Third edition of my weekly newsletter…
Last week was full of nice anecdotes and a lot of learning.
These are the 6 things that impacted me the most.
H1: Being able to do is not the same as having to do.
On Tuesday I had an interesting interaction with a Ukrainian colleague called Kateryna.
The conversation, which began with me explaining to her the etymology of “procrastination” (comes from the Latin pro + crastinare, and colloquially would be something like “procrastinate”), eventually turned into an intense discussion about why her team members procrastinate (or “leave everything to the last minute.”).
"Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today."
"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."
You, me and absolutely everyone who studies, works or has any kind of responsibility knows that “being able to do” (what Franklin and Twain referred to) is not as effective and powerful as “having to do”; this is what the British Cyril Northcote Parkinson proposed in 1957 when he enunciated his famous Law (of procrastination), which states that “work expands until it fills the time available for its completion”.
While there are exceptions, for the vast majority of people, as is the case with Kateryna’s team, having too much time to complete a task often leads to distractions and setbacks that ultimately result in rushed, last-minute deliveries.
I don’t know if you already know Parkinson’s Law, but anyway, I would like to give you some recommendations to use it to your advantage, both in your studies, at work, in your personal activities and even in your household chores:
- Set shorter deadlines: Compressing time may seem challenging, but you’ll be surprised how it intensifies your focus and pushes you to be more efficient.
- Break large tasks into subtasks that are easier to complete: This method not only makes the task seem less overwhelming, but each small accomplishment motivates you to keep going.
- Use timers: Setting specific periods of time to work helps you keep a steady pace and prevents you from getting lost in unnecessary details.
- Limit distractions: Make your work (or study) space a place of concentration: turn off unnecessary notifications and move away everything you don’t need.
H2: Sharing in community
Interacting with the community is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding aspects of my work at younity. Seeing the positive impact we generate fills me with motivation and drives me to keep growing and helping as many people as possible.
If you want to see a little bit of what we talked about, I invite you to watch the recording.
H3: Keep this in mind when defining your priorities
In last week’s newsletter I talked about energy, and today I’m going to have to mention the topic again 👀.
Earlier this week I discovered, in a report by a German pollster, that the country’s workers spend one third of their work day managing their e-mail.
Although I did not find updated information from other countries in Europe and the Americas, the numbers really struck me. Imagine: a person can spend 3 hours a day, 15 hours a week and up to 60 hours a month just reading or answering emails.
For me, it’s really crazy.
In my case, despite the multiple responsibilities and communications I have to handle, I usually dedicate just one hour a day, divided into two blocks of 30 minutes each: one at the beginning of the day and the other at the end of the afternoon.
However, seeing such high numbers, I couldn’t help but be intrigued. I decided to delve deeper into the subject, reading various reports until I finally found the key that explains it all.
Workers spend so much time on email because it gives them a sense of accomplishment. We are hardwired to prefer instant rewards over long-term benefits. This explains why many people opt for simple, quick tasks such as reading or answering emails, without considering the mental energy this consumes and how it can affect their performance throughout the day.
At a cognitive level, our brain has a daily energy limit similar to that of a battery. If we spend this energy on unimportant activities, when the time comes to tackle really priority tasks, we will find ourselves with low energy levels, which makes it very difficult to carry them out.
One strategy I recommend is to focus on the most demanding tasks when you are at your peak energy, which in my case is early in the morning. To conclude, I would like to leave you with a small reflection: When you are faced with a complex and unattractive task, what do you do?
Reflect sincerely on this and define at least one practical change that you can start implementing now to move more decisively towards what you intend to do.
H4: My niece and my grandmother…
Between my niece Dana and my grandmother Esther there is a difference of 92 years. Dana is about to turn 2 in September, while Esther celebrated her 94th birthday last February.
Last week I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days with them, as well as my mother, my brother and his wife. Over dinner on Friday, I got to thinking about how the perception of time varies greatly among the four generations we were gathered around that table.
But I focused especially on Dana and Esther because they represent very interesting extremes. Dana, for example, has no perception of time. Live fully in the present, without understanding the duration or sequence of events. For her, waiting five minutes for her food to be served may seem like an eternity, as she does not yet know how to structure or anticipate time, and has no developed sense of the past or the future.
In contrast, Esther has almost a century of life, loaded with memories and experiences she has accumulated. Watching them during those days and trying to understand each other’s way of perceiving time was truly fascinating.
This topic was the subject of study at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. In the published research, the researchers point out that our perception of time begins to change and accelerate from the age of 7, when we are already able to understand and be aware of the importance of time.
The researchers used two heuristics to explain their findings. Heuristics are mental shortcuts that facilitate quick decision making. For example, children can use representativeness heuristics when comparing durations based on how much interesting content a YouTube video contains.
As they get older, they begin to use sampling heuristics, which emphasize the importance of absolute time and universal concepts of time. In addition, the study highlights how these heuristics enhance children’s subjective experience of time.
Experiences that are particularly engaging and captivating may distort their perception of time, while routine or boring activities cause them to consider time absolute more frequently.
In conclusion, our understanding of time perception depends on our age and is much more complex than mere neural processes. It is influenced by a complex interaction between cognitive development, the use of heuristics and our subjective experiences.
H5: Never underestimate yourself
Yesterday I finished reading the book Talk to Strangers: The Yes Theory Story. And I want to share with you the idea that struck me the most:
"You never know who you will inspire with your actions and you never know the impact it will have."
We often underestimate what we can accomplish and the positive impact we can have on our family, friends and community.
I speak from my own experience: this blog project was postponed several times while I tried to find the right moment, and perhaps there was some reluctance for not knowing if my stories would interest anyone.
Now, after only three weeks of starting, with thousands of people reading me daily and with so many messages of support I receive, I realize the true impact of my decision to start.
Never underestimate yourself!
H6: Kulning
To close this week’s newsletter, I’m going to tell you what I learned about the Kulning an ancient Scandinavian practice that originated in the Nordic mountains and valleys for the purpose of calling and directing livestock (mainly cows and goats), which were dispersed over long distances during the day in search of pasture.
When researching the kulning I discovered fascinating facts. For example, the chants can be heard more than five kilometers away. The loud, clear tone is projected across the vast mountain landscapes, ensuring that the message reaches the livestock, no matter how far away they are.
This practice was passed down from generation to generation. The young women learned by watching and listening to the older women, absorbing not only the techniques, but also the improvised melodies that were adapted to each unique situation.
The story in itself is fascinating, but what struck me most (and the main reason for sharing this with you) was the feeling I experienced when listening to it. Beyond giving me goose bumps, shaking my body and moving me deeply, I felt as if it awakened some cellular memory inside me. Something definitely stirred inside me, and I would love to know if you also experienced something similar.
Here are a couple of videos so you can enjoy them and see how kulning is done.
Until next Sunday, with 6 new highlights ❤️
Feedback? I would love to hear from you. Remember that you can contact me at any time through vladimir@younity.one.
