Getting Radical

The origin of the word radical - comes from latin and means ‘root’. 

I think of it in terms of change.  Radical change means to get to the root, the fundamental nature of what is going on.  

Sometimes change won’t happen if it’s at a superficial level - which is like the opposite of radical or the root level.  

I’ve been reflecting today on what radical changes that I might want to make in my life. 

Covid brought on some radical changes to how we work, and I’m grateful for that. 

However - I’ve noticed that my days and weeks can fly by, and I can either feel like I didn’t get as much meaningful work done as I’d wanted to, or I did get through a lot of work, but can feel exhausted.  It’s tough to get the balance right.  

The world is only speeding up. We’re living through a time of incredible change, both technologically and politically. 

And if you’re fortunate enough to have the autonomy to experiment and make changes - it feels like this is the time to do it. 

Experiments

The question I’ve been pondering is: What radical experiments could I run for the month of March? 

The old saying “Madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. 

What will I be doing, thinking or feeling in March 2027 this is fundamentally different to March 2026? 

What habits do I need to build, or change? 

Here are two experiments I’m planning to run this March. 

1. No email newsletters or news consumption (with 2 exceptions)
2. No phones on a Friday (other than phone calls!)

Those both feel pretty radical to me.  

Why these two? 

My inbox can feel overwhelming - I’ve got a few great solutions (SaneBox is awesome, and Superhuman is great too)

But even after a cull in January - I’m still regularly getting to the weekend with 40+ unread newsletters that are sitting in the news tab of my email - and the subject lines are crafted with the perfect hook to invoke enough desire to read them.  

I typically run an inbox zero policy - it works for me -  but the build up of news is still too high.  

So I’m putting all the news into my SaneLater folder for a month.  
SaneBox gives me a digest at the end of the day - and I have to actively select the emails I want to read. 

So the experiment is what would be like to have no news for a month? Will I fall behind the curve?
Or will it provide focus, and less brainpower to consume and filter each day and week?

I’m also aware of how distracting my phone can be.  

What happens when I avoid it completely?
I’m looking forward to this one.

Remembering the goal

The goal is to try things that could be fundamental shifts. 
Starting with a fixed time period like a month or a week feels possible. 

My goal is create more space to think, reflect and create. 
Will feedback on the results in April!