Category: productivity

Week 14/2023: A slow, painful week

Week of 3 April 2023 A slow down This week I was going to try out Laura Vanderkam’s idea of creating backup slots in my week to allow for unexpected things that might derail me. I didn’t end up doing it because Friday was a holiday and I didn’t...

Week 13/2023: Making a backup

Week of 27 March 2023 Tranquility by Tuesday: Create a backup slot I’ve been writing about setting up my week so I can fit my new writing habit on three times during the week. This is explained in chapter 4 of Laura Vanderkam’s book Tranquility by Tuesday, which I’m...

Week 11/2023: Three times a week is a habit part 3

Week of 13 March 2023 Three times a week is a habit part 3 I wrote about Laura Vanderkam’s idea that “three times a week is a habit” earlier in the week. This approach is based on her view that people often don’t do “daily habits” seven days a...

Three times a week part 2

Tranquility by Tuesday Three times a week is a habit: Part 2 Last time, I talked about Laura Vanderkam’s wonderfully freeing idea that rather than beating yourself up because you can’t do [xyz wonderful thing] every single day so you don’t do it at all, by doing it three...

Week 10/2023: Three times a week

Week of 6 March 2023 Tranquility by Tuesday: Chapter 5 Three times a week is a habit. As well as James Clear’s Atomic Habits, which I’ve been writing about in the last few weeks, I’ve been working through Laura Vanderkam’s book Tranquility By Tuesday. Planning on Friday, which I...

Week 9/2023: Atomic habits part 5

Week of 27 February 2023 Atomic Habits Part 5 As I wrote last time, I’m carrying on with James Clear’s 30-day habit challenge to try and get myself back into a writing habit. Since then, I’ve started the daily habit of sitting at my desk, opening my notebook and...

Writing again: atomic habits part 4

Atomic Habits Part 4 The 30-day challenge As I’ve been writing over the last couple of weeks, the first six lessons from James Clear’s 30-day habit challenge looked first at establishing your identity and choosing small (tiny) habits you can do to support that identity, and then setting up...

Stolen Focus

Stolen Focus I’d heard a lot about Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. A couple of people I know had read it, and it kept popping up in book lists and newsletters from bookstores. There was a long wait for it at the library so I only got it right...

Week 4/2023: Plan on friday

Week of 23 January 2023 A week on and a week off After our week in Sydney, I went straight back to work on Monday knowing I’d only have just over a week before I’d be on leave for another week. The main things I wanted to do this...

Four thousand weeks

Embracing my finitude and living my life I wrote about the book Four Thousand Weeks several times earlier this year and I felt like I had to write a post about it because it has the potential to change my life. But I kept putting it off and wondering...