Paradoxical life; Precautionary principles; Hype scales
💡Think
Something I'm particularly bad at is that I typically try to please everyone. This means that in the end, everyone is a bit meh, disappointed, and simply not pleased.
It ultimately signals a lack of cutting edge, and a willingness to mediate rather than make the harder calls and, you know, actually decide on something.
I'm sure that it's not just me who suffers from this, and I suppose the easiest way to try and jump over this hurdle is to try and anticipate what makes the most sense through long-term-perspective-glasses (a technical term).
If we do X, what is the long term implication? How about Y? Either one will benefit the most people, so go for it.
📷 Look
📖 Read
❶ This paradoxical life
I'm amazed at how well timed this article landed on my lap this week, as I have been circling around the concept recently. It looks (at length) at the contradiction of what makes a "good modern life", in that we need to balance home comforts (safety, regularity) with new experiences (independence, spontaneity) and these don't necessarily sit together all that naturally.
❷ The precautionary principle
Is it better to be safe than sorry? Personally, maybe. In business, probably. I like this principle because it shifts conversations from "how could you not see this coming?" to "we know the risks up front and have planned accordingly". That just seems to make sense to me. Ultimately, following this approach forces you to ask a lot more questions before you start anything, and that safety net can save your bacon.
❸ Hype as a scale
Hype is a bit of a gross word, as it describes everything and nothing at the same time. In saying that, it's kind of important for something to be successful. This short article takes a look at hype, laying out a "5 step" approach, my favourite being level 3 — "the utopian future". Does this one sound familiar?
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Bonus round
An ethical design guide, helping you to create products "that don't cause harm"
An interview style article with a bunch of up and coming typographic designers
🎧 Listen
Fixing your focus
Or...stop procrastinating. This is a long one, so I'd recommend maybe having a few sessions to make sure you get through, but I promise it's worth it. They talk deeply about our inability to focus, how it's related to a tendency to over-work, eat poorly, and they way that our digital lives are a constant fight for attention. My favourite part was the stats behind why we need to introduce a 4 day week. I'm ready for it now.
Listen to this podcast (1 hour 39 minutes)