Stuff #111 - no more very

Hey from Dublin,

How are you? Really?  

It's a tough time out there, my corner of industry is impacted by layoffs and I know a lot of people are fearing for their livelihood.  

If you've been impacted by layoffs, then please get in touch, I'm happy to help wherever I can.   We can jump on a call for a chat, or a career coaching session - and my network is your network.

I want to just recognise the readers that completed the Stuff 30-day Journaling Challenge and sent me feedback this week.  I'm so grateful for your comments, and congratulations on finishing what sounds like a useful journey.

If you're enjoying Stuff, I'd ♥️ if you would hit 'forward' and share this with a friend, if not hit 'reply' and tell me how I can make Stuff better for you.  

As always - thanks for being here - it's great to have you join me each week! If you received this from an amazing friend, get your own copy here.

1. Monday Motivation:   Let this week be the one where you figure out how to deal with that difficult person you work with.  This great video has some wisdom, 'their bad behaviour should not be the cause of your heart attack'.   To get you started, here are twenty expert tactics that you can help you tackle the situation.
2. Your new superpower(s):  The three skills that you need to develop to lead through uncertain times, there are no surprises; clear communication, transparency and empathy.  But what about when things get REALLY tough - then you can also wheel out a classic model for dealing with uncertainty, VUCA.  This model (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) will help you navigate the most challenging of situations.
3. Say goodbye to the 9 to 5:  Flexible work is changing the hours that we work, with many people moving away from the traditional workday.  Working with more flexible options is improving peoples mental and physical wellbeing.
4. Take care: We're coming to an interesting time of the year, where readers in the Northern Hemisphere need to take a little extra care.  Maybe now is the time to think about trying to get out during the day.  Maybe fall/winter is an excellent time for a digital detox?
5. TWIL:  One recent study showed that knowledge workers switch between apps over 1200 times per day.   I'm amazed, and there has to be a better way.
6. What would Steve do/say? Find out by browsing the excellent Steve Jobs Archive with quotes and examples from an extraordinary life. Beyond the quotes, there is a serious purpose to the site.
7. Get out just a little bit:  Every National Park in the world, a useful map for exploring somewhere new and beautiful.  My key takeaway, Australia has a LOT of national parks.
8. Andre nearly gets arrested: Infinite Monkeys is a brilliant site, that uses a simple prompt and some AI to create a unique (and sometimes odd) story for you to tell.
9. No More Very:  An ingenious use of technology, this clever site invites you to put in 'very' + an adjective, to get a MUCH better word.  
10. Finally: The hardest browser game I've ever played, find a flight on map and guess where it's from, and where it's to.  This will be much easier for pilots I suppose!

🗞 I'm very protective about what I allow into my inbox, but The Weekly Wrap from Meghan Kowalski is one newsletter that I look forward to every week.  

Every Sunday, you can expect highlights from things that Meghan has read, watched, heard, found, or did. If it makes her go, “Ooo! That’s interesting!” it’s going to show up.

My aural treat this week comes from a London producer and DJ Fred Gibson aka Fred again... and it's an excellent collection of tunes called 'Actual Life 3 (January 1 - September 9 2022).

Recorded fragments of daily life, and vocals from friends that have been skilfully assembled into dancefloor friendly slabs of electronica.    Tracks are named after friends, and the phrases that have been used and the production is superb.

If you like the album (and I see zero reasons why not), then you might like Fred again... DJ'ing Live at the Boiler Room. One of the best DJ sets I have EVER seen.