The Daily Valet. - 5/10/23, Wednesday
✔️ Why It's So Hard to Work
Wednesday, May 10th Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
MTV News is shutting down? Kurt Loder was the voice of reason for my whole generation.
Today’s Big Story
Why It’s So Hard to Work
The average American Worker Now Spends Two Full Days a Week on Email and in Meetings
This meeting could've been an email. That email could've just been a Slack. But even that Slack message takes time to read, consider and reply. If you ever wonder why it can feel that there's no time to accomplish anything at work, consider this: Many of us spend the equivalent of two workdays a week in meetings and on email.That is one of the findings in new data from Microsoft that examined the activity of millions of workers who use the company's business applications. The data is part of the software maker's annual study of workplace-productivity trends, which provides the latest, and one of the largest, measures of how people actually spend their workdays.Since February 2020, people are in three times more Microsoft Teams meetings and calls per week at work—a whopping 192% increase. The heaviest Teams users are spending close to eight hours, or an entire workday, each week in online meetings alone. And the average worker was found to spend 8.8 hours a week reading and writing emails.According to the Wall Street Journal, both workers and bosses complain that digital overload is hurting innovation and productivity, a sentiment echoed in numerous workplace studies. In a separate survey of 31,000 people worldwide, nearly two out of three said they struggled to find time and energy to do their actual job.Granted, communicating and going to meetings are a big part of the job for many workers, especially managers. Yet, many workers and bosses say all of the time spent talking and collaborating isn't exactly improving communication around the office. Which is why some companies—especially now in hybrid work conditions— restrict meeting hours to between noon and 5 p.m., reserving the rest of the day for focused work time, after noticing that meetings were stretching into some of its further-flung employees' evenings and early mornings.
Dig Deeper:
A global authority on productivity, Donna McGeorge, told Fast Company that deadlines are useful, but that it's your capacity that will drive your work.
Trump Loses in Court Case
jury says The Former President sexually abused and Defamed E. Jean Carroll, must pay her $5 million
A federal jury has found former President Donald Trump liable for battery and defamation in the lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who says he raped her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages.Nine jurors, who deliberated for barely three hours before reaching their unanimous conclusion, did not find that Trump raped Carroll. But they agreed that he “sexually abused” her—both allegations were elements of Carroll's battery claim. They also found Trump had defamed Carroll by calling her claims a “hoax” and a “con job.”Trump reacted to the verdict on Truth Social by calling it “a continuation of one of the greatest witch hunts in history.” In any other context, this judgement would be a career-ender for a presidential nominee front-runner. But Trump is no ordinary candidate. However, NBC News reports that this verdict might end the perceived invincibility for the guy called Teflon Don. Of course, this is just the first on a long legal road for Trump on the way to the Republican primary.
FYI:
Trump is still planning to participate in a CNN presidential town hall tonight from New Hampshire.
When we engage strangers and acquaintances, we feel better, get a sense that we belong, learn useful information and even become more creative.”
- A clinical psychologist on the mistakes that lead to loneliness
The Space Balloon Race
A Handful of Companies Want to Send You Into the Stratosphere
Forget those wildly expensive, G-force rockets hosting 10-minute rides into Earth's orbit. The real future of space tourism seems to be leisurely, multi-hour trips on an oversized balloon into the stratosphere. They're not only gentler and require no training, but they're also being offered for a lot less money.According to Robb Report, there are several companies preparing to launch everyday (well, mildly wealthy) people high into space aboard huge balloons attached to pressurized capsules. Complete with bathrooms, bars and built-in Wi-Fi, these conveyances offer a much more luxurious way to take in the views of our magnificent planet from 15 to 20 miles above the ground.A Japanese startup, Iwaya Giken, has been working on the project since 2012 and plans to launch later this year. Meanwhile, French outfit Zephalto is slated to launch the first European-based consumer flight in 2025. Then there's Space Perspective, based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which plans to offer $125,000 trips to the edge of space aboard its eight-passenger Neptune space balloon starting late next year.
Meanwhile:
There's a new plan to relocate the Hubble Space Telescope and extend its lifespan.
Cronut Turns 10
The Internet’s Most Famous Pastry Is celebrating a delicious decade
It could be called the original viral pastry. Dominique Ansel's donut-croissant hybrid debuted at the chef's bakery in New York's Soho neightboorhood on May 10, 2013. And a new flavor has been released (and never repeated) each month since. Even if you've never eaten a Cronut®, chances are you know someone who has. At the very least, you've seen it in all its flaky, sugar-dusted glory on social media.Tasting Table looks back at the iconic innovation, saying “it's hard to overstate the impact of this flaky, fried pastry ... it's become a model for marketing, business, and the power of food to bring people together.” But it wasn't some grand scheme. In fact, it was just an experiment for a nice Mother's Day treat. Ansel says his girlfriend (now wife) was helping him spitball ideas for a holiday treat, and she suggested doughnuts, a perfectly sweet finish to complement Mother's Day brunches. But the Frenchman didn't have a recipe for doughnuts. He did, however, know how to make a really good laminated dough.He began fiddling with recipes and ratios, and after nearly three months and 10 variations on the recipe, the Cronut was born. After putting it in the bakery's display case, it only took 72 hours for the now legendary lines to start wrapping around the block. And those crowds have never really died down, despite all the imitators that have popped up (and are much easier to get).
Dig Deeper:
Grub Street on the Cronut superfan who has eaten every flavor for 10 years running.
In Other News
Compared with a year earlier, prices are projected to have jumped 5% in April.
Have you heard about ...
Embrace Rituals
It doesn't have to be divine to become a ritual in your life
Our lives move pretty fast these days. Things have never been more convenient, so we're constantly finding new ways to optimize the day-to-day. We have so many subscriptions and life hacks, we're able to breeze through life without feeling like mundane chores are “slowing us down.”The downside to moving so fast is that your life often feels like you're riding on a high-speed train—you're zipping by onto the next item on your to-do list, zooming towards your next big thing. Outside, the landscape is blurring by but we're speeding along so fast that we can't really take it in and appreciate it. In this age of hyper-connectivity and shortcuts, so many of us have lost the ability to elevate something into the realm of the sacred. Here's how to find them in your life and nurture them.
Get Started:
Shopping
What We’re Buying
A Hinoki candle
A clean candle with a burn time of up to 45 hours and fragrance notes of cypress and char. Once you're done with the candle, save the reusable glass vessel for desk storage.
Get It:
Hinoki candle, $38 / $34 by Yield
Morning Motto
See things through.
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