The coronavirus pandemic is a world-shattering event, the biggest of our generation, dwarfing 9/11 or the collapse of Lehman Brothers. With so much uncertainty, one thing is for sure: there will be lasting political, economic, social and technological change. As I write this in London, we are in the 2nd week of a lockdown. The restrictive…
It was a Saturday afternoon and I was sitting on the train when a couple of teenage girls sat in adjacent seats. Music was blaring from a smartphone as they were engrossed in something or other on YouTube. This new trend of listening to music or watching videos on public transport without headphones is a…
I’m sure my boss is an alcoholic, I’ve never known anyone so obsessed with getting smashed. Whenever we have a work trip he’ll always get drunk and try and bring everyone down with him; shots being ordered, karaoke and staying out until 4 am. I see his hedonistic behaviour as escapism which is prevalent throughout…
I’m male, 43 years old, heterosexual, athletic with a well-paid job and no children (I realise this is starting to sound like an online dating profile). It’s fair to say that statistically, I’m in the minority by not having (or wanting) children. What I find interesting is that you’re more likely to be questioned about…
I have a friend that’s the laziest person you’d ever meet. His weekends consist of watching TV, writing lists of things to do (and not doing them), more TV …oh and he likes to drink (a lot). He’s one year away from retirement without a plan. Needless to say, this has disaster written all of…
It was a cloudy Monday morning in October when I received another “urgent” email request to provide PowerPoint slides, this time for an important VP visit. I took another swig of coffee and looked ahead at my chores for the day. There were many mind-numbing tasks I was putting off but the 3 screaming loadest…
I was recently at a winery on a beautifully sunny Sunday in Shoreham, Kent. After some wine tasting, I wandered up to a lovely outside bar area that had a DJ playing an eclectic mix of house tunes on what looked like an expensive bit of digital DJ kit. While queuing I couldn’t help but…
The title of this post is a general summary of the excellent book by James Wallman called “Time and How to Spend It”. I’ve been thinking for some time that I don’t get out and do enough. I’m a creature of habit. As James Wallman book states it in his book: Ticking along in life…
I recently finished reading Susan Cain’s excellent book: “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking”. The book was thought-provoking and there were a couple of sentences that made me sit back and reflect: “Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but it tells the truth. You mostly envy those who have what…
Henry David Thoreau’s quote “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” was an observation that most people live an empty life caused by unfulfilling work, lack of leisure time and misplaced values; money, possessions and accolades. Thoreau claims the value we attach to possessions, money and status is wrong. Quiet desperate lives are…