The b. Newsletter turns 1 this week and we couldn’t be happier to reach our first birthday. It has been an outstanding year and we can’t thank you enough for being a subscriber and reading each issue. 

We loved sharing great insights from Greg Hoffman, former chief marketing officer for Nike, and ex-Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aimé, and taking smart business lessons from some of our favorite television shows and movies like Ted Lasso and Tommy Boy. Our organizational psychologists provided top-tier advice on how to deal with workplace strife, while our cocktail recommendations and “Work-Life Unbalance” comic hopefully delivered the levity we all need in our weeks.

But this is just the beginning — we are looking forward to being bigger and better in year two. With that in mind, we would love to hear from you on what you like, what you don’t and what else you would love to see in the newsletter. Please send us your thoughts (and any birthday presents) to b.newsletter@business.com.

Boosting Productivity: Take a more Zen approach

For Love or Money? One dating show aims to find out

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(Source: Shutterstock)

Let’s be real: Despite what TikTok thinks, the concept behind “Monk Mode” is nothing new. However, this rebranding of time-tested productivity hacks sure is catchy and the methods at its core can be genuinely effective. 

Trendy or not, trying a new approach to efficiency is almost always worth a swing, whether you’re in a productivity rut or just want to optimize your workday. And while Monk Mode in practice is different for everybody, it’s centered around two basic (and appropriately monk-like) precepts: solitary work and minimal technological distraction. 

🤿 DIVE DEEPER:

• Does Your Sex Life Influence Your Productivity? Oh, YES
• How to Design a Workspace That Improves Productivity
• The Small Business Productivity Guide

With those foundations in mind, the following CEO-tested techniques can help you maximize your Monk Mode.

• Dedicate your full attention to a single work task at a time, and make that dedication nonnegotiable.
• Turn off any device you don’t specifically need for the work at hand — and, yes, that means your phone. It very much means your phone.
• Isolate yourself from all socializing when in this mode, online and in person.
• “Eat the frog.” Identify the most difficult or important task for the day, and pledge to do it first.
• Use anti-distraction apps like Dewo, Freedom or LeechBlock to block app notifications, temporarily restrict your internet access or even set time limits on distracting sites.
• Add a variable to tighten your focus or discipline, like 10 minutes of meditation before work, cutting out energy drinks or banning background podcasts.
• Rotate periods of full Monk Mode with short breaks that allow “vices” like socializing and checking your phone. 
• Remember that Monk Mode is a mode, not a permanent state; use it when you don’t need to be fully available, and don’t hesitate to let your colleagues know you’re going MM.

As an aspiring monk, remember, it takes time to become the dalai lama of your personal office. Try giving Monk Mode a shot for 15 or 20 minutes at a time to start with, then work your way up to an hour, two hours and so on until you reach productivity enlightenment. 

Great business leaders don’t do — or accomplish — anything alone. Great leaders delegate. As a business leader, your time and attention are pulled in a lot of different directions. What if delegating, even just five tasks, to someone you trust could save you 15 hours each week?

With BELAY, you no longer have to own every task as a business leader. When you delegate, you have more time to focus on the things only you can do — growing your business. Our friends at BELAY have been helping leaders like you get their time back by delegating to a virtual assistant. Check out the top 25 tasks you can delegate to a BELAY Virtual Assistant today.

(Source: All Star Cleaning Services)

Practicing social responsibility isn’t exclusive to billion-dollar corporations, unicorn startups and bougie lifestyle brands. Over in Fort Collins, Colorado, All Star Cleaning Services is proving that small businesses can manage inspiring social responsibility initiatives without blowing their budgets.   

Founded in 2006 by Fort Collins native Laura Smith, All Star has about 50 employees and nearly as many local area excellence awards. While they rightly boast about commendable business practices like green cleaning, robust health insurance, matching 401(k)s and company cars, it’s their community involvement that really sets the company apart. Working alongside the nonprofit Cleaning for a Reason, All Star offers free cleaning services for women actively undergoing cancer treatment. And as part of their own Hometown Heroes campaign, the company gave away $30,000 worth of free cleaning to local first responders. On top of that, Smith’s company gives $200 gift certificates for silent auctions to just about any local cause that reaches out. 

As a lifelong cleaner herself, Smith recognizes what she calls the “dignity and value” of cleaning, and her company’s community efforts reflect those core beliefs. Rather than making charity another line item, All Star gives back simply by sharing the same service it already provides every day — and just about any business can do that, too.

Not sure where to start? Learn how small businesses can empower their communities.

(Source: Barclays)

Ever since the Marvelification of movies became the new norm, “transmedia” has been the buzziest of movie producer buzzwords. It means your film project is not just a movie; it also ties into five other movies, a mobile game, comic book and Netflix limited series. And while Barclays, the banking company, isn’t exactly leaning into the Barclays Cinematic Universe, its Moneyverse Matchmaking proves that transmedia isn’t the exclusive domain of Hollywood. The London outfit has crossed over from commercials into (wait for it) reality TV.  

Moneyverse Matchmaking, “a dating experiment like no other,” is a fully produced reality dating show that pairs three real couples. Each set of lovebirds seems totally perfect for each other — except when it comes to their financial habits. Amidst the usual candlelit meet-cutes, the show aims to answer a legit question: Can people with differing money mindsets find love? 

The original video has racked up 4.3 million views on Barclays’ YouTube channel alone, but this clever marketing move has an important message, too. Simply put, we don’t talk enough about financial compatibility in long-term relationships. TD Ameritrade found that 41 percent of Gen X divorces and 29 percent of boomer divorces center around money issues. As Barclays says, “Open and honest conversations about money could lead to a stronger relationship with both your partner and your shared Moneyverse.” That, in turn, can mean a better financial foundation for your business.

(Source: Instagram)

Written by Dan Ketchum and Ali Saleh.