Tag: Rest

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The Schedule

I am sharing today a schedule I use in my work every time the noise from distractions gets too much and/or I don’t actually think I am making any progress in what I do. It was inspired by reading ‘The Secrets of Productive People’ by Mark Forster, a book which, while labelled productivity, has a lot to do with creativity.

I call my process simply ‘the schedule’ and it has served me well for the last six years. Feeling stretched? Time to return to the Schedule. The aim is to keep work focused on a single task but also to allow structured time where the brain can wander and new ideas can come into the flow. 

  • 09:10 – 09:50
  • 10mins break
  • 10:00 – 10:40
  • 30mins break
  • 11:10 – 11:50
  • 10mins break
  • 12:00 – 12:40
  • 1h10 break
  • 13:50 – 14h30
  • 10mins break
  • 14:40 – 15:20
  • 30mins break
  • 15:50 – 16:30
  • 10mins break
  • 16:40 – 17:20

The breaks are as important as the focus time. Both count as work. Both count towards time on a job. Often we only value the active brain time, but sometimes our best thinking happens in between. 

One rule of the Schedule is to stop the task at break time, even if the task is almost complete. The temptation is to carry on, but as it usually turns out, an almost finished task is never quite as finished as you think. What ensues is a period of dwindling concentration and diminishing returns. Better to take the break, come back with fresh eyes and finish the task quickly, and move on.

Of course, few days fully work out like this. There’s fitting in with other people’s schedules. And there’s caring responsibilities. But when things start to feel a bit chaotic (see my post on the Chaos Field), re-establishing some order can help me think clearly again. 

My recommendation is not that you follow my schedule (by all means do if you wish) but to establish a pattern of work that works for your cycle of energy and attention, gives you time to think, provides structure and is something that you just do automatically without devoting mental energy to. 

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Harnessing Waves in Our Work

Sine wave running from trough to trough labelled with numbers 1 through 5 at the first trough, where it crosses the x axis, at the peak, where it crosses the x axis again and finally approaching the next trough

(This post from the archive originally appeared in September 2024, and became a motif in the Pattern Book for Regenerative Design)

Today’s post picks up on yesterday’s theme of riding the waves of human energy in our work. The idea is to create a cycle of working that tunes in to our own and others’ level of available energy to create better thriving for all involved. 

For the regenerative designer, the living world often gives us a good template for how to create thriving systems. And so, whether the wavelength we are designing for is a day, a month, a year or even a lifetime, here are some modes of working inspired by the changes that living systems cycle through. I have organised these into five touch points.

1 – Start of a new cycle 

  • Associated with potential and possibilities.
  • Might be a dream-like state.
  • Might be quite slow or dormant – possibly no activity visible on the surface.
  • Gradually shifting into planning.
  • Darkness, low levels of light or energy.

2 – Ascent 

  • Gathering momentum.
  • Plans transition into action.
  • Gaining confidence.
  • Work becomes visible.

3 – Peak

  • Maximum output or yield. Possibly a launch phase.
  • Everything is visible, a point of recognition.
  • The brightest part of the cycle, associated with clarity.
  • Celebration of achievement and milestones.

4 – Descent 

  • Harvest, where outputs are gathered, enjoyed and shared.
  • Reflection on work done, evaluation. 
  • Taking apart or shedding in readiness for the next cycle.
  • Gather resources for dormant phase.

5 – Rest and renewal 

  • Recovery and restoring. 
  • Lower visibility.
  • Less action, slower movement.

Of course, how we spend our time is a negotiation with others. The invitation here is to look for opportunities to acknowledge the cyclical ways in which we work. And to acknowledge more widely the cyclical pattern to the living systems that enable us to thrive.

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Horizon One Highway

In the Three Horizons model, Horizon One is the world that surrounds us — the one that grabs our attention, dominates our habits, and shapes our worldview.

Because it fills our field of vision, Horizon One obscures our view of possible alternative futures. 

Earlier this week I wrote about cognitive ease — the brain’s tendency to favour familiar options over ones that require more thinking effort. It’s the easy option of taking the familiar path, rather than the harder work of beating a new one. 

Horizons One is the beaten path. It’s the default route; the easy path.

But if we want to move towards a thriving future — one in which our work as designers and builders actually creates life and strengthens our communities and ecosystems — we need to beat a different path. And we need to do it every day. 

That takes effort and resourcing. 

We need time to reflect. We need time to rest. We need space to notice is what is missing and to dream about what is possible. 

And we need the nourishment of living things and the nourishment of community. 

Resourcing ourselves can help us resist the daily pull of the familiar. And we can keep searching for paths towards more thriving futures, even when walking down the Horizon One Highway looks like the much easier route.