<![CDATA[Robyn Roscoe

<![CDATA[Robyn Roscoe - Blog]]>Sat, 02 May 2026 04:02:49 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Stop Reading the News (book Review)]]>Sat, 21 Jun 2025 02:42:19 GMThttps://www.robynroscoe.com/blog/stop-reading-the-news-book-review

The title of this book spoke to me, in light of many conversations this year about the depressing imposition the news represents, and the goal of reclaiming my attention from the whirlpool of online sites. According to Dobelli, the only way is cold turkey - as the title says, stop reading the news – and through the 35 easy-to-read, short chapters, he presents many provocative points and examples on why and how to do just that. The writing style is somewhat uninspired (I think that’s perhaps a feature of the translation rather than the original), but the message is still engaging.

Information these days is no longer a scarce resource – attention, on the other hand, is in short supply. So why are we so irresponsible with it?

Dobelli covers the history of news media, from the early printing press to the modern era, as well as the many risible facets of modern news, including the emphasis on celebrity newsmakers, various biases (availability, confirmation, emphasis, negativity), and the emergence (and now reality) of AI driving the narratives to create fake news that is indistinguishable from the truth (we’re already at that point – nearly 50% of internet traffic is from “bots”, meaning that less than half is humans interacting with anything, including other humans).

By “reading the news”, Dobelli is referring to our modern habit of doomscrolling – the activity of scrolling endlessly on news and social media sites. And he makes many compelling arguments for quitting this habit, including:

Time – consider how much time is spent on screens of some kind on news. For most people, this works out to hours and days and weeks of time with little return. If we consider our own 4,000 weeks, this is a significant chunk. How productive might one be if this time were spent on other things?
Being “first to know” – given that everyone is reading the headlines, you’ll never be the first to know. Anything worth knowing (and so much that isn’t), someone else is going to tell you anyway. And you’re not obligated to know and opine about everything. Better to be well-informed about a few things that matter than ill-informed about many things that don’t.
Consider the effect – does what you’re going to do tomorrow or next week really change by knowing the outcome of an election half-way around the world or the aftermath of an earthquake in a country you’ll never go to? By this he doesn’t mean that the information is not important, just that it is not urgent and so immediate consumption of it is unnecessary.
Biology – “News is to the mind what sugar is to the body.” In other words, additive and destructive. Its relentless focus on negative over the positive, on the hot take over nuance, and on celebrity rather than substance creates an assault on our emotions that ultimately makes us more passive rather than active, while capturing our attention and making us duller rather than smarter.

Much of the news Dobelli refers to is the internet, but also most mainstream media (most of which is viewed online and so captured in our doomscrolling). In addition to considering the time and the relevance of what one sees online, he asks two main questions: do you understand the world better now? And: do you make better decisions? Most people being honest with themselves, would say no, or at least rarely.

I know that I can point to a few instances where the state of the nation or the world at large has had a specific and significant impact on my life, and I know several people who would say the same. However, can I say that constantly reading the news made dealing with those situations better, or that my ongoing news reading is saving me from others? Given the trade-off with the time spent on and the emotional impact of ongoing news consumption versus any preparation for impact on my life, it seems to be a fruitless, and possibly damaging, use of time.

Dobelli leans heavily and rightly on the stoics, who perhaps saw this kind of thing coming:

Marcus Aurelius: You are at liberty not to form opinions about all and sundry, thereby sparing your soul unrest. For the things themselves demand no judgement from you.

Epictetus: You become what you give your attention to…If you don’t choose what thoughts and images you expose yourself to, someone else will.

Dobelli is not advocating hermiticism, rather a withdrawal from the consumption of mainstream and social media. He recommends being selective about when and where to give one’s attention, suggesting that longer form articles and interviews, along with books and documentaries, from reliable sources are better suited to actually inform. By being selective about these sources and taking deeper dives into topics or stories of interest or meaning, one is better informed and able to add critical and nuanced argument to the social conversation.

So, will I give up the news? Can I? It is worth a try, as the current immersion in the bile and violence of the current environment is not doing me any good. And I have the past experiences of time spent off-grid (with the added benefits of fresh air and nature) to reinforce the feeling and cleansing effect of a news fast.

]]><![CDATA[Do/Pause (book review)]]>Thu, 12 Jun 2025 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.robynroscoe.com/blog/dopause-book-review

I wish I could remember where I heard about this book. I suspect it was an impulse purchase on a bookshop online store, where the lovely cover illustration and tagline appealed to me: You are not a To Do list.

Part philosophy, part self-help, this manifesto advocates introducing conscious and deliberate pauses into one’s day as a way of clearing and calming the mind, and makes a compelling case for the necessity of doing just that.

The purpose of pause is to disrupt or change our work or thoughts to shift our thinking and ensure we’re getting and giving our best. It’s not about getting things done; it’s about recognizing that, unlike machines which are designed for constant work and maximum efficiency, humans need to shift gears regularly and take a breath (literally and metaphorically)

This approach is incorporated in the Pomodoro technique, recommended to be done old-school with a tomato-shaped kitchen timer but also available in various apps and desk toys. It’s a blend of focus and flow with pause – creating focus time with a known pause time. The recommended cadence is 25 minutes of focus and 5 minutes of pause. The focus is long enough to accomplish a task or two, but not so long that one’s mind wanders and wonders about unanswered emails (most, if not all, emails can wait 30 minutes). The pause frequency is sufficient to satisfy the urge to deal with distractions and then return to focus time feeling virtuous and satisfied with being on top of things. The emphasis is on effectiveness in task completion, with concomitant improvements in efficiency (working smarter rather than more).

Poynton suggests several levels of pause – those that can become habits, those we can design into our lives, and those we can recognize, appreciate, and absorb from cultures. He also outlines some tools to incorporate pause in structured ways, but these are only suggestions – the main point is to find a way to pause that works for you.

All the bits I flagged - a lot for such a short book.

My favourite ideas:

Pause in silence. In conversation, as in music or theatre, a pause can be very meaningful. Yet, often we’re uncomfortable with the silence, and we rush to fill in the space. Pausing for a few seconds requires bravery and patience, but it can be a gift to others who need it.
Pause in action. Delaying the next step can sometimes provide more or better information, and make that next step more deliberate, decisive, and impactful. Is it necessary to respond to every email the moment it arrives, or act on every request immediately?
- “If in doubt, do nothing – far more of the time than we realize, there is no need to respond at all. ‘Pause and silence are the friends of better thought,’ he (Tom Chatfield) says.
Count to one. Before opening a door or entering a meeting, consciously count to one. It is only a moment, but that deliberate interregnum creates a pause that resets you before starting something new. And everyone has time to count to one. “The important thing is to stop, not how long you stop for.”
For longer more planned pauses (think a retreat or sabbatical), the key is also to be deliberate. While these can be relaxing, the purpose is to pause from your normal day-to-day and look at or do something else so that when you return to normal, you bring a fresh perspective. Isolated and distraction-free (i.e., no cellphone or wifi) are essential features of these, and so they are more challenging to schedule and do, but the benefits can be considerable.
For a more cultural kind of pause, go somewhere completely different and behave like the locals. The change of pace and style of life is a pause to your day-to-day that can be more lasting than any other.

I like these ideas a lot, especially as relates to looking sideways at life to assess goals and priorities, explore alternatives, and truly rest and recuperate. A pause sounds more achievable and less drastic than a complete “turning off”.

I will try to incorporate some of these into my own work and my coaching practice, especially the silence and counting to one. I love the ideas of this book and appreciate that, like most habits, they take effort to develop in order to realize the benefits.

Ultimately, pause is about switching our thinking from doing – analysing, problem-solving, communicating – to just being, and being aware within the pause of where we are and how we feel. “It is an antidote to the overwhelming and simplistic idea of nonstop activity.”

The book is well written and designed, and is joy to read. Poynton is not preachy or pedantic, just on point and practical. The book’s size and the presentation of the text is lovely, just right for its little but powerful message.

]]><![CDATA[Having Enough]]>Fri, 24 Jan 2025 14:33:40 GMThttps://www.robynroscoe.com/blog/having-enough

January is the traditional time for me and many others in the world to revisit priorities and goals, both from last year and for the year ahead. This year I waited until mid-January to review these, allowing some time and space between the years to get a clear and calm picture of past, present, and future.

In reflecting on 2024, and especially on the slide into 2025, I noticed that I felt less calm and rested than I have in previous years. December was hectic, and the first while of 2025 is pretty much the same. I had planned to use some of the time over the holidays to work ahead on things, but the opportunities to decompress and unwind were just too tempting, so not much got done over that break. By 02 January, I was pretty much back to full days of work.

Which led me to ask myself, “how did I get back here?” One of the benefits of working for myself is supposed to be that sense freedom, a lack of hecticness. Indeed, most of the time, when asked, “how are you?”, my response is an authentic and enthusiastic, “Great!”, with the occasional, “Excellent!”), and that does reflect my general and overall feeling about work and life. But…

Something feels a bit off, like I’m glimpsing over the edge of a steep slide into busy-ness. Worse, into busy-ness that I don’t control, which is something I wanted to avoid (Priorities 5 and 7).

How does this happen (or rather, keep happening)? Two ways, as Hemingway put it: “Gradually, then suddenly.” It’s less scope creep and more opportunity creep – always saying yes. This will sound familiar to many, especially the self-employed (me) but also the people-pleasers (also me) and perfectionists. In a way, by never saying no, we get what we want: more and more opportunities. But with a finite amount of ourselves to give, that eventually becomes a problem.

Don’t worry, I’m not anywhere near approaching burnout. With thanks to Kathy Archer for her 6-point burnout scale, I can see that I’m still at the very early stages – mild weariness with a hint of cynicism. Recognizing it early, I can act to correct it. I can also do some reflection to figure out how I got here.

I also do not regret or begrudge my current engagements or projects – if you’re in my calendar or part of my to-do list, do NOT feel bad. I recognize and value all of those as the blessings of a life full of friends, colleagues, and opportunities to contribute (Priorities 1 and 2). I also recognize that sustaining all of those, especially while maintaining my reputation and integrity (Priority 6) and nurturing my network (Priority 8), requires some adjustment.

Blind Spots
If you’ve heard me talk about strengths before, you may recall that any strength can have a dark side, especially when we overuse it. One of my top-5 from CliftonStengths® is Responsibility – I do what I say I will do, and have core values of honesty and loyalty. Sounds good, right? (And hopefully, also sounds like me.) However, lately I’ve been stumbling into my blind spots:

The irony of missing this after teaching and coaching others to pay attention to their strengths is not lost on me; in fact, a friend recently pointed this out: “Don’t you teach other people this stuff?”. Yes, yes, I do, and I stand by those lessons, so much so that I’m going to apply them to myself.

Moving to enough
So, my word for this year is – enough. Not a cry of frustration (ENOUGH!) or of despair (Enough...), but a gentle, "thank you, I have enough." A recognition of good enough.

Part of my weekly review of my work completed and to-do list will involve reflecting on how much is there and is it enough. If it is, a guiding principle for the week will be just that: thanks, I have enough. I can still be strategic and think about the cost/benefit of opportunities, just being more thorough in the cost assessment side and including myself and my time in that calculation. My priority will still be on people (after all, I am a Connector), just with a bit more thought about myself as one of the people, too.

Another wise friend recently spoke about their commitment to change for this year. They referred to this as “reclaiming my attention”, and I thought this summed it up well – a good guide in a year of aiming for enough. They also mentioned being “intentional about consumption”, on several fronts but especially about their time and attention. I’m borrowing this one, too, and taking a few concrete steps on that front including unsubscribing from the bazillion email lists that flood my inbox each day and week, and keeping just the few that I actually read regularly. Similarly, I’ll be purging the apps on my phone with the aim of minimizing the idle scrolling (my thumbs will be grateful for the break).

I’m sure there will be other strategies along the way, and that I will still occasionally find myself peeking over that cliff edge again. My goal is to minimize those times while maximizing my own contributions, growth, and opportunities for development, creativity, and relaxation. I’ll keep you posted.

Rogers Creek, BC. January 2025.

What about you – how do you recognize and deal with managing your workload to "enough"? Please comment below or email me at robyn@robynroscoe.com with your questions and feedback.

Interested in more on this or other topics? Check out my upcoming webinars and presentations at www.lyricmgmt.com. Follow me on X/Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest on these and other topics. You can also sign up to receive my monthly newsletter with blog posts and webinar schedules, and to be entered in a monthly draw for a prize.

]]><![CDATA[Shifting Priorities, Maintaining Values]]>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.robynroscoe.com/blog/shifting-priorities-maintaining-values

January, and time to revisit priorities and goals, both from last year and for the year ahead. This year I waited until mid-January to review these, allowing some time and space between the years to get a clear and calm picture of past, present, and future.

2024 reflections

The year continued with opportunities and engagements from new and interesting areas (nutrition, materials science, archaeology), reinforcing the importance of reputation and network (priorities 6 and 8). While there’s always uncertainty about the long-term of work, I was blessed this year with a constant and steady influx opportunities and interesting projects. As in 2023, personal development priorities (especially 4 and 9) took a back-seat to others, which has been rewarded somewhat by the extension and renewal of work with some people, again to those important priorities related to excellence in contributions, organization, and integrity (priorities 2, 3, and 6).

Even more of my time this year (874 hours or 60%) was working with research teams and organizations in proposal development, grant facilitation, and program and project management (aligned with priorities 2, 3, and 6). Contributing to the development of others (priority 1) remains high and represented a close second in the proportion of my work (445 hours or 30%).

I am getting more efficient with the administration of the business, with just 9% of my time. Sadly, the amount of time on personal development and creative projects was very low (just 2%). I spent plenty of non-work time in the creative and development spaces, with most being reading and writing about reading; I completed 79 books and book reports last year, and so perhaps can recognize achieving that objective separately from my work time.

One additional development this year was engaging others as part of my work. I was able to bring work to a few in my network, and this helped distribute the workload from me to others. While this increased the overall capacity of Lyric Management, and I’m grateful and happy to be able to provide opportunities for others, this does somewhat reflect a greater demand than I have capacity for myself. Something to consider carefully going forward.

Specific goals completed in 2024 include presenting at CARA National and PM West, and attending several networking events throughout the year. I was also much more diligent in the use of time tracking, and intentional use of time, including blocking time off. Other goals, including writing, teaching programs, and physical fitness were much less successful, and so will move forward onto the 2025 list.

2025 Priorities

My priorities have remained the same over the past few years. Looking at 2024, I see some areas to focus on, especially around workload, value, and type of work. Overall, I came out of the year satisfied and happy with my progress and accomplishments, and clear-eyed about things to work on. For 2025, the priorities are:

I’ve adjusted some of the overall rankings, shifting Development of Others from high to medium. This reflects several things, but primarily a shift in my understanding of where I can add value and my desire to contribute some of that time, effort, and energy to myself and my own development. There continues to be a demand for what I supply for others (priorities 1 and 2), but the return on investment in satisfaction and compensation has shifted the balance somewhat. They remain priorities, just no longer the highest ones.

I’ve also acknowledged that, within my work time, there is likely to be little time and opportunity for self-expression. Again, it’s not coming off the priority list, but I recognize it must give way for the more important things right now. I will still look for opportunities but concede it will more often get supplanted by other things. Not forever, just for now.

Looking ahead - Goals for 2025

One surprise to me about my time in 2024 was that, despite spending more dedicated time away from work, I actually spent even more time on work. This left me feeling a bit weary by years-end, so I’m making some changes to get back to the comfort and joy of what I do and maximizing the benefits of self-employment: autonomy, or the freedom to choose how I allocate my time. This requires discipline in making commitments, and that I consciously schedule time for other things (priorities 4 and 9) and remember my values (priorities 5 and 7).

I’ll be working over the next while to refine my SMART and CLEAR goals for 2025. Stay tuned for more on those.

Word of the year

For 2025, my word-of-the-year is enough. While last year was about sustaining the level of activity in Lyric Management, this year the emphasis will be on priority 7, just so much and no more work, while sustaining the success and good relationships I've been blessed with so far by not over-committing and potentially disappointing people by missing our goals. I want to sustain my network and community, focusing on quality over quantity and meeting the middle part of my motto: living well.

My January reflections this year involved acknowledging my strengths but more importantly how I can use them more effectively for myself, which will then allow me to use them well for others. This involves keeping my core values – connection, generosity, integrity, openness, and trust – at the centre of my choices and actions, and taking charge again of how I’m allocating my time and attention, being deliberate and intentional in my work and life.

What about you? Do you reflect on your goals at this time of year? Do your priorities change over time? Please comment below or email me at robyn@robynroscoe.com with your questions and feedback.

Interested in more on this or other topics? Check out my upcoming webinars and presentations at www.lyricmgmt.com. Follow me on X/Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest on these and other topics. You can also sign up to receive my monthly newsletter with blog posts and webinar schedules, and to be entered in a monthly draw for a prize.

]]><![CDATA[Perform for the job you want]]>Sat, 17 Aug 2024 15:02:23 GMThttps://www.robynroscoe.com/blog/perform-for-the-job-you-want

Recently, I was talking with a group at a networking event about their experiences with their managers and the promotion pathway within their organizations. One point we discussed was about how, too often, a person is given responsibility for supervising and leading others without any consideration of their management or leadership abilities. They advance to that leadership role based on their technical competence and tenure with the company without the requisite leadership competencies.

As often happens for me, the next morning an article about this the very same topic arrived in my inbox.

I feel strongly about this topic. In many workplaces, the main or only pathway for advancement means taking on responsibility to oversee the work of others. However, the promotional evaluations use a combination of technical skills as well as seniority or number of years with the company. Too rarely is proper consideration given to what are often called (somewhat pejoratively) “soft skills”; effective communication, performance motivation, creating skills development opportunities, conflict resolution, and promoting camaraderie. As anyone who has actively tried to do these things well can tell you, they are anything but easy, and are entirely essential for success in management and leadership.

The result of the lamentable “technical competence / time served” evaluation model is disappointment, frustration and failure for everyone – the direct reports of this hapless manager, the company that soon sees quality contributors leave, and new leader who remains oblivious to their shortcomings. Indeed, their promotion serves as confirmation that have what it takes to be a leader, so they don’t seek any further development. Notably frustrated in this scenario is the person who wants to move up but gets overlooked in favour of the technical superstar or the long-timer.

A while ago, there was a meme that said: dress for the job that you want. While it was somewhat debunked as a superficial and perhaps counterproductive approach to advancement, there is some value in thinking of “dress” as “perform”. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you get ready to step forward.

Is it the role you want? What specifically about the job catches your interest? It’s okay to admit that it’s the salary, prestige, or corner office that are appealing, but the job is more than that. Leadership involve work – not just the day-to-day tasks, but more importantly the responsibility for other people and their work. Consider whether and why you are interested in those and if you’re ready for them, and how to convey that message to the higher-ups. A good way to try it on for size is to…

Perform as if you’re in that role. Well, not entirely, of course. You shouldn’t usurp someone else’s responsibilities (especially your current manager), but you can look for opportunities to demonstrate leadership abilities. Do you demonstrate leadership qualities in your current role, or have you proven them in other roles, both within and outside of paid work environments? Development of leadership skills is possible in any aspect of life. They’re the hallmark of a well-run household, community work, hobby groups, and other interests. A person who – without any formal authority - gets unpaid others to cooperate in completing complex or routine tasks can justifiably claim having management and leadership skills.

If the desired role involves some leadership or management skills about you can’t yet confidently demonstrate, take additional training in supervision and human resources or short courses in accounting or bookkeeping. If the role requires external communications or presentations, consider joining a public speaking group like Toastmasters to practice and build your skills.

If you’re in an individual contributor role, maintain your technical skills and performance level. Don’t ease up on developing those skills and that work, especially if the role you want involves supervising individual contributors like yourself. You don’t have to be a superstar, but you must demonstrate that minimal level of competence that fosters respect from the team whose supervisor you aspire to become.

In your current job, volunteer and take on opportunities that will demonstrate your abilities to bring people together, communicate, resolve conflict, and organize information. Is there a big event coming up? Volunteer to organize it (of course, make sure you’re ready to do that). Whatever you do, be it courses or volunteering – within or outside the workplace - make sure it ends up on your resume and, when possible, part of your performance reviews. You don’t need to shine a spotlight on it, but remember…

“It is just as false not to blow your horn at all as it is to blow it too loudly.”* If you don’t talk about your accomplishments and developments, who will? How else will your boss or anyone know that you’re making the right moves for promotion if you don’t tell them? Make sure to includes these in your next performance review and planning session. And that’s a great segue into…

Make sure the boss (or hiring manager) knows you’re interested in promotion. If you’re not getting the opportunities you want or apply for, maybe it’s because decision makers don’t know what role you want, why you want it, and that you have the experience, skills, and training to do it. And they can’t and won’t know unless you tell them. Consider what you do and say in real time and what’s on your resume. Articulating these (blowing your horn) is an essential part of performance conversations - but you shouldn’t wait for the annual review to talk about your goals. Sometimes advancement opportunities are few and far between or follow a standard cycle within an organization. Don’t wait for job openings to introduce your desire to move up. The perfect time to talk about it is when you’re ready, so that when the opening happens, they’ll already be thinking of you. Even then, promotion is like getting a new job, so it still requires…

The 5 P’s. The above are about knowing your priorities and demonstrating your presence in the context of the required competencies. Other must-haves are patience, persistence, and positivity. It can take a while for the right opportunity to emerge, and in the meantime, you still have your current job to do. If you’ve determined that you’re ready and want to move ahead but there are no openings on the radar, maybe that means you must move on to move up. That’s okay, too. You can take all your wonderful experience and positivity to another place where they’ll make the most of it and provide you the opportunity you’ve been looking for.

Whenever I’m a hiring manager, I apply this principle: hire for potential, but promote from performance. When you’re hiring, you take a chance the candidate will fulfill the potential you see in them during recruitment. Will their resume and those few interview hours - when they were on their best behaviour and without the pressure of the workplace - translate into consistent good performance on the job? When promoting, you are essentially hiring from within. A promotion is a new job for the candidate. As the hiring manager, you have the opportunity to consider their on-the-job performance, and can evaluate it for the required elements of the new role, and not just if there is the potential – is there actual evidence of performance of those new requirements? Does their resume or the interview provide you with relevant information you didn’t already know? And are they truly ready, interested, and able to lead the work of others?

A person’s career path – that age-old question, “where do you see yourself in a few years?” – isn’t just for interviews. Leaders should routinely ask people about goals for development and advancement. And those who want to move up must always be ready to answer it – be able to point to their performance, in all venues, as evidence they’re ready.

* from All About Eve, a favourite movie.

What about you – have you experienced challenges in the workplace around promotion pathways? Are you interested in advancement but don’t know how to get there? Please comment below or email me at robyn@robynroscoe.com with your questions and feedback.

Interested in more on this or other topics? Check out my upcoming webinars and presentations at www.lyricmgmt.com. Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest on these and other topics. You can also complete this brief survey to join my mailing list to receive a monthly newsletter with blog posts and webinar schedules, and to be entered in a monthly draw for a prize

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