Distractions, distractions
Urgh we are about to finish the first quarter for 2023 and despite all of my incredible goals for routine, habit stacking, saying no, prioritising well and focusing hard- the bright lights of big changes and fun events have thoroughly distracted me once again.
And so as we head to Easter and the School Holidays once again- I say to myself, steady. Focus. Execute. And get back to your intention for the year. For things to be EASEFUL. Remember easeful Kate?
This last week my biggest distraction has been our recent FESTIVAL OF DEMOCRACY. Aka the State Election. I never take sides in politics in my community. We always host a Meet the Candidates Event to celebrate the incredible act that is standing for office. This year two candidates declined to face the public for a friendly conversation. Unusual.
As a small business person- I need to have a broad church. My members and community are a diverse bunch. I am a swinging voter myself. I LOVE democracy. It works best when it is a genuine contest of ideas from a range of strong candidates. I hate dogma. I appreciate hard work and local service when I see it.
Yet. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. And this time i’m ashamed of my policy of neutrality. For some reason I was confident that there was no way our local member, who is facing charges for multiple serious historical sexual assault charges, could be re-elected with the gravity of the changes he faced. Yet he was.
So…because I am now middle aged and no longer able to be shamed into silence this week I saw red and had to share my feelings of shock and disappointment with the lack of gravity that our communities still pay to sexual assault. I did that here. Then I received a letter threatening defamation proceedings. And so I issued an apology here.
It’s been an incredible week. Speaking truth to power and defending the interests of victims of assault doesn’t make you many friends in small towns. Let’s see how we go making transparent the way that power is exercised to intimidate people from speaking out and standing up.
My second greatest distraction this year has remained the rapid advent of AI into our working lives (see here with a super user friendly guide on how to deploy the latest tips and tricks on time saving wizardry). There is no doubt that this rapidly moving technology is going to reshape the world of work for anyone sitting at a computer for much of the day. There will be winners and losers. Major disruptions and terrifying ethical and security implications. Whilst this is THE HOT topic of discussion around the coffee machine at WorkLife, again it amazes me how much of our community are sleep walking their way into this brave new world.
Connecting with ideas, connecting with community, challenging and being challenged by the status quo might be not be easeful or productive- but I am lucky enough that every day at WorkLife I get to juggle the mundane with the fascinating in the company of clever people who I know will be right out in-front of whatever issue is up next.
If you are feeling out of the loop, worried or overwhelmed. To reboot your work mojo- come and hang out a one of our Friendly Fridays!
And until then, repeat the mantra after me- COMMUNITY-CONNECTION-PRODUCTIVITY.
Kate Dezarnaulds
