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 [...]
“Spend more time doing things that make you forget about the time.” ― Charlotte Eriksson Ever been so absorbed in a particular task that you didn’t notice the phone ringing, the emails piling up or the dog whining for dinner? Or been so immersed in reading a great book that, despite being ravenous, you totally forgot to eat for 8 hours? What activities suck you into this state of complete involvement and concentration that you lose contact with space and time? The Concept of Flow Flow was discovered by a Hungarian psychologist with an unpronounceable name who studied[...]
We all know the scientific benefits of setting objectives. (If not - I’ve written before about the profound benefits of setting objectives here.) And most of us have come a long way in using goal setting in our personal or professional lives to significantly improve our productivity and performance. Yet how often do I hear from my clients that their goal has failed or their New Year’s Resolution isn’t going to plan? The reason why our goals and resolutions almost always fail isn’t because we lack commitment or motivation. Quite the opposite! We’re often super [...]
As Lao Tzu famously claimed: ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ A great place to start any element of change is by clearly setting objectives. Prioritising our well-being and keeping on top of our stress levels are essential to any goal setting process. Goals and objectives provide a sense of meaning and purpose. They point us in the direction we want to go and keep us on track. It’s a very strong, grounding exercise simply to ask: ‘where do I want to be in one month, one year, ten years? What are the steps I can take to make my dreams [...]
While COVID-19 has shut down a substantial amount of economic activity in 2020, it has done wonders for our planet. Our reduced movements have caused the biggest carbon crash ever recorded. Emissions this year will fall by four to eight percent to about two to three billion tonnes of carbon. Lockdowns have also reduced the global electricity demand by about twenty percent according to the International Energy Agency which is predicted to have an overall six percent reduction this year compared to last year. This difference is equivalent to losing the entire energy demand of India! People are [...]
Bhutan is a small and mostly Buddhist nation tucked between China and India with a population of about 800,000. It spreads across the Himalayas with 70 percent of its land coated in forests. To deter low cost tourism, Bhutan requires visitors to spend upwards of $250 USD per day per person making it a highly regarded destination among discerning travelers. A huge attraction of Bhutan is its perceived focus on peacefulness which is reflected in its laws.In 1972 the king of Bhutan introduced the concept of “gross national happiness” (GNH) as an attempt to live in a way that’s [...]
One of my first happy moments in my memory was as a child around 6 years old, walking down to the beach through a very steep path towards Porthmore Beach in Cornwall. It was an arduous journey in English weather but extremely fun times with friends at the beach as a young boy. It’s these memories of joy that inspire me to teach well-being. Well that’s part of the truth and perhaps the other part I share another time!I graduated from Cambridge in 1995 and it was difficult to get a job. Barings Bank had just collapsed with it's rogue trader but I was very fortunate to find employment[...]
Some 2,000 years ago the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle famously stated that “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”. It’s one of favourite quotes of all time!We might all agree that our purpose of life is not just to live, but to live well. So, if there is a desire to be happy and an ability to be happy how can we pursue happiness, our well-being for ourselves and others? Since the dawn of time philosophers have been pondering just that - what it means to be happy and how we can experience this sometimes elusive yet [...]
