The joy of advertising

My dislike of advertising grows stronger by the day - partly because of the corrosive and limiting effect it can have on people's lives, worldviews and aspirations, but also partly because of the insulting, manipulative rubbish that the industry continues to pump out.

Take this new McDonald's ad for example - peddling the idea that burgers can mend bridges between families.  It's so obviously revolting as an idea I really don't understand why more people don't complain more about adverts like these - I know lots of people get annoyed by them but maybe there's just no outlet for complaining about them.  Hopefully that will change soon with an idea we're working on...

As a final treat in this post - and when you thought things couldn't get more absurd, Justin Timberlake has joined the ranks of celebs becoming 'Creative Directors' for big brands, as he is unveiled as the 'Creative Director' of Bud Light Platinum.  This is of course nonsense in itself, but the real fun is in the press releases. Says Paul Chibe, vp U.S. marketing, Anheuser-Busch:

 "Justin Timberlake is one of the greatest creative minds in the entertainment industry, and his insights will help us further define Bud Light Platinum’s identity in the lifestyle space."

Lifestyle space.  Ahem.

Time management - some caveats

I'm now a couple of weeks into my new time management regime (as are one or two others who are trying it out) and I'm quite pleased with how it's going!  A few caveats have occurred to me over the last few days on the advice in the previous post though:

• It's all about discipline - you could read a million 'how to manage your time' blogs but you'll never  do any of them properly unless you exercise discipline over your time (like stopping yourself browsing the web when you need to focus on a task) - as that's what they all involve; 
• The effects of implementing this time management plan may not come as a sudden, obvious 'wow - everything works!' but as a longer term sense of calm and satisfaction that you're getting a bit more done 
• Some of the advice may seem counterintuitive, time-wasting and boring when you're doing it - like spending 10 mins sorting out your priorities and to-do list at the start of each week/day but the time it saves over the course of the day could be huge!

Time management

One of the most challenging things to deal with in my work life is the number of things there are to do - from the mundane but important stuff to the meaty, interesting and fulfilling stuff. It can be a real challenge to make sure that I'm getting to do a bit of the interesting stuff regularly, and to not get swallowed up by the endless mundane but important stuff.

So, I've made myself a plan of how to manage my time each day and I thought I'd share it in case it's useful, as I know loads of people have similar time management issues!

Here are the principles I've set out for how to manage my time in the new year:

1. Each year/month/week/day - stand back for a bit at the start/end of previous one and set out a few big things I want to achieve in each - and amid all the detailed cack do them. 

2. Note these in diary. Note detailed action points as they come up on another piece of paper. 

3. Allocate good chunks of time each day to do priority tasks - and focus on them properly (get immersed) when you do them. Enjoy and focus on this meaty stuff whilst acknowledging you have to do the other stuff. 

4. Only 3 email review sessions a day (and tell others I'm doing this - if they need a quick reply, call me) 

5. Only 3 web browses a day (really important) - and only in spare time. 

6. Be disciplined (inc say no, don't do things immediately to please people or because they're easy - do them when they fit for you) and don't get distracted. Then your priorities will be clearer, work will be more enjoyable and you'll get more of the important stuff done. If a call comes in during your 'priority' time, answer it if you need to, but add more priority time at the end of the session to make it up. And allocate any action points to after your priority session if you can - only rarely will things be so urgent that they can't wait. 

7. Above all - stay calm and remember you're in control of all of this - it doesn't have to control you. 

Two days into the year and this arrangement seems to be working - we'll see how it's going in another month's time! Let me know how you get on with it if you try it!

The religion-shaped hole

I've just been to see AC Grayling talk about Humanism at the Lewes Speakers Festival. It's reminded me of a point I've been thinking about for a while. As religion becomes less of a central force in people's lives (in the UK at least) there is, for many people, a 'religion-shaped hole' in their lives. Not that they miss religion, but that, for many people there are very few other places in modern society where they can get opportunities to think about the meaning of their lives, their values or have the chance to reflect generally. As the founder of Life Squared I naturally think these things are very important, but so far nothing (apart from consumer capitalism) has really come in to fill this religion-shaped hole for most people, and I think the movement best suited to filling it it humanism. It is not yet however in a position where it can assume this position, as it is still on the defensive - seeking to argue against religion and protect the secular state from religious excess. It needs to move into a position where it is also taking a more constructive role - helping people to think about these bigger questions and supporting them in this journey - as there is a great need for this role now, and it would be of benefit to millions of people.

One planet living?

I'm in the process of writing a booklet for our forthcoming 'Story of Energy' project at Life Squared, and my suspicions are proving correct - it's almost impossible to find a simple description of what a real 1 planet lifestyle would look like for the ordinary individual. Fill in a footprint calculator (like Bioregional's) and even if you give answers that show the minimum level of impact, it still tells you you're using over 2 planets' resources. This may well be true (given the resource-hungry infrastructure around our lives) but even so, we need to know what a real one-planet lifestyle would look like. Otherwise how can anyone know what the green movement is aiming for? I get hugely frustrated with the good-intentioned but vague and fluffy resources and advice coming from even the biggest and best environmental organisations. Enjoinders to fly less and grow your own veg are fine, but until we build a more detailed and meaningful picture of what each person would need to do in order to live within their share of the planet, even the people with the best intentions are going to be living 2 planet lifestyles - and why bother doing this if you're not going to do it properly? It really is time to define our goals and vision better as a movement - even if the reality of what we're suggesting (a real one planet lifestyle) isn't palatable to some people. We need to get real. And this might even encourage people to take more action now while we can.

The value of reflection

Good to see this interesting post by Matthew Taylor, Director of the RSA, outlining the value of reflection in our rational decision making processes. One paragraph in particular caught my eye:

Instead of ‘nudging’, which seeks to change choice architecture (for example, putting healthier food more easily in reach than unhealthy in canteens), the RSA’s ‘steer’ approach aims to give people the understanding and tools they need to change their own behaviour.

This is exactly the approach we are pioneering in a range of areas of people's lives at Life Squared - from our consumption of resources to the way we approach our lives in the first place. We'll soon be applying these principles to another important topic, which I can't announce yet, but hopefully can in a couple of weeks!

For now though, check out Matthew's post as well as Jonathan Haidt's book he refers to, as his previous book 'The happiness hypothesis' was very good.

Ghastly xmas ads

It's bad form I'm sure to put a second consecutive post from the same person but Charlie Brooker does know how to skewer the shallowness and depressing nature of advertising with some humour - certainly better than me ranting angrily about it for several lines! Here is his article about the glut of 'emotional' xmas TV ads currently being chucked out by the large chains.

Check out Life Squared's free publication Xmas² for ideas on how to avoid too much commercial nonsense at Christmas.