This past week has been quite uneventful. I am looking forward to my visit home at the end of April – can’t count the days fast enough – and I am also quite excited for spring to arrive. I can feel the general mood brightening up and the sun showing up every day a little bit more and I am all in for it.
The major highlight of last week is definitely the fact that I made it to four of my HIIT workouts and I absolutely love it. Given that I have been on the HIIT train for about a year now, I am also eyeing Nike’s new sports shoes designed specifically for HIIT workouts, the Nike Air Zoom SuperRep. They are certainly not the prettiest but seem to be perfect for jump intense workouts.
The Weekly Reads
March tech backgrounds. It’s March already so spring is around the corner. It sounds like a good moment to refresh your laptop or phone wallpaper with a flowery theme. Here are some downloadable tech backgrounds from The Every Girl.
Precrastination. Or the tendency to tackle tasks at the earliest chance. You know how you often tackle the tasks that are easiest/fastest to do? Yeah, me too. Never heard of this concept before but I can totally get it and feel identified with it. Checking things off my to-do list is way too satisfying and the more, the better.
It’s inherently satisfying to check things off. Princeton neuroscientists found that the reward center in your brain, called the nucleus accumbens, is activated more strongly when you complete a less-effortful task.
But all those ticked boxes can, paradoxically, hamper your productivity. When faced with a long to-do list or a complex goal, most people are drawn to the tasks or subgoals with a short completion window and more immediate payoff.
Job hunting. Are you on a job hunt or planning to enter such a phase? Organization during this time is key and staying accountable can help you make sure you use your time wisely. Great tips from Career Contessa on how to create a schedule and stay organized.
The envelope system. Do you need some extra help when it comes to sticking to your budget? I know I do, and the envelope system is a simple and straightforward way to do it. You can apply this idea digitally as well or even make use of a spreadsheet.
Public speaking. Whether it’s an internal presentation, doing a demo in front of a group of clients, speaking up in a big meeting or speaking at an external event, you will get nervous. At least I know I do. Public speaking is certainly not my forte and while I sometimes end up enjoying it (don’t ask me how?) it’s a skill that I always seek to improve at. Career Contessa has a lot of good tips on how to get better at public speaking.
What I am listening to. Tim Ferris’ latest interview with Brene Brown is such an entertaining & insightful one. One of the topics they touch on is the difference between self-acceptance and self-complacency and I think it’s a powerful distinction and their conversation around it is very relatable.
Thank you for reading and I hope you are having a great start into the week!
