If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Happy Friday! I’m disappointed this week that right-wing extremism has reared its ugly head in our small community. It is part of an increasingly common tactic of targeting local organizations like school boards, etc. Unfortunately, I expected the mask protesters – what I didn’t expect was the Nazy symbolism and threats of harm to board members and their families. I hope you don’t see this type of thing happening where you live. And if you know someone who is doing work you appreciate at the local level, let them know you support them. They could probably use a little support these days and to know they are not alone.
Thanks for reading!
What I’m Listening to: Listening to the Muhammad Ali movie soundtrack today as I’m thinking of the people in the world who are fighting for what is right.
Last week’s most clicked item:
Fixing the Overload Problem at Work
Feeling Busy and Distracted? It’s Not Your Fault
If you’re feeling busy and distracted it isn’t your fault. But you are the only one who can fix it. New psychology research is showing that old ideas about willpower and self-control weren’t quite right. You can change the defaults of distraction and busyness by reconfiguring your technology. Dig in for the details.
https://maketime.blog/article/feeling-busy-and-distracted-its-not-your-fault/
The Book Report: Crowdsourced Favorites from L&D Practitioners
Curious which work-related books were the most helpful, influential, and quotable among L&D practitioners? Jane Bozarth has compiled them in this Learning Guild Report.
Secrets of PowerPoint’s Selection Pane
In this CreativePro Network article, Nolan Haims shares how to manage your slide content like a pro with the powerful features of PowerPoint’s Selection Pane. This is hugely helpful for layering items, hiding/unhiding, renaming and one of my favorites – locking slide objects.
https://creativepro.com/secrets-of-powerpoints-selection-pane/
The Science of Habits
For many of us, the past year has disrupted deeply ingrained habits. As we look forward to life returning to some semblance of normal, it’s worth considering what scientists have learned about how to create good habits and break bad ones.
https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2021/the-science-habits
35 tools (and 4 new classes) to help you lead better meetings
If you haven’t explored anything beyond Zoom and Teams lately, you might be pleasantly surprised about what some of the new crop of online meeting tools can do for you. You’ll definitely find things that will make your meetings or online workshops run better.
Podcasts
- Theory and practice in learning and development on the From Scratch podcast.
- Better Presentation Design with Jole Simmons on the World of Presentations podcast.
- Learning in an agile organization with Damien Woods on the Learning Uncut podcast.
Tools & Tips
- Weje Board is a free, unlimited whiteboard tool for all kinds of projects.
- PicMaker is a free online graphic design tool.
- Listen Notes is a search engine for podcasts.
- Live Binders lets you combine uploaded files and website links in one location to simplify sharing.
- FollowUpThen is a simple way to schedule an email reminder.
Where You Can Find Me
- COATD Annual Conference – September 21
- Free Elearning & ID Tools with Tim Slade October 6
- DevLearn October 20-22
- New Jersey ATD – Future of Work – November 10
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Mike Taylor 