👓 Stuff #154 - lo-fi bears.

Welcome to a new week, I hope Stuff finds you well.

Last weeks most clicked link was a clock made of songs, it makes much more sense when you click and have a look. I must also say thanks to all the comments and shares on my article about Maximising your Manager 1:1's - I'm glad people found that useful.

This week, I'm looking at more meetings, focusing on the team meeting and how you can make the most of those. I've also got some great links and resources on leadership, insomnia and networking over breakfast. To finish up, I have a great music recommendation for you from Roisin Murphy.

Thank you all for being here on our joint journey of curiosity.

Till next Monday, enjoy...

👓 The Big Stuff - are you back to office?

My company formally made a 'return to office' this week, and while I'm still away on vacation, I'm looking forward to being back in a busier workplace soon. I've been 'in' the office since the end of lockdown, so a few more people around will be nice.

One of the key opportunities of a return to office, is to gather whole teams together, some who might have been fully remote.

I love these chances to be together - running a whole team meeting is not easy, and needs some planning. I came across this excellent video this week from the COO of Stripe, Claire Hughes Johnson who gives a 25 minute demonstration of how to run an effective staff meetings. I highly recommend this one.

Meetings are high value exercises, so it pays to find some best practices for running them, this google guide to meetings has some excellent starting points.

It's also important to remember that just because you can, it doesn't mean you should. There are excellent alternatives to meetings that can continue to drive teams forward to meet business goals, without creating meeting fatigue or burnout.

Collaboration isn't always in person.

🧠 The Other Stuff

• Leadership: Five ways to lead, even if you don't have a leadership role. This is one of the behaviours I see in every successful future manager.
• Infinity: The Infinite Hotel Paradox will help you understand the scale of infinity. Note - it's really big!
• Sleep: An insomnia coach. Designed by the US government!?
• Coffee: How people in the long-life 'blue zones' handle their caffeine intake. Hint: none of them seem to have a quad shot venti in the afternoon.
• Networking: Breakfast is an app that connects you with someone cool to have breakfast with. A great way to build your creative network.

🌞 The Little Stuff

• Telegeography: is the study of how we get data around our planet.
• Instahits: Lego fixes | Minimalism | Workspaces | David Shrigley (the best)
• Homelessness: Converting offices to living spaces is not as easy I imagined.
• Bears: A lo-fi mix for bears (only).
• Finally: Slices. For anyone that has ever sliced something. I'm on level 30.

💭 Transforming Stress into Strength: Nine Practical Ways to Leverage Stress

Workplace stress is something we all deal with at one point or another. It’s easy to let it drain us, hinder our productivity, and dampen our overall well-being. But what if we could change our perception of stress and use it as a tool to boost our performance at work?

Stuff that MattR'sMatt Rutherford

🎧 This week, my aural treat comes from long time Stuff favourite - Roisin Murphy who has released 'Hit Parade' a sixth solo album following four with Moloko.

As you might expect, Hit Parade is full of eminently dance-able, wonky pop tunes with some excellent production from DJ Koze, and the sultry, often funny vocals from Murphy.

Highlights from me include You Knew and Can't Replicate - two dancefloor friendly tunes that are great examples of the album.

Highly recommended Stuff.

Journal Prompts - Positivity

Finding time for introspection and reflection is a vital tool for growth, here are fifty journal prompts to help you cultivate Positivity in your life.

Stuff that MattR'sMatt Rutherford

👂🏼 Stuff Someone Said

You'll heal you know; we always do.

Nick Cave