I usually dedicate August to research. We’re still enjoying the warmth of summer, with only a light pressure from office work. It’s this flexibility that I use to dive into trends studies: future tech, local market, and consumer behaviors. I also explored neuroscience and delved into extra topics.
My philosophy is that we need to nurture our curiosity from time to time if we want to grow. Learning new things, testing ideas, and deepening our understanding of the world helps us move forward and gives meaning to our surroundings.
Haven’t read the Footnotes of June&July – Summer edition? Click Here
With trends, there’s a catch though: the negative spiral. It’s easy to fall into the ‘too hard’, ‘too hard’ or ‘too complex’’ trap. When looking too far at the future that’s emerging and compare it to the current state of either our business or way of life, we can feel the gap to fill is too overwhelming.
But this is exactly why foresight and future studies matter: to understand the trend and work building the future we want… For ourselves and for our businesses.
Here are my Footnotes:
about Executive Functioning
Or the ‘management system of the brain’ that allows us to make decisions, follow instructions, manage tasks, analyze, remember, and self-regulate.
While reflecting on external systems to help me better organize my projects and my time, I came across this article that explains how the brain works and why it’s important to manage and improve our executive function. A self-management skillset as essential as any external tool I could find.
Here’s some useful tips i noted, and the full article link if you want to have a look:
- Break up large tasks into small steps.
- Create checklists for things you need to do.
- Give yourself time to transition between activities.
- Make a schedule to help you stay on track.
- Use a calendar to help you remember and plan for long-term activities, tasks, and goals.
- Use visual aids to help you process and understand information.
- Write down due dates or important deadlines and put them in a visible location.
A glimpse on strategic planning for the personal life
Every end of year, I build my own personal post-mortem for the year and a plan for the next one. This takes the form of an official document I can revisit whenever I need to remind myself of my own engagements or adapt as life evolves. Over the years, this practice has helped me be more realistic about what I can control, where I need to put more energy, and how to adjust my priorities. I usually review it every quarter to track progress and keep the document updated.
This year, I decided to take one-step further and do monthly planning and reviews. And it has been impactful! I was able to identify which tasks were truly important, track the right metrics and finally hold myself accountable for progress. Some tasks I though would take the whole month ended up taking a few days when others became too complex to align with rest of my agenda.
This summer’s update of my annual plan was outstanding, I’ve never been more active across the board, with projects either moving forward, pending on external factors, or deliberately killed because they’re no longer relevant. That doesn’t mean I’m up to date, but it’s a significant progress!
Future Studies: Reading Amy Webb’s 2025 Tech Trends Report
What an incredible piece! This was my first full read of a future study, and it was eye opening. I won’t go into the findings or share any opinion here as they deserves more than a simple footnote, but, it’s interesting to see how the study was structured and the insights built to resonate with professionals from different industries.
As someone not directly connected to tech development, much of the progress highlighted on the report was new to me. From everyday AI to robotics, nanotechnology and green tech, there are too many innovations that will, simultaneously, disrupt our lives.
Driven by curiosity, I extended my research to new studies in my own field: Entertainment. From consumer disruption to business model challenges (especially in gaming), it seems a lot is about to change in the coming years, pushing me do dive deeper and plan dedicated articles around my learnings.
Leisure: Netflix’s Final Draft and a lesson from Japanese Athletes
I binge-watched the new Netflix reality show ‘Final Draft’ where former Japanese Athletes face elimination rounds of physical challenges to win a cash prize. The show is compelling, packed with strong messages and unexpected plot twists. I won’t give spoilers, but if you’re looking for something to watch this weekend, it’s a good choice.
This is the end of August’s Footnotes. I hope you had a great summer and you’re ready for the rest of 2025. Stay safe !