In July, French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed eliminating Easter Monday and Victory in Europe Day (May 8) from France's annual list of 11 public holidays. Outrage ensued, with political leaders from across the spectrum attacking the plan. Bayrou said the move would help France ease budgetary pressures. He is not the only one to come up with such a proposal.
It's tackling your hardest, highest-impact task first thing each day-before your brain gets hijacked by email notifications and "quick questions" that somehow devour entire afternoons like a productivity black hole. You identify your "frog" (the task you'll procrastinate on but absolutely need to do), then eat the frog first while your willpower remains intact. Everything else feels like a victory lap by comparison.
When we talk about leadership, we often draw out the distinctions between a transactional approach and a transformational one. One is seen as efficient, mechanical, or even emotionless. The other is seen as empathetic, perceptive, or relational. That's why many leaders flinch at the idea that AI can be a productivity partner or a collaborator. It feels cold. Robotic. The opposite of what leadership is supposed to be.
In my work as a productivity coach, I've come to see why. We're hardwired to link failure with finality, which fuels self-doubt and causes motivation to fizzle out. Yet, failure is just another stepping stone on the path to success. So if you hit a bump, don't take it as a sign to give up; take it as an opportunity to learn, adjust, and go again.
Sam sits in his noisy apartment, surrounded by the distractions of his digital life. His research is scattered across a dozen tabs. He writes a sentence, then deletes it. Doubt creeps in: "Is this the right way to start?" Before long, he's scrolling through social media, half-heartedly checking his email, and staring at his chaotic desk-a mirror of his cluttered mind. After two hours, he has little to show for it but frustration and dread.
If you're running a business-or even just trying to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving digital world-you probably already know that your tech stack matters. Operating systems are often overlooked, but they're foundational to everything you do. And if you're still working with an older version of Windows, now might be the smartest (and least expensive) time to upgrade to Microsoft's latest and most innovative operating system.
The digital nomad lifestyle may look chaotic from the outside, but it really comes down to mastering two things: planning ahead and having the right tools. From a versatile backpack and reliable power bank to a VPN, noise-cancelling headphones, portable displays, and external storage, these essentials make it possible to stay productive anywhere while keeping work secure, comfortable, and stress-free.
99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life By Adam Chandler An enlightening and entertaining interrogation of the myth of American self-reliance and the idea of hard work as destiny. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Adam Chandler, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. The Ambition Trap: How to Stop Chasing and Start Living By Amina AlTai Drawing on her work with Fortune 500 leaders, Olympic gold medalists, start-up founders, and former "girlbosses," AlTai guides you through the process of reconciling your ambition, starting with healing the core wounds and insecurities currently driving you. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Amina AlTai, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
In 2022, at the newly elected Labor government's jobs and skills summit, economist Danielle Wood put women in the workforce front and centre. I can't help but reflect that if untapped women's workforce participation was a massive ore deposit, we would have governments lining up to give tax concessions to get it out of the ground, she said. As the CEO of the Grattan Institute, Wood had long been a powerful advocate for women to create a more productive economy.
It is undeniable that, for many people, a clear workspace correlates to higher productivity. Less clutter means fewer things your mind has to process at one time, allowing you to focus better for longer.
For about 12 years, I was a French horn player in Barcelona. At 28, I went back to school and got my bachelor's degree through distance learning. Then, I became a behavioral scientist. First, I got my master's in economics. For my Ph.D., I focused on public policy analysis and human behavior, learning what makes people tick. I thought: "Where's this stuff been my whole life?"
With their back to me, Poe, the name I gave the animated brown bean in the Focus Friend app, is stitching up a little storm that will eventually become socks-if I can leave them alone. Unfortunately, I need to check my texts. I cancel the timer after six minutes, which warns me that Poe's knitting will unravel and "they'll be really sad."
Not all AI tools are created equal. Some excel at thoughtful, human-like conversations. Others at digging up real-time information in seconds. But when choosing between Anthropic's Claude and Perplexity's AI search engine, you're not just comparing features, you're deciding how to work smarter. Do you need an AI assistant that thinks before it speaks? Or one that gets straight to the facts, speedily, and with its sources cited? The difference isn't subtle, and the impact on your daily workflow can be game-changing.
Focus Friend is an engaging productivity app that motivates users to stay focused by caring for a virtual bean character, rewarding them with in-game points for distraction-free work.
Productivity is a dull word of vital importance. Growing the measure of output for each hour of work is an economic secret sauce, enabling growth in wages and living standards over the long run without stoking inflation.
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