If attention can be crudely split into undivided and distracted attention, what split do you give your family, friends, and colleagues each day?
How much time is spent thinking about other things, checking our phones, or working on something else in the background.
Distracted attention is hardly attention at all.
There’s a great ad for dogfood on the Tube that leads with the line, “Taste-tested by humans. Made for dogs”.
They get it. It’s humans who buy the dogfood. And if it’s good enough for humans, it’s good enough for dogs.
A coffee shop open in my neighbourhood recently called Redemption Roasters. They are part of a chain of coffee shops that provide barista training for people in prison; helping them transition into to the workforce once they leave. It’s a great concept.
However, the Redemption Roasters in my neighbourhood barely survived a few months. There’s a lot of competition in the area, and despite their coffee being good, it felt like the space and their selection of food just didn’t quite fit with what other cafes were offering.
It’s a real shame because I think they deserved a better shot at it, especially given what they stand for.
Maru knew for a long time she wanted to take up pottery as a hobby. And mid-last year we found her a class a short walk from home.
My default is to be proud of her for everything she does—she’s my wife and life partner after all. But she took to pottery like a duck to water. Her years of architecture, design, and art all translate so smoothly into this hobby.
My favourite piece of hers are these hugging spheres; inspired by a pottery studio called Claymen that we visited in India back in 2023.
There’s a famous quote from Jeff Bezos that when the data and anecdotes disagree, the anecdotes are usually right.
The reason for this is usually due to measuring—and caring about—the wrong thing.
It’s hard to overstate the value of direct feedback from customers, users, and colleagues.
Every year around this time, I realise the sun is setting a little bit later, and that the worst of the winter is behind us.
It’s a great feeling. One where I’m eagerly looking forward to the summer months ahead.
The cold winter makes us grateful for the summer.