July 2025 Vol 7 Issue 7
Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
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Welcome Mid-July 2025!
“ ‘Summertime, and the livin’ is easy,’ ” Dubose Heyward wrote in a novel that
became the libretto of George and Ira Gershwin’s opera, “Porgy and Bess.”
But these days, many entrepreneurs and professionals find summertime
anything but “easy.”
True, the weather is warmer (sometimes requiring air conditioning . . . ). But
bills still need to get paid, deadlines met, and both of those may compete with
any “holiday” plans we try to make.
With that awareness, in the “Main Article” this month addresses
entrepreneurial/professional wellness: I visit suggestions from the blog of
former Google marketing executive, Jade Bonacolta, on how to achieve
greater calm in your working life (and beyond).
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or you hold an 8:30 am to 4:30 pm “day job,”
chances are good that “calm” isn’t a default position for you. And what
about after hours? Bonacolta’s ideas address and bridge both in helpful ways.
And in “Shop News,” I thank various folk in my entrepreneurial network
who have helped me to see beyond apparent limits on my vocational horizon,
to achieve both sociability and productivity, rigour and calm.
So, while the ” ‘livin’ ” during our beloved summertime months may not
actually be “easy” (as Heyward wrote), it can become easier if we develop
habits or strategies that increase our self-care.
I wish you time, good readers, to refresh your body, mind and spirit this
summertime.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Shih
Principal
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com
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IN THIS ISSUE:
MAIN ARTICLE: Seven Habits for Calmness (with former Google
executive, Jade Bonacolta)
SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US
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MAIN ARTICLE: Seven Habits for Calmness (with former Google
executive, Jade Bonacolta)
With the awareness that the “livin’” of summertime sometimes does not feel
“easy” for my readers and me, I initially felt skeptical when first laying eyes
on a recent blog posting from former Google marketing executive, Jade Bonacolta.
The blog title, “The Quiet Rich,” (I thought) would pertain more to financial
drive for “riches” than to entrepreneurs “quiet” or calm. I suspected she’d
argue ways to (unconsciously) contort our minds into a proverbial pretzel to
squeeze from it every ounce of earning capital.
But I persisted in reading . . . . and was pleasantly surprised. Bonacolta writes
about entrepreneurial wellness but with insight that reflects her own life
experience. She and B2B Influencer, Canadian-born Colby Kultgen, are like-
minded correspondents who don’t simply download their content from AI!
Here are some highlights from Bonacolta’s recent posting on “seven habits to
bring more calmness in your life,” but with further (and complementary)
insights from me. (Please know that I never use AI to write, but instead to
revise and edit my own copy):
1. Arrive everywhere 10 minutes early
By setting your clock ahead by 10 minutes (metaphorically speaking), we
avoid running late. Why does this matter? Lateness forces our nervous system
into “fight-or-flight mode.” That means we’re stressed before we even get to
the appointment or meeting. (Consider also–contract or job interviews, where
timeliness is crucial!)
Bonacolta recommends building in a “10-minute cushion,” so you’ll be
prepared, present, more relaxed (and, I add, professional)! Also, to any
caffeine junkies among my readership, remember that it’s never good to
arrive late to meetings, but also with fresh coffee in hand (i.e. your peers may
wonder why you have time to line up at Starbucks, when you’re late to meet
them).
2. Use a shutdown ritual
Bonacolta says to end every workday the same way: “clear your desk, close
your tabs, and write down tomorrow’s top three tasks.”
She argues that it’s healthy to keep a mental boundary between your work
and your personal time: “Your brain knows when work is truly done, which
means you can actually relax in the evening instead of carrying mental
residue home.”
This is a great idea, but one not many entrepreneurs implement. Remember
that Parkinson’s law says “work expands to fill available time.”
So couldn’t enforcing a “shutdown ritual” around 5:00 pm make us more
effective earlier the next day?
Evenings spent reading for leisure and relaxing with yoga and/or music, etc.,
can boost our productivity for the next workday.
3. Learn to say “no” to overwork
When your work-plate is full, Bonacolta says to refuse further projects,
regardless of how attractive they sound. A correlative of this is that (unless
we’re newbies) we should hold out for better quality projects, instead of
giving in to lesser ones, simply to pay our bills.
If we prospect actively, larger projects will ensue—they may just take a bit
more time to arrive.
But if we say “yes” to projects that don’t fulfill our goals, we clog our
schedules with work we don’t like, and end up overworking.
So learning to say “no” to overwork (which includes the wrong work) frees
us to say “yes” to the niche projects we actually want and deserve.
Bonacolta writes: “Calm people protect their bandwidth fiercely. They
understand that every ‘yes’ is a ‘no’ to something else. Master this, and you’ll
never feel overwhelmed by commitments again.”
4. Remember the 40%/60% rule
When it comes to working with others, she writes to “listen more than
you talk. In every conversation, ask interesting questions that let the other
person speak 60% of the time.”
Speaking purposefully for your 40% of the time, “removes the pressure to
always have something clever to say. Plus, people walk away thinking you’re
brilliant—not because you talked, but because you made them feel heard.”
5. Make optimal use of your morning start
Bonacolta recommends blocking the first “90 minutes” of your morning, for
your most important task—and before answering emails and texts!
She writes: “Your brain is sharpest in the first few hours after waking. Calm
people use this prime time for meaningful work, not reactive email ping
pong. They get their biggest win done before most people have had their first
cup of coffee.”
I’d recommend that those first 90 minutes include 15 for “morning pages,” as
pioneered by professional writer, Julia Cameron, in The Artist’s Way (1992).
When we lay bare our unconscious thoughts onto paper (i.e. remnants of
dreams, groggy thoughts and ideas), we free our minds to function more
alertly for the time (and day) that follow.
6. Take a “Non-Sleep Deep Rest” (NSDR) pause, every day
Listen to a “non-sleep deep rest” meditation for 10 minutes every day to
boost your energy. Bonacolta likes this 10-min YouTube video from Andrew
Huberman.
She likens this rest to “a power nap for your nervous system. It’s more
restorative than scrolling social media and more energizing than caffeine.
Even 10 minutes can reset your entire day.”
7. Set healthy boundaries
Take one vacation every quarter (even if it’s just a long weekend away). Put
your “out-of-office” email responder on “and don’t check email until you’re
back” Bonacolta writes.
She continues: “Calm people understand that rest isn’t earned—it’s required.
They schedule recovery like they schedule important meetings. Because they
know burnout is just deferred stress coming due with interest.”
Given the pace of tech companies like Google, Bonacolta knows whereof
she speaks. Her seven tips are predicated on the insight that “the most
stressed people I know are constantly reacting to life. The calmest people . . .
are prepared for it” (my emphasis).
Calmness isn’t a personality trait you’re born with. It’s a skill you can
develop by practicing good habits.
She concludes that these seven habits “might seem small, but
they compound. Each one removes a little friction from your day, a little
clutter from your mind. Stack them together, and you’ll be amazed how much
more peaceful your life becomes.”
Bonacolta recommends starting with just one of the above seven habits at the
start of a new week. Why not start first by arriving by “10 minutes early” to
your office or meeting? She says it’s the one tip out of the seven above that’s
“easiest to apply and which will have the biggest immediate impact.”
And now it’s your turn: Have you applied the “10 minutes early” tip to
increase the calm in your day?
What about the others? Please share your experience; I’d be delighted to
hear from you.
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SHOP NEWS:
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