The Arena Newsletter Issue 32 | October 15, 2020

“Ask yourself if it’s worth your 2020 energy. Not your normal energy. Is it worth your 2020 energy.” — Jill Krause

This year is NOT a normal year. As Tara Haelle recently wrote, “Our new normal is always feeling a little off balance, like trying to stand in a dinghy on rough seas, and not knowing when the storm will pass.” And so, Jill Krause's question, “Is it worth your 2020 energy,” remains top of mind.

Determine the Relative Effort/Energy To determine whether something is worth your 2020 energy, you need to see the relative effort/energy of a project: Make sure big things are big (draft the quarterly report) and small things are small (pick up library books). In Scrum (2014, 124), Jeff Sutherland recommends determining effort/energy using the Fibonacci sequence because “our species deeply understands the ratios.… we know them in our bones.” On the Fibonacci scale, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, we intuitively understand the difference between 3 and 13. When considered through the lens of personal effort in 2020, many projects that used to be threes are now 13, 21, or 34.

Adjust Your Expectations With this recognition and knowledge, adjust your expectations. Then, adjust your day and your week. You may choose to say "NO!" more often or you may choose to give yourself extra time to complete a project. Brilliant. Once you’ve decided what is worth your 2020 energy, lay out everything for the week and know that it fits; that each day is feasible; and that you’ll end the week with something accomplished.

Sources as Additional Reading Tara Haelle, "Your 'Surge Capacity' Is Depleted — It's Why You Feel Awful" (August 2020). Jill Krause for #worldmentalhealthday2020 (October 2020). Jeff Sutherland, "Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time" (September 2014).

In the Arena To determine effort/energy, and to intuitively see when it's worth your 2020 energy, Arena can show you the relative size: Big things are big (draft the quarterly report) and small things are small (pick up library books). You can also drag-and-drop projects into a new day or delay them until “Later.” Much later!  The Arena App: Project Planner, developed by Thrivner Software, combines best practices for #productivity, #timemanagement, and #apeacefullife so you have a better day, every day! And, yes, Arena for iPhones and iPads is free for a little bit longer!

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