Hello! I'm Tim from Make Work Work Better, and welcome to my brilliantly-named newsletter, The Make Work Work Letter.
Make Work Work Better exists to transform Workplace Wellbeing, by focussing on the working practices and processes that lead to stress and burnout. I'll be using the newsletter to compile thoughts, material and links around this mission as well as recommendations and tips on working and living smarter, not harder.
We took a family two-week break to North Wales at the start of September, to a cottage that I first went to when I was five. It's joyous to take my young family somewhere that was so special to me as a child, and see them forming similar memories that I know will similarly persist into their adult lives. That particular area of Welsh coast is resolutely unfashionable, but exceptionally beautiful and restorative in its own (bleak, slightly damp) way. I also learnt the hard way to not post a podcast episode 10 minutes before leaving for holiday...
The Well-Working Index is starting to get a little traction. I've had the opportunity to introduce it to a few clients now, and it's having the desired effect of identifying areas of potential psychosocial risk that are worth looking into. It's not a full ISO45003 Risk Assessment by any means, but it provides a robust initial foundation and seems to be a good conversation starter. Hopefully by the next newsletter, I'll be able to share some exciting news about the future of the WW Index as a product.
I've become really interested in the renaissance of the algorithmless social media platform recently. I'm enjoying Literal.club, which is trying to be a Better Goodreads based on building trusted relationships with other readers. The forthcoming book club feature looks very interesting. (I have some invite codes - drop me a line if you'd like one). Glass is another one - a very simple, subscription-only photo platform that looks a lot like the early days of Flickr. I'm taking a lot fewer pictures than I used to, so I'm less sure if I'm going to take the plunge once my trial runs out.
I'm also fascinated by Cafecito, the online community that sets up one-to-one coffee dates with creatives and freelancers. I've not tried it yet. but there's something about brainstorming with interesting strangers which I'm very drawn to nowadays.
Nestflix is a lot of fun - a database of fictional TV shows and movies from Actual TV shows and movies. 'Sunrise Bay', 'Honky Grandma Be Trippin' and 'Kickpuncher' are all present and correct. You have been warned, it's a veritable rabbit hole of non-existent entertainment
Finally, I have another Getting Things Done Fundamentals course coming up in November in association with Next Action Associates. See the link for more details, or drop me a line if you want to find out more about how GTD can help.
Do Yourself A Favour... with Dan White
The guest on Episode 4 of our sister podcast was Dan White, author of the Smart Marketing Book and the newly-released Soft Skills Book.
What do you wish you'd learned sooner?
Listening properly. The value you get, and the value the person talking to you gets, from listening properly is just gold dust.
What book or concept made a difference to the way you thought about life?
Can I have a book and a concept?
Growth Mindset - a brilliant and essential concept
Information is Beautiful (New Edition) by David McCandless - it's what inspired me to dust off my notebooks and share my scribbles
What tool or tools do you use every day?
My Apple Watch - I set alarms 5 minutes before meetings so I'm not late, Also Cricbuzz, and the Timer app for cooking.
My Toothbrush
Pentel propelling 0.7mm Propelling Pencil, and Apple Pencil
What was the last really useful thing you bought or acquired?
Complete the sentence: Do yourself a favour and...?
Forgive Yourself.
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-qpn6a-10a97bc
This newsletter's soundtrack
chosen at random by Dan White
Diverse - One A.M.
I know the first track on this very well, as it was a regular in my Leamington-basement-hip-hop DJ sets in the early noughties. The rest of the album, less so, it transpires. Which is a shame - it's a bit of a who's-who of turn-of-the-century independent rap, with RJD2, Prefuse73, Madlib and Jeff Parker producing, and guest slots from Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox, Lyrics Born and Jean Grae. It's a neck-snapping head-nodder, from a critically-acclaimed rapper who seems to have done absolutely nothing in the intervening 18 years.
More in a few weeks, and don't forget to check the podcast in the meantime!
Cheerio
Tim