​

“Productivity isn’t a measure of outcome or quality.

It’s a measure of output - of busyness.”

Jen Fisher

Read / share this newsletter on the web.

Hi Reader,

How’s your month panning out?

For me, it’s been a mix of April flowers alongside many frigid spring showers.

No chance of T-shirts and flip-flop wearing, just yet, lol!

Thanks for bearing with me last week during the launch marketing period for my Coaching programme. I know it’s not fun to be bombarded with emails, so I really appreciate you still being here.

It’s now back to regular bi-monthly newsletter programming.

So, after learning loads at an online AI Writing Conference recently, I’ve been mulling over the importance and value of being human in our increasingly automated digital workplaces.

We are humans first and resources second (despite how our outputs are tracked against KPIs), whereas AI and our digital tools are a resource only.

They can aid us in being productive and creative, but they cannot bring what we can to the party.

Interesting fact: Our humanness is so incredibly unique, that there are 3million differences between you and me.

Contemplating AI also made me think of other scenarios where we're treated as resources first, and our uniqueness is often under-appreciated.

MEANING vs THE MUW

I recently posted a LinkedIn video about a productivity planning concept known as The Mythical Unencumbered Worker (MUW).

The MUW is also a fallacy, because these people don’t exist!

Realistically, we’re all “uniquely encumbered humans” and beautifully so.

We have lives and interests outside of work that do take our time, and do affect how we perform.

Sometimes those things can put strain on us.

But they can also boost our energy, performance and attention. In ways that AI can't.

The things we do outside of work can help us to be better at our work.

However...

The work we do also affects how we perform.

Too often we’re caught up in cycles of work that deplete us.

A focus solely on productivity for productivity's sake can be at the detriment of our health and outputs, especially if we find ourselves in situations where:

• The expectations of what we can produce in a day are unrealistic, and there’s no space to process, think and ideate.
• We have no autonomy over how we work, or are being micromanaged.
• The work we do is reactive, fire-fighting, surface-level, busy work, which doesn’t move the needle, but makes us “look productive”.

When the work we do is mind-numbingly depressing, or monotonous, or fully focused on busyness instead of deep work, it cannot fill our creative cup or stimulate us to produce great work repeatedly over time.

In these scenarios, the work itself is what endangers our productivity and causes burnout.

That's where AI can help us, by taking the drudge out of our day.

It can help create time and space for the synthesising that's needed as part of our deep work, which we don't get to do properly when we're inundated with busy work.

That’s also why I focus on helping people craft more meaningful work lives.

Without this focus we can’t actually do our best work, sustainably over time.

Meaningful work involves doing:

Work that is mentally stimulating.

Work that we have a degree of control over.

Work that energises us, makes us feel valued, and helps us grow.

And that's also why "intentional productivity" is a more fruitful way to approach our productivity, in all parts of our lives.

It focuses on outcome and quality, not quantity.

Further Reading:

1 - PEOPLE vs PRODUCTIVITY

An interesting article about making work better for humans, instead of making humans better for work.

Why aren’t more organisations getting on board?! Well, as I mention in my book, The Cadence Effect, business owners and chief execs are too obsessed with the wrong KPIs! We are humans first, and resources second!

• ​Decoupling People + Productivity (Jen Fisher, LinkedIn)

2 - NEW CONCEPT - "CHRONOWORKING"

“The key to getting the most out of employees may be allowing them to do their jobs when they feel like it.”

Chronoworking is so simple we might overlook it, despite its effectiveness. Incidentally, I wrote about chronotypes in my book, as knowing and working with your daily energy flow is an effective intentional productivity tool.

• ​Chronoworking (Megan Tatum, BBC Worklife)

3 - WORK vs WELLBEING

We often think that taking time away from work is the only way to deal with burnout at work, but often the remedy is closer to “home” than we think.

Hint: it has to do with how we work!

• ​An Unexpected Remedy for Burnout (Kelly Main, Inc)

Other Stuff

COACHING

So, my new Cadence Coaching Programme kicked off this week with the first live Masterclass, yay! I’m working with a small, but lovely group of eager people for the next 10 weeks.

I’ll be sharing our progress via my Instagram and LinkedIn in coming weeks. And, there's another cohort of this Programme later this year, so more about that in coming months.

PODCAST

Season 10 of the Creating Cadence Podcast will be kicking off in May and we have an interesting mix of people talking about creativity, finances, flow, and sustainability, and how they link to creating cadence. Stay tuned!

PRODUCT IN DEVELOPMENT

Finally, I’m considering running a weekend retreat in the Lake District in September. It will include some sessions covering topics from my coaching programme, alongside some fun, wellbeing-focused activities.

Hands up, who’s game for some wild swimming, or a hike up a big hill?

And if you have a team and are looking for a new "off-site" experience, this could work well for you, too!

Hope your month brings lots of lovely wins, whatever the weather.

With courage, curiosity and cadence,

Mich x

Got questions or comments? Hit reply and say hi! Not yet subscribed? Sign up here.

Get Your Free Resource:

All new subscribers to the Cadence newsletter get a new reader gift - The Cadence Canvas Cheat Sheet - a basic resource providing quick actions and activity suggestions to inspire you as you create your own Canvas of Intentional Productivity.

As you're already subscribed, you might not have received it (yet). So, here's is your special link to access and download the Cheat Sheet.

Hint: It can be used in conjunction with a reading of the book, which you can get at TheCadenceEffect.com​

​​​

You are receiving this because you signed up to this newsletter, an event booked on Eventbrite, a Cadence workshop, or purchased products or services from the Creating Cadence store. You can change your subscription preferences at any time.

Images by Mich Bondesio, unless otherwise stated.