
23. Life Tips 101
24. Zen & Art of Cubicle Freedom
25. Carnage At Kodak
26. The Very Best Drugs You Need
27. Billions of Light Years Away In Another Galaxy
28. 22 Routes To Your Non Fiction Book
29. Lists For The Life You Love
30. How To Lessen E-Mail Pain
31. Professionalism 101
32. 21 Ways to Improve your Zoom Conference Call.
33. Productivity Primer
34. 101, redux
35. The Basic Basics

Read More; Scroll Less; Free for 48h; A Spy Story

Bram, A Spy Story.

Free 48h

Instant Amazon Kindle.

Break Out…from the Urban Zoo

If only it were an Urban Jungle. But sadly, the reality it's a zoo. The cages are the cubicles, the tranquillisers are e-mail and PPT and feeding times the free coffee and cookies. It's tough to break out but it can be done. Like any prison film you’ve ever seen you know you need to get fit. That's step 1. Stand and stretch and mobilise at regular intervals and then drop to the floor and do 10 press-ups. Do it on the hour, every hour. Twice a day find a secret location in the stair well where CCTV is not observing you and do some stair runs and pull ups. Keep that going. Now you need to add creative thinking, step 2. Smuggle into the compound a book, yes a real book. Anything from this list is suitable. Finally read the blueprint. 

Don't forget to send the rest of the inmates a postcard from freedom. 

Work 22

1. Stay courteous at all times.
2. Arrive on time for meetings.
3. Only accept digital interrupts when on your own.
4. Explicitly agree the actions at the end of a meeting and/or conversation.
5. Never talk negatively about a member of the team when they are not present: it stops trust and hence a high performance team being formed. If there is an issue, address it of course. But with them and formally. 
6. Stay hydrated.
7. Stand and move a lot.
8. Take the stairs for exercise and heart rate boost.
9. Shorten meetings and have more gaps in the day to actually think.
10. Sort out e-mail once and for all.
11. Always be reading a good book on effectiveness at work.
12. Become brilliant at recruiting.
13. Don't play last one out the car park at the end of the day games. Do the job. Go home. 
14. Separate it from home life.
15. Be creative by practising the skill.
16. Bring your own planned nutritious lunch.
17. Become awesome at what you do.
18. Keep asking: am I using my brain? Or am I just hitting reply/reply all a lot?
19. Reduce the distractions. 
20. Notice if you are getting irritated. It may be the job. Or it may be deep fatigue: switch off fully and get deep sleep.
21. Only have 1 list of areas on which to focus. 
22. When not at work, don't 'do work'.

Three easy to read great stories. 40 minutes each.

Go read something today.

Suggestions for The Shakespeare Pledge

Here.

Zero Bad Days

A strategy.

Patrick has an early

Christmas Quiz for you.