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We get it, you’re busy. So, the Convene editors have curated the latest tips and trends in the world of work for you. Take a look at what caught our eye this past week.
Setting Better Boundaries
“Boundary predators” appear in every realm of life. From the boss who asks you to fix the slide show botched by a colleague (and to add three new slides while you’re at it) to the 10-year-old who asks for “just five more minutes” of screen time to complete their video game, it can feel like you say “no” all day long. Harvard Business Review supplies scripts and sample language to help you establish — and hold — boundaries, no matter who is trying to push you to do more than you agreed to.
Want to Improve Focus and Productivity? Do One Thing at a Time
The urge to do too many things at once is nothing new: As long ago as 1887, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was bemoaning the way “one thinks with a watch in one’s hand, even as one eats one’s midday meal while reading the latest news of the stock market.” But for a variety of reasons — overwork, digital distraction, plus the boundary-blurring consequences of the pandemic — we’ve probably never multitasked more. The best bet for a happier and more meaningful 2021, according to The Guardian, is to do the exact opposite: improve your capacity for doing only one thing at a time.
Feeling Anxious? The Way You Breathe Could Be Adding to It
Scrolling social media, amid frantic posts about politics and COVID-19 cases, you may have come across a friend or two reminding everyone to “just breathe.” But can just breathing really make a difference? In his new book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, journalist James Nestor argues that modern humans have become pretty bad at this most basic act of living. Ideas.TED has more.
Does Mindfulness Work? Cambridge Study Says Not Always
Here’s a bit of sacrilege to launch your 2021: Mindfulness doesn’t always work, Fast Company reports. This is the conclusion of researchers at the University of Cambridge’s department of psychiatry, who ran a meta-analysis and review study of 136 mindfulness training programs in 29 countries with 11,605 participants.