Ever heard about the Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule? This idea states that for most processes, 80% of the outcomes come from only 20% of the input effort. It’s been applied in many areas of life: In economics Pareto noticed that about 80% of Italy's land was owned by 20% of the population (Manual of political economy, 1971). In computer science Microsoft discovered that by fixing the top 20% of the popular bugs, 80% of the co-related errors and crashes in a given system would be eliminated (Microsoft's CEO, 2002). There are many applications of the [...]
“Distringit librorum multitudo – The abundance of books is a distraction”. This is how Seneca the Elder, famed Roman rhetorician and father of the infamous stoic philosopher of the same name, expressed the inconvenience of what we nowadays call ‘Information Overload.’ Information overload is recognised as the No. 1 problem in organisations. (Williams, 2012) Studies show that in 2010 information overload cost the US economy approximatelyUS$ 1trillion (Spira, 2011) From the minute we leave the safety of our mother’s womb we become overexposed to all [...]
When it comes to personal productivity, we are exposed to gazillions of theories and opinions. Distinguishing facts from fiction isn’t always a simple task, but this is why I like to make sure all my knowledge and practical tools have a scientific basis… The truth about Multi-tasking Multi-tasking has long been considered a cornerstone of productivity, and we constantly use the analogy of juggling to optimise our tasks. But what’s the reality? Evidence says that media multitasking weakens the working memory and long-term memory. (Uncapher et al., 2016). Nobody is performing [...]
Wherever you may currently be, checking the news day to day has rarely been more frightening. Social, political and economic panic. Financial market volatility. The daily count of those at risk, infected, and now dead. We’re all facing tough decisions and anxiety and for many of us the temptation is simply to hide. Hide from the news, hide from social interaction, hide from a world where survival became that much more risky overnight. It is scary, and it’s absolutely okay to be worried or anxious. However, we must also be calm, decisive and resolute, rather than being petrified by [...]
As we all now know, on 11th March, Coronavirus, aka Covid-19, became a pandemic, as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). There’s no reason to panic - here are the general best practice guidelines advised by WHO to reduce the potential health risks. In many countries self-isolation is already a fact of life. And if you’re in a country where it’s not yet, get ready! Here’s the best guidance I’ve found on the practicalities of how to self-isolate, published by the government of New Zealand. Psychological Dangers However, one of the topics not yet fully [...]
Resilience makes our life easier and happier in so many ways. There’s a plethora of science that shows resilient people are better employees and are better able to cope with many of the common problems of corporate life - anxiety, depression and workplace stress (Williams et al., 2018), Resilient folk are also happier and more satisfied with their lives (Barcelona University, 2012) and even fight serious diseases, such as cancer, better (Cohen et at., 2014). How’s about we take a holistic approach to exploring the meaning and purpose of resilience and how to develop greater [...]
In the fast-paced world we live in, we’re working hard, to tight deadlines and are constantly, virtually, available. Meaning that keeping a healthy work-life balance seems almost impossible. Burnout lurks just around the corner and sometimes facing our simple, daily challenges can feel overwhelming. Around the world, employees identify work as the number one stressor in their lives (Goh et al., 2015). It’s antidote - Resilience - therefore becomes a key strategy that helps employees keep stress under control, manage workplace conflict and supports our prospects in an extremely [...]
Being resilient in the workplace and creating a resilient environment is fundamental for the success of organisations and businesses. Some professions are more challenging than others: bankers and executives, healthcare professionals, and military forces are constantly subjected to high stress levels. But it doesn’t matter how stressful our day in the office might be, or what our job entails, we all need a good dose of resilience! It’s a critical element to understanding and managing the consequences of work-related stress. Here’s my little collection of the perfect ways to [...]
Don’t judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again ― Nelson Mandela South African revolutionary and politician, Nelson Mandela, certainly failed many times in his fight again apartheid.He spent 27 years in prison, but that wasn’t enough to break him. Hadn’t he had resilience and perseverance, perhaps apartheid would have lasted longer and our world would have felt less free. For sure, the single best way to avoid failure is inertia. When we’re paralyzed by our fear of failure, it’s just a lot easier to avoid every [...]
