Intentional life

In the Intentional life category I write about: self-care, personal growth, minimalism, journaling, healthy lifestyle, self-improvement, happiness, gratitude, work-life balance, power of routines, automation.

How to stop complaining | Coffee Journeys

Just stop complaining. Now.

Piotr Zagorowski
September 17, 2020December 6, 2023
Intentional life, Lifestyle

It was a nice trip. We were coming back from one of our favourite places. We had fun. The day was clear and a little by chance we discovered a new, very picturesque way home. The only drawback was the fact that we had to cross the roundabout now and then. And just after one of the roundabouts, I noticed that obstacle. The old VW Golf parked just after the exit. It was quite dangerous. And although it had the hazard lights on, I thought it was completely idiotic. The driver could park on the nearby bus bay, I thought to myself and started to penetrate the obstacle with the fierce eyes to see who was sitting behind the wheel. What I saw chilled my blood.

Hey there, does your email system save you time?

Hey there, does your email save you time?

Piotr Zagorowski
July 16, 2020April 5, 2023
Intentional life, Lifestyle

It is fast, it is different, and it is not backwards compatible. It protects your private data. But what matters the most to me, it saves me a ton of time by providing several productivity-boosting solutions. Does your email save or waste your time? Or quite the opposite, it’s your alerting system? I am saying “bye” to the oldie but goodie email to say hey to Hey. Let me explHEYn.

40% rule – a secret to mental toughness

Piotr Zagorowski
July 9, 2020April 5, 2023
Intentional life, Lifestyle

It is not always rainbows and unicorns. Last quarter was definitely a tricky time. I think that the situation in the world finally got me and started messing in my mind. And the fact some things started falling apart, sometimes literally, didn’t help. In the spirit of retrospective mindset, I would like to look back to the second quarter of 2020. This post is going to be harsh reality documentation. I will also share what helped me and how I coped with it. 40% rule – a secret to mental toughness.

I propose a leadership lesson from a visit to the zoo

There are many things we can learn from kids. There are many things we can learn as parents and implement to our leadership toolset. And finally, there are many things we learn as leaders and can and should apply to our parenting skills. One common theme is the language that we use. There are many situations and aspects that use of language matters. In this coffee journey, I am going to focus on one. We learned it during our last year trip to Zurich Zoo. I propose a leadership lesson from a visit to the Zoo. Wait. What?!?

Hiking in the Alps during a thunderstorm – sunk cost fallacy in practice

Piotr Zagorowski
June 11, 2020April 5, 2023
Intentional life, Leadership

Have you ever experienced a proper storm? How about a thunderstorm in the mountains? It usually starts with small rain. However, in the high mountain like the Alps, it can quickly escalate to the dangerous scenario. I continue the series of blog posts about the son and dad journey from last year. We went on a week-long trip to Europe. And today we experienced something that business language calls “sunk cost fallacy”. We were so excited and committed that it was hard to assess the real situation. Let’s roll to the full story, as the lesson learnt is significant.

The shortest path is not always the best

Piotr Zagorowski
June 4, 2020December 7, 2023
Intentional life, Leadership

I am going to take you to the series of blog posts about the son and dad journey from last year. We went on a week-long trip to the Alps. We wanted to take it easy, slow and sometimes not optimal. Contrary to busy networks or the fastest possible commute route of the usual day. This is the beauty of vacation. We don’t need to rush, we don’t need to be the most optimal, the most productive. This principle has led us to see one of the most beautiful, and sometimes hidden, spots during our journey. We are about to discover that the shortest path is not always the best. Let’s start, I hope you will find it enjoyable.

How to spot a fake news story

Piotr Zagorowski
May 14, 2020February 24, 2022
Lifestyle

October 30 in 1938. An actor Orson Welles announced to radio listeners that Martians were invading the Earth. People believed in that news. It caused real chaos. It turned, it was the realistic dramatisation of the famous science-fiction book “The War of the Worlds”. The information was very convincing. The radio station clarified that it was a weekly broadcast of the new series created in collaboration with the Mercury Theatre. It was a fake news story. Fast forward a few decades, and we have a fresh take on the news business. With better technology, the global connection of the internet, and instant gratification urge, we look for thrilling news, constant entertainment and the satisfying rush of dopamine. Our challenge is the same – how to spot a fake news story?

How to feel less tired

Piotr Zagorowski
May 7, 2020February 21, 2022
Lifestyle

A long, long time ago my son had a fairly nasty cold. Temperature, difficulty with breathing, running nose, you name it. He almost didn’t sleep for two nights. Like every kid in that situation, he was moody, and he was literally glued to me, holding my hand and walking with me everywhere. After an exhausting day, we managed to reach the bed, but he didn’t want to sleep alone. Trying to comfort him in his illness as much as I could, I took him to my bed. And then, when I thought he was already asleep, he whispered: “I love you, daddy, very much, you know that right?” I was exhausted, but this short sentence gave me an enormous level of energy to be strong for him. It also made me think that the fatigue we feel is as much physical as mental. It prompted me to research how to feel less tired.

May the fourth be with you!

Piotr Zagorowski
May 4, 2020May 4, 2023
Lifestyle

It was a long, long time ago, when I saw it for the first time. I had never seen anything like this before. It was terrific, and it left a mark on me. It also shaped my taste and sincere interest in sci-fi movies. But it was a different world back then. There were not many toys I could play to recreate the scenes from my new favourite movie. There were not many magazines that had pictures of my favourite characters to collect them. Every coverage in any journals or paper was a treat. In the rare case of appearance, we informed one another with my friends, so everyone could buy, carefully cut and enjoy it. The Star Wars saga movies. May the fourth be with you!

We have one real deadline

Piotr Zagorowski
April 30, 2020November 10, 2024
2 Comments
Intentional life, Relationship

We have plenty to do in our lives. Industrial revolution promised to improve the quality of life for many people. Instead, we created a system of hierarchical management, crazy working hours, shifts and later 9-5 office requirements. Digital revolution promise was even more appealing. It promised to reduce some intense labour jobs, automate everything and significantly shorten the time that we spend doing monotonous, routine work. In a way, this was what happened, but rather than enjoying the time we gained thanks to automation, we decided to try to do even more. We created projects, tasks and deadlines. But in fact, we have just one real deadline. Let’s face it.