Personal Productivity and Change Management

 

My last post was about productivity

So is this one, though I am adding a change management component.

The reason I am addressing this again is because of a few graphics I saw on social media that provided some very practical advice.  Also, I have two friends suffering from cognitive issues.  One I talked to on the phone.  She is having trouble speaking.  The other, I visited in hospice in a memory loss facility.  These two friends, a few others struggling with serious medical issues, and having lost a few other friends recently brings a blunt reality of my mortality and focus on what I might want to do and be moving forward.  In other words, I am at an age the runway is getting short.  To put it technical, I am out of slack time for putting off of what I want to be and what I want to accomplish. 

Certainly, this reality has always been with me.  I was aware of it, but honestly, it was more conceptual and applied to other, you know, older folks.  The blunt reality of seeing what others in my generation as experiencing has me realize I am definitely one of the older folks.  The notion that each day is a gift, means more these days than ever before.

Both of the graphics I saw are focused on time.  The first was motivational:

In six months, you will have six months of excuses, or six months of progress.  The choice is yours.

Being a master of procrastination and postponement, I have many six month periods of excuses. 

The second graphic was in the same vein but more tactical.  It is from a FB post of the a entity named BeHumanBeKind.  The title of the graphic was simple and straightforward:  “You’ll Stay Average Forever Until you Master These 4 Powerful Time Rules.”  The rules are:

 

[1] The 8+8+8 Rule

- 8 hours for you – workouts, hobbies, friends

- 8 hours for laser focused work

- 8 hours of deep, guilt-free sleep

 

[2] The 1-3-5 Rule

- 1 massive goal that scares you

- 3 key tasks that move you forward

- 5 quick wins – chores, messages, errands

 

[3] The 10 Minute Rule

- Work with deadly focus for 10 minutes

- Rest for two minutes

- Repeat

- Kills procrastination.  Builds momentum.

 

[4] The 90/90/1 Rule

- 90 minutes

- For 90 days

- On 1 life-changing goal

- You’ll shock yourself

 

Clearly, the rules are designed to work together.  The first, the 8+8+8 Rule, is how to segment your day.  I would amend the first bullet to read “8 hours for you – health and fitness, hobbies, family and friends.”  And the third bullet, “8 hours of deep, guilt-free sleep” is sound advice.  But, for me, getting 8 hours of sleep may well be the “1 life changing goal” in rule 4.  I sleep 5-6 hours and it is not deep sleep as I get up around 2-3 times in that time.

The second, the 1-3-5 Rule, is to set your daily To-Do list.  The principle here is to have a balance of long term, complex goals, that procrastinators always postpone with the trivial “quick win” type of goals.  I often put a lot of these quick win goals on my daily To-Do list along with the meaningful work and life goals simply up the percent accomplished to make myself feel productive. 

The 10-minute rule may be the most important in my regard.  By working in 10 minute bursts, rest for two, and repeating, I would get 50 minutes of work done each hour.  The challenge is to be task oriented and stay off social media.  Lots of us lose crazy batches of time by just checking social media for a quick second.  This is why the Rules includes words like “laser” and “deadly” focus.  There are simply too many distractions in our modern world.

The last rule is to manage and accomplish one lifestyle change.  Start now, spend 90 minutes a day writing a novel, playing the guitar, lifting weights, or whatever, and you will have 90 days of results instead of 90 days of excuses.  Do that twice in a row and, voila, you will have six months of results.

I actually dabbled with this a bit today.  I jotted down a To Do list of four items.  I set the timer on my phone for 10 minutes and, dang, if I didn’t accomplish the list in short order.  When I had to look for something online, I kept the laser focus in mind and didn’t meander off and squabble time on social media.

I will do this again today.

A Lethargic July

 

This year I have had two full knee replacement surgeries.  The first was on January 8th and the second was on June 9th.

The physical recovery of the second surgery has progressed faster than the first.  Physical recovery is only part of the recovery.  The other part of the recovery is the return to a normal work schedule:  the productivity recovery if you will.  This part of the recovery is lagging behind the first.  July was to have been a month of productivity.  It was not.  It was a month of lethargy.

For people my age, we try to be attuned to changes in physical health and mental acuity.  We worry because we fear the onset of anything that might indicate the start of a chronic condition that erodes our physical or mental well-being.  I do not believe that my July lethargy is the start of anything serious because I am feeling less lethargic and keener to get all my classes ready as soon as I can for the Fall.  Well, that is what I planned to do in July as well.

Lethargy is a state of physical, mental, or emotional sluggishness. It involves feeling unusually tired, weak, drowsy, or lacking in energy or motivation. Unlike typical tiredness after exertion or lack of sleep, lethargy can persist even with rest and may signal an underlying issue.  This is exactly what I was feeling.  And, I was beginning to wonder if this was signaling and underlying issue.

In my own defense, since retiring from my corporate career and becoming a full time professor, July has never been a productive month.  I work relatively hard during the school year and spend the summer months like a full retiree.  I have always aspired to be more productive, but I generally await until mid-August to get going pressured by the procrastinator's tenet:  keep procrastinating and putting of any task until that point in time where you have to work full-time, fast and furiously, under stress to complete the task by the deadline. 

So, maybe, this July lethargy is normal for me.  It has been my rest and recharge month for the past ten years.  The reason I am actually writing this piece is because this July felt different from years past.  It felt like a deeper and more weighty lethargy.

Part of me wanted to believe that it was the lingering effects of the anesthesia (I had a saddle block and not a general anesthesia).  I discounted this because in January, I was back at it in two weeks going full blast.  Why was January’s mental recovery so much better?  Quite simply it was necessity.  Classes started two weeks after the surgery.  I simply had to do it.  I taught online the first two weeks, but I did teach and had to be ready to go.  I had to engage the brain and get stuff done.  This principle is the same reason they get you up walking and even climbing stairs immediately after surgery.  It is the same reason they start physical therapy immediately following.

I probably should have pushed myself more mentally.  Part of the reason my physical recovery was faster this second time around is because the home care physical therapist really pushed me. 

In summation, there are many factors involved in my July lethargy. The fact that I have on syllabus done in July which is more than I have ever done.  This post is surely living up to the subtitle of this blog, A Monthly Letter of Musings and Meanderings.

What is Important in Life?

 

My cousin David Gavoor is a great supporter of this blog.  He will call or text on various things I post and often suggest topics or themes that he would love to see me explore in this blog.  Recently, he posted a link from ABC News from their website on January 11, 2018.  It is a story of an Australian woman, Holly Butcher, who succumbed to cancer on January 4^th of that same year.  Holly wrote a letter she wanted her family to distribute upon her passing.

Holly wrote from her heart, with clarity, wisdom, and grace, she urged others not to take life for granted. Holly emphasized the importance of letting go of trivial worries, like appearance, money, and social drama, and instead encouraged to live with gratitude, kindness, and presence.

She reminded us to cherish simple moments, value time with loved ones, and embrace our bodies for what they can do rather than how they look. Holly urged people to be generous with their time and money, to offer compliments freely, and to stop sweating the small stuff. She reflected on how fragile and unpredictable life is, and how many things people often complain about are meaningless when faced with mortality.

Holly’s message was a call to live deeply and intentionally—take the trip, eat the cake, wake up early to watch the sunrise, and tell people you love them. Her letter resonated globally, inspiring millions to reconsider their priorities and appreciate life’s fleeting beauty. Her words continue to echo as a poignant reminder of what truly matters.

I loved Holly’s message.  It took her less than 1700 words to express her succinct and powerful message.  Experts and professional authors have have written books that take a few hundred pages to say the same thing.  Holly’s wonderful message was freely distributed where the aforementioned books cost $20-30. 

Many of us felt and thought what Holly wrote when we attend the funerals of family and friends… especially if the deceased was taken tragically or too young in life.  At such funerals, we mourn and reflect.  We even get a glimpse of what we will think is important and what we will truly value in the last days of our lives.  We may even resolve to prioritize those things moving forward in order to be more grateful and gracious lives so we can have minimal regrets when our time comes. 

Inevitably, we return to our lives and the day-to-day stresses that we prioritize over the values we reflected on when we were mourning.  This seems to be a part of how most of us live and is maybe just how we are wired. 

ChaiGPT estimates at least one million people have read Holly’s letter.  The number of shares is in the hundreds of thousands which is why ChapGPT’s estimated reads might be on the low side. Some of the comments on Instagram and Facebook claim they read and re-read the letter.  One fellow said he read it annually.

Many of us struggle with what is important in the short term and what is important in the long term.  In the short term, we have the daily grind, and the priorities related to earning a living and making ends meet.  This can overwhelm the longer term values that Holly wrote about.  We all know people who seem to be able to do both gracefully.  The rest of us want to know they do it.  Therein lies the rub.

I am certain to revisit this topic.

 

Here is Holly’s letter in its entirety from Life Wisdom by Holly Butcher.

A bit of life advice from Hol:

 

It’s a strange thing to realise and accept your mortality at 26 years young. It’s just one of those things you ignore. The days tick by and you just expect they will keep on coming; until the unexpected happens. I always imagined myself growing old, wrinkled and grey- most likely caused by the beautiful family (lots of kiddies) I planned on building with the love of my life. I want that so bad it hurts.

 

That’s the thing about life; It is fragile, precious and unpredictable and each day is a gift, not a given right. I’m 27 now. I don’t want to go. I love my life. I am happy. I owe that to my loved ones.

 

But the control is out of my hands.

 

I haven’t started this ‘note before I die’ so that death is feared - I like the fact that we are mostly ignorant to it’s inevitability. Except when I want to talk about it and it is treated like a ‘taboo’ topic that will never happen to any of us. That’s been a bit tough. I just want people to stop worrying so much about the small, meaningless stresses in life and try to remember that we all have the same fate after it all so do what you can to make your time feel worthy and great, minus the bullshit.

 

I have dropped lots of my thoughts below as I have had a lot of time to ponder life these last few months. Of course it’s the middle of the night when these random things pop in my head most!

 

Those times you are whining about ridiculous things (something I have noticed so much these past few months), just think about someone who is really facing a problem. Be grateful for your minor issue and get over it. It’s okay to acknowledge that something is annoying but try not to carry on about it and negatively affect other people’s days.

 

Once you do that, get out there and take a freaking big breath of that fresh Aussie air deep in your lungs, look at how blue the sky is and how green the trees are; it is so beautiful. Think how lucky you are to be able to do just that - breathe.

 

You might have got caught in bad traffic today, or had a bad sleep because your beautiful babies kept you awake, or your hairdresser cut your hair too short. Your new fake nails might have got a chip, your boobs are too small, or you have cellulite on your arse and your belly is wobbling. Let all that shit go. I swear you will not be thinking of those things when it is your turn to go. It is all SO insignificant when you look at life as a whole. I’m watching my body waste away right before my eyes with nothing I can do about it and all I wish for now is that I could have just one more Birthday or Christmas with my family, or just one more day with my partner and dog. Just one more.

 

I hear people complaining about how terrible work is or about how hard it is to exercise - Be grateful you are physically able to. Work and exercise may seem like such trivial things... until your body doesn’t allow you to do either of them.

 

I tried to live a healthy life, in fact, that was probably my major passion. Appreciate your good health and functioning body- even if it isn’t your ideal size. Look after it and embrace how amazing it is. Move it and nourish it with fresh food. Don’t obsess over it. Remember there are more aspects to good health than the physical body... work just as hard on finding your mental, emotional and spiritual happiness too. That way you might realise just how insignificant and unimportant having this stupidly portrayed perfect social media body really is... While on this topic, delete any account that pops up on your news feeds that gives you any sense of feeling shit about yourself. Friend or not... Be ruthless for your own well-being.

 

Be grateful for each day you don’t have pain and even the days where you are unwell with man flu, a sore back or a sprained ankle, accept it is shit but be thankful it isn’t life threatening and will go away.

 

Whine less, people! …and help each other more.

 

Give, give, give. It is true that you gain more happiness doing things for others than doing them for yourself. I wish I did this more. Since I have been sick, I have met the most incredibly giving and kind people and been the receiver of the most thoughtful and loving words and support from my family, friends and strangers; more than I could I ever give in return. I will never forget this and will be forever grateful to all of these people.

 

It is a weird thing having money to spend at the end... when you’re dying. It’s not a time you go out and buy material things that you usually would, like a new dress. It makes you think how silly it is that we think it is worth spending so much money on new clothes and ‘things’ in our lives. Buy your friend something kind instead of another dress, beauty product or jewelry for that next wedding. 1. No-one cares if you wear the same thing twice 2. It feels good. Take them out for a meal, or better yet, cook them a meal. Shout their coffee. Give/buy them a plant, a massage or a candle and tell them you love them when you give it to them.

 

Value other people’s time. Don’t keep them waiting because you are shit at being on time. Get ready earlier if you are one of those people and appreciate that your friends want to share their time with you, not sit by themselves, waiting on a mate. You will gain respect too! Amen sister.

 

This year, our family agreed to do no presents and despite the tree looking rather sad and empty (I nearly cracked Christmas Eve!), it was so nice because people didn’t have the pressure of shopping and the effort went into writing a nice card for each other. Plus imagine my family trying to buy me a present knowing they would probably end up with it themselves... strange! It might seem lame but those cards mean more to me than any impulse purchase could. Mind you, it was also easier to do in our house because we had no little kiddies there. Anyway, moral of the story - presents are not needed for a meaningful Christmas. Moving on.

 

Use your money on experiences... Or at least don’t miss out on experiences because you spent all your money on material shit. Put in the effort to do that day trip to the beach you keep putting off. Dip your feet in the water and dig your toes in the sand. Wet your face with salt water. Get amongst nature.

 

Try just enjoying and being in moments rather than capturing them through the screen of your phone. Life isn’t meant to be lived through a screen nor is it about getting the perfect photo… enjoy the bloody moment, people! Stop trying to capture it for everyone else.

 

Random rhetorical question:  Are those several hours you spend doing your hair and makeup each day or to go out for one night really worth it? I’ve never understood this about females’. Get up early sometimes and listen to the birds while you watch the beautiful colours the sun makes as it rises. Listen to music... really listen. Music is therapy. Old is best. Cuddle your dog. Far out, I will miss that. Talk to your friends. Put down your phone. Are they doing okay? Travel if it’s your desire, don’t if it’s not. Work to live, don’t live to work. Seriously, do what makes your heart feel happy. Eat the cake. Zero guilt. Say no to things you really don’t want to do. Don’t feel pressured to do what other people might think is a fulfilling life... you might want a mediocre life and that is so okay. Tell your loved ones you love them every time you get the chance and love them with everything you have.

 

Also, remember if something is making you miserable, you do have the power to change it - in work or love or whatever it may be. Have the guts to change. You don’t know how much time you’ve got on this earth so don’t waste it being miserable. I know that is said all the time but it couldn’t be more true.

 

Anyway, that’s just this one young gals life advice. Take it or leave it, I don’t mind!

 

Oh and one last thing, if you can, do a good deed for humanity (and myself) and start regularly donating blood. It will make you feel good with the added bonus of saving lives. I feel like it is something that is so overlooked considering every donation can save 3 lives! That is a massive impact each person can have and the process really is so simple. Blood donation (more bags than I could keep up with counting) helped keep me alive for an extra year - a year I will be forever grateful that I got to spend it here on Earth with my family, friends and dog. A year I had some of the greatest times of my life.

 

...’Til we meet again.

 

Hol

xoxo

 

A Brief History of Tupperware

 

Tupperware was a marvel of the 1950 and 1960s. 

Tupperware was invented in 1946 by Earl Tupper.  Tupper was an American chemist who developed lightweight, non-breakable plastic containers for food storage. His innovation included an airtight, "burpable" seal inspired by paint can lids, which helped keep food fresh longer.

Earl Tupper was born in 1907 in Berlin, New Hampshire.  He was educated at Fitchburg High School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, graduating in 1925.   He briefly attended Bryant College in Rhode Island, where he studied business. He never completed his degree. Instead, he left school to work and pursue his interests in chemistry and invention.  Tupper was largely self-taught in science and engineering, relying on hands-on experience, experimentation, and work in industrial settings like DuPont, where he first worked with polyethylene.  Tupper did not invent polyethylene but

Polyethylene was first discovered in 1898 by German chemist Hans von Pechmann and later developed into a usable plastic in 1933 by British scientists Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).  It became widely produced during World War II, primarily for insulating radar cables due to its durability and moisture resistance.  Tupper’s genius was becoming a great innovator of the use of polypropylene in high volume consumer products.

Despite its practicality and innovation, early Tupperware products didn’t sell well in stores. The turning point came in the early 1950s when Brownie Wise, a savvy saleswoman, introduced the concept of the Tupperware Party. This direct-sales method allowed women to demonstrate and sell the products in their homes, creating a social and empowering business model for housewives.  These parties were quite popular in the 1950s and 60s. 

Brownie Wise (1913-1992) was born in Buford, GA.  She got married in 1936, they moved to Detroit where she divorced and ended living in Dearborn, MI with her mother.  Wise was an executive secretary at Bendix Aviation during World War II.  After the war, she became a salesperson for Stanley Home Products using the then nascent direct sales approach of home parties.  Based on her success, she wanted to be an executive of the company.  Soley because she was a woman, the founder of the company flat-out turned her down.

Wise then discovered Tupperware, was impressed, and started selling it party model.  She soon had 19 distributors working with her and, in 1949, she reached $150,000 (almost $2 million today) in sales more than any other store.   Wise was offered the distributorship in Florida.  She moved there and named her company:  Patio Parties.  Wise was so successful that Tupper made her VP of Tupperware Home Parties in 1951.  At Wise’s urging, Tupperware stopped selling to retailers and focused exclusively on the direct home sales model.

A rift eventually developed between Tupper and Wise. It became one of the most dramatic breakups in American business history. On the surface, they seemed like the perfect team.  Tupper was a quiet, methodical inventor who created an innovative new plastic container system.  Wise was dynamic and charismatic marketing genius who figured out how to sell it to the postwar American public. Together, they turned Tupperware into a household name by pioneering the home party sales model—an approach that empowered women in the 1950s and created a community-driven method of direct marketing. Yet behind the scenes, tensions brewed over fame, control, and the very identity of the brand.

Tupper was uncomfortable with the spotlight and valued technical precision and corporate order. Wise, by contrast, thrived in public. As the architect of the Tupperware Party, she became the charismatic face of the company—speaking at rallies, training a growing network of saleswomen, and even gracing the cover of BusinessWeek (the first woman to do so). Her visibility and popularity eclipsed that of Tupper, who bristled at being overshadowed in a business that he found and that bore his name.

Over time, their relationship grew strained. Wise’s bold management style and growing influence clashed with Tupper’s preference for conservative business practices. He grew increasingly frustrated with the party culture Wise fostered, which he saw as unprofessional and overly emotional. In 1958, without warning, Tupper fired Wise and erased her from company history. Shortly thereafter, he sold Tupperware to Rexall Drugs for $16 million and walked away from the business entirely, even going so far as to renounce the use of his own name in connection with the brand.

The split between Tupper and Wise is more than just a corporate feud—it reflects broader themes of gender dynamics, recognition, and the tension between innovation and marketing. Brownie Wise helped build an empire, yet she was cast aside at the height of her influence, a fate not uncommon for women in business at the time. Meanwhile, Tupper’s refusal to share the spotlight ensured that his product remained his legacy, even as he left behind the very people who brought it to life.

Tupperware's popularity grew globally throughout the mid-20th century, becoming a household name. However, in recent years, the company has struggled with declining sales and competition from modern food storage brands and multichannel retail rooted in shifting consumer habits, mismanagement, and a brand struggling to redefine itself in the 21st century.

For decades, Tupperware was synonymous with airtight food storage and the famous in-home parties that made it a household name. But as retail landscapes changed and online shopping eclipsed door-to-door sales, Tupperware struggled to modernize. Efforts to pivot toward digital marketing and retail partnerships were inconsistent, and the brand lost ground to more agile competitors like Rubbermaid, Ziploc, and newer, trendier food storage startups.

By 2023, Tupperware's financial woes had become dire. Mounting debt, declining sales, and an outdated distribution model pushed the company toward collapse. In April of that year, Tupperware issued a warning that it might not be able to continue as a going concern, sending shockwaves through both consumers and investors. Retail delisting followed, and bankruptcy loomed. For a time, it appeared the iconic brand might disappear altogether.

But in 2024, Tupperware began a slow and strategic comeback. The company restructured its debt and secured new financing, allowing it to avoid formal bankruptcy. A fresh leadership team introduced a turnaround plan focused on product innovation, global licensing partnerships, and a significant push into retail and e-commerce. Collaborations with brands like Target helped reintroduce Tupperware to younger audiences in more accessible venues. Social media campaigns and sustainability messaging—emphasizing reusable over disposable products—also played a role in reviving interest.

Tupperware’s survival and re-emergence did not come from reviving its mid-century party roots, but rather from embracing a modern, multichannel approach to consumers. While the road ahead remains uncertain, the brand's durability—both literal and metaphorical—has given it a second chance in the marketplace.  It remains to be seen if this revitalized Tupperware will make it.