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“Slowing down isn’t about protesting work

—it’s about finding a better way to do it.”

Cal Newport

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Hi Reader

First, the great news - spring is here up North, yay! That extra light in the morning certainly lifts my mood. How about you?

The surprising news - how is it already mid March, with Easter around the corner? After a gentle January, February blinked by.

Project work kept me super busy this past month, and included highlighting the important work of some wonderful creative women for Creative Lancashire's International Women's Day campaign, something I love being involved in.

The fast pace of the last month is now shifting, allowing me more space to focus on some new things.

This shift in gears is the nature of cadence, and necessary to accomplish my goals, whilst avoiding burnout.

1. SLOW PRODUCTIVITY

I'm a huge fan of Cal Newport's work, so I’m excited to see what I can learn from reading his new book ​- Slow Productivity​: The Lost Art of Accomplishment without Burnout.

Before I bought the book, I listened to his recent podcast interview where he talks about his 3 big ideas for the book.

I was struck by how they mirror mine in terms of creating cadence and intentional productivity (the core themes in my book The Cadence Effect).

Let’s consider Cal’s 3 Big Ideas:

1) DO FEWER THINGS

Creating space in your day, to avoid overwork, is one of three key elements of creating cadence, alongside “place” and “momentum”.

Creating space can be creating more time, more physical space, or more emotional space for creative thinking and doing, problem-solving, idea synthesis, rest and recovery.

But essentially, it's about doing a bit less, to make the space for you to produce more meaningful results.

2) WORK AT A NATURAL, VARIED PACE

Um, that is cadence! :)

This includes building elastic habits and behaviours that shrink and stretch to fit the demands of our days, but which also fit around our needs and strengths.

3) OBSESS OVER QUALITY

When I define Intentional Productivity in my book, I talk about doing meaningful things consistently.

I can see the connection to "quality", because what I mean is doing things that matter to us, that we're proud to put out into the world.

So, if the big wigs are talking about this stuff, I feel validated, yay!

Is Cal Newport stealing my ideas?

NOT AT ALL!!!

The term Slow Productivity has been in circulation for at least 10 years (and I reference it in my book).

AND

The more people amplify these concepts and implement these new styles of working, the more we're likely to generate momentum on the much-needed change I’ve been nattering on about for the past, um, 6 years!

Cal’s audience is MUCH bigger than mine, so he will help to spread the word on how important this stuff is. And for that I’m grateful.

And, there's no doubt, his book will have lots of interesting and helpful ideas that I may not yet know about.

So, let's see what else we can learn, right?

If you’re curious to learn more before you buy the book, have a listen to Rich Roll’s interview with Cal.

Cal Newport "Slow Productivity - Escape burnout, do your best work and achieve more by doing less" Rich Roll Pod Episode 817.

2. PODCAST NEWS

Since my last newsletter, I’ve published two awesome episodes of the Creating Cadence Podcast. Do yourself a favour and listen.

Hope Empowerment + Opportunity Simon Tefula Joseph talks about empowering life philosophies, positive problem-solving mindsets, and sustainable, personalised, inclusive fashion. Listen / Read Episode 57

Thriving Mindsets Julie Fischer talks about how creating cadence and intentional productivity are rooted in mindset and positive psychology principles, plus much more. Listen / Read Episode 58

3. CADENCE COACHING IS COMING!

Big News!

Doors open to book your place from Monday 18th March 2024.

The first cohort officially starts w/c 15th April.

There are two ways you can engage with me and the programme.

• Buy the 4 Recorded Masterclasses + Worksheets as a self-paced learning package, available after each live session has been completed.

OR

• Sign up for the full Shebang - that’s 4 Masterclasses, 3 Live Group Accountability Sessions, 2 One-to-One Sessions with me, PLUS worksheets AND a bonus skills-specific session, run over the course of 10 weeks.

All will be revealed soon.

So, a heads up, for the next 3-4 weeks, I'll be sending out an email once a week with some info about the programme.

If this is too much for you, just hit reply and I'll exclude you from that particular email blast, so you only get the monthly update from me. :)

I hope that March brings you the space to find better ways to work, that help you make steady progress on your goals.

What are you hoping to accomplish and what are you doing to ensure you avoid burning out whilst you do?

Until next time, keep moving forwards, with courage, curiosity and cadence.

Mich x

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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​

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Images by Mich Bondesio, unless otherwise stated.