Creativity Lab Report #14: four thousand 4-day weeks
Our latest personal project, Hamaka Mag, came with a daunting challenge: writing.
Spanish is our first language, and although we've lived in Canada for almost a decade, we often feel behind in our communication skills. However, the more we read in English, the most we felt the need to start writing as a way to internalize thoughts and share our passion for listening to people’s stories. Doing book summaries helped, and without noticing, we started creating writing opportunities for ourselves. Eventually, our social media posts got longer, we started a blog on our website, began publishing this newsletter, and soon, Hamaka Mag was born.
We know we may never become exceptional English writers, but we're determined to dedicate the time and practice needed to improve. Like many crafts, writing is a life-long pursuit that may never lead to a specific destination but will offer the joy of discovery, practice and tiny victories along the way. Luckily, we now have a writing coach and editor extraordinaire on the team. Thank you for joining, Audrey!
Neck of the woods
Nature has a way of helping put things in perspective. The Capilano Pacific Trail follows the Capilano River from the ocean up to Cleveland Dam where much of Vancouver's drinking water comes from. The mossy trees left us speechless and reminded us that we live on a whimsical, beautiful floating rock that we must protect at all costs.
Creativity Lab
Stories: done.
Photos: done.
Design: done.
Sponsors: still looking for you!
We're almost ready to print Hamaka Mag. We only need a little support to cover the upfront printing costs, so if you or someone you know has a brand/business interested in sharing their message in a lovingly-crafted publication, please reach out.
It will be a meaningful 192-page publication filled with nostalgia and dreams for the future of crafts and natural resources.
Check out the Canadian potters featured on the first issue: hamakamakes.com/magazine
Help us fund the upfront printing costs and get a whopping 30% discount: pre-order issue 1
Bookshelf
Four thousand weeks by Oliver Burkeman. We rarely engage with our finitude and often find ways to avoid the conversation. Like most creatives, we live both as if we had a thousand years to live and as if we would die tomorrow. This book embraces how thinking about our own mortality makes us prioritize the things that matter, feel grateful about our little time on Earth and inspire us to clear out the outside noise.
Browser
Inspired by Carl's full-time job. If big companies can shift to 4-day weeks, so do we.
Research shows that reducing the weekly loads improves productivity and work quality by giving our creative minds enough time to feel refreshed. But unfortunately, our modern models demand more, faster, and cheaper outcomes, forcing artists and makers to fall for unsustainable rhythms that lead to burnout.
The hustle culture is wrong. Overworking ourselves to make ends meet is not what life should look like. It removes the joys of having a small business and can turn things we love into things we dread.
We've been guilty of listening to the wrong advice from productivity gurus and self-imposing unattainable deadlines to fit society's expectations. We hope to do better, and although it will take some time for us to fall into a smooth rhythm, we working towards it. We're rooting for 4-day weeks for small businesses as well!
Minds
"If you can't find inspiration in everything then look again." — Paul Smith
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