#onetalkonetask
We all probably have watched tons of TED and TEDx talks before. And we all know the feeling of learning something new, of exploring something unknown, of getting inspired by a new idea.These feelings drove our team to take the next step and not only get inspired by these ideas but bring them to action. So, 8 of our team members took on the challenge. They chose one TED(x) talk and assigned themselves one task.
Here, we share their individual journeys, experiences, and thoughts. See for yourself how they all solved one task inspired by one talk! #onetalkonetask
“My year of saying yes to everything” – Shonda Rhimes, TED2016
I let myself be inspired by Shonda Rhimes’ TED talk “My year of saying yes to everything. No, I didn’t decide to say yes to everything for a year (with the people I know this would be very risky). Instead, I followed Shonda’s heartfelt recommendation to play more.
After submitting my PhD thesis beginning of June, I felt really over-optimized. It was a very busy time and I had basically forgotten how to do things just for the sake of playing or having fun or making a new experience. So, I made a point of doing that over one month and I re-discovered the joy of “playing more”. – Dora, Curation
“Why I live a zero waste life” – Lauren Singer, TEDxTeen 2015
Inspired by Lauren Singer’s TED talk “Why I live a zero waste life”, my family and I – a 4-person household – tried to reduce our plastic waste.
In the first week, we measured how much waste we produce in general and found out that most of our plastic waste comes from food packaging. Therefore, we focused on how to reduce the waste from food packaging.
The things that helped the most:
- No takeaways. Rather use tupperware to take food with you from home so you don’t have to buy anything. And you can take the tupperware literally everywhere…
- Take shopping bags and bags for fruits, vegetables, and bread with you. Milk, whipped cream, yogurt, and other dairy products can be bought in reusable glas jars
- Avoid snacks! Snacks are often packaged in plastic bags. Vegetables and fruit are easily found without plastic packaging. If you eat more fruit and vegetables, your waste will instantly decrease. (And it also leads to a healthier diet)
During the weeks of this experiment, our waste constantly decreased. And in the following weeks, our plastic consumption did not increase! – Johann, Operations
“How to gain control of your free time” – Laura Vanderkam, TEDWomen 2016
Who also has these days of pure procrastination? Inspired by Laura Vanderkam’s TED talk, I wanted to re-gain control of my free time. So, I took on the challenge of living to this new mantra “I don’t have time = it’s not a priority” for 3 weeks.
Friday was “Setting-Goal-DAY”. Every Friday at 4pm, my todoist-app reminded me of setting my priorities for the next week. I then planned my week accordingly, thereby, keeping personal, career, and relationships goals in mind.
An honest report on my time management experiment
3 weeks of the “How to control your free time”-experiment went by. Check out my key takeaways.
– Thuna, Curation
“Why you should quit social media” – Cal Newport, TEDxTysons 2016
I’m a social media addict. You find me for about 4 hours a day – just like many other people – using Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.
Inspired by Cal Newport’s TEDxTysons talk “Why you should quit social media”, I accepted the challenge and tried 3 days without social media.
After these 3 days, I realized it was easier than I thought. My attempt ticker shows that temptation was there, but most of the time it was sleepy habit in the morning or boredom during lunch break. In the evening, I was around my friends and it felt good to fully concentrate on conversations. I feel more chilled and not so stressed to miss out any news. Especially at night time, I fall asleep easier.
I still love social media, but want to introduce some small changes:
- I decluttered my Instagram and Facebook – a lot less unnecessary content
- Smartphone ban while eating or talking to friends
- No more social media directly after waking up and before going to bed
– Kristina, Partnerships
“Try something new for 30 days” – Matt Cutts, TED2011
I let myself be inspired inspired by Matt Cutts TED talk “Try something new for 30 days” and decided to pick up the challenge of learning to play the cajon. – Julian, Curation
“The beauty of data visualization” – David McCandless, TEDGlobal 2010
Something most people underestimate is the human inability to make sense of large quantities and numbers. We read that country XYZ’s debt has risen by “3 billion dollars”, but few of us can actually picture what that means. Putting such numbers in context is one of the ways to help us understand and compare large quantities. In David McCandless talk at TEDGlobal 2010, he speaks about such techniques. In my opinion, they are more needed today than ever. But rather than visualise money or politics, I chose to try the idea of assembling data and putting it into context with one of my favourite drinks: coffee!
Once you start down the rabbit hole of comparing quantities, it is hard to choose which one to actually use – should I measure the weight of the beans in bananas, cars or elephants? I encourage you to do some research about a topic you like and then just take your calculator and Wikipedia and go wild, it might lead to unexpected insights! – Christoph, Operations
“Tidying up art” – Ursus Wehrli, TED2006
I watched Ursus Wehrli’s TED talk “Tidying up art” at least 10 times since I discovered it. I like this kind of tricky ideas where somebody thinks around the corner. I found it so funny that I had to take up the challenge and tidy up a piece of art myself. – Susanne, Audience Experience
“Trust your hunger and make peace with food” – Eve Lahijani, TEDxUCLA 2015
I often find myself in this situation – I feel too stuffed, yet a few hours later I’m hungry again. I forget to drink and down a liter of water before bed. I feel tired although I slept 10 hours. Eve Lahijani’s TEDxUCLA talk “Trust your hunger and make peace with food” inspired me to stop for a moment and truly listen to what my body wants and needs.
Don’t feed it just because it’s lunch time, even though you’re not hungry yet. Don’t stuff yourself just because you’re bored. Drink regularly, and don’t wait for your body to alarm you that you’re seriously dehydrated.
And move! It doesn’t need to be a lot of hardcore exercise, but I was surprised! It did wonders to my mood and tiredness.
In the modern day we are tempted and distracted by so many different impulses, we sometimes forget to listen to ourselves. – Jenny, Brand & Creative
