A world-first moment: a Sumatran orangutan has been filmed using a man-made canopy bridge to cross a road, proving these “forest lifelines” can reconnect habitats split by development. After years of waiting, the breakthrough offers real hope that simple solutions like this could help prevent isolation and extinction for one of the world’s most endangered species.

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A young girl in the UK has had her sight restored thanks to gene therapy. New studies show that treating younger children who have rare inherited blindness with gene therapy can help sight and visual pathways at a crucial stage of brain development.

Read more here.

Ever thought your friendly chatbot was telling you something a bit weird? Turns out friendly AI chatbots are more likely to make mistakes and support conspiracy theories.

Read more here.

A kiwi bird has entered New Zealand’s Parliament buildings. But it’s ok. It was authorised as part of the celebrations marking the success of the Capital Kiwi Project, a project which aims to bring kiwi back to Wellington.

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An English woman who opposed oil drilling and a Nigerian woman who developed a community-led wildfire prevention system are among this year’s Goldman Prize winners.

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The oldest Humboldt penguin on the planet celebrated her 38th birthday in style with fish and cakes at Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary in Cornwall.

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An interesting story about how Fiji is combining modern technology and ancient techniques of reading the land to help try to predict when extreme weather is coming.

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Even if World Book Day passed you by, it’s worth taking time to stop and think about the last time you picked up a book. Because reading isn’t just about learning, or productivity, or “keeping up.” It’s one of the simplest, most accessible ways to support your wellbeing and one of the easiest to lose yourself and slow down in a busy, always-on world.

Why reading matters

Most of us spend our days moving quickly between tasks, tabs, notifications, and conversations. Even when we stop, we tend to default to scrolling, which only offers short bursts of content that keep our brains busy but rarely give them a proper break.

Reading is different. It takes concentration, and it takes you somewhere different.

It can:

• Reduce stress by helping you shift focus away from whatever is weighing on you

• Improve concentration by training your brain to stay with one thing for longer

• Support better sleep when it replaces screens at the end of the day

• Build empathy and perspective by exposing you to different experiences and ways of thinking

Practical ways to read more (without overhauling your life)

If you’re busy, reading can feel like a luxury. Something you’ll get to “when things calm down.”

You might not find that large chunk of time where you can read a whole book. So the key is to find small pockets of time where you can fit reading in as part of your routine.

1. Lower the bar
You don’t need an hour. Start with 10 minutes. One chapter. A few pages. Try that every day, and you’ll soon see progress.

2. Replace, don’t add
Swap another task, like scrolling on your phone, for reading every day.

3. Make it visible and easy
Keep a book where you’ll actually pick it up: beside your bed, on the coffee table, in your bag, or as an app on your phone. Reducing friction makes habits easier to stick to.

4. Rethink what “reading” looks like
Audiobooks count. Ebooks count. Graphic novels count. Long-form magazine articles count. If it fits into your life more easily, it’s more likely to stick.

5. Read what you enjoy
You’re far more likely to keep reading if you’re genuinely interested, not just reading something because you feel like you should. There’s nothing wrong with reading a romance novel, some chick lit, or a fantasy if that’s what you love.

6. Let go of all-or-nothing thinking
You don’t need to finish every book. You don’t need to read every day. Skipping a day or abandoning a book doesn’t undo the habit.

A small shift that adds up

Those small moments — 10 minutes before bed, a few pages with your morning coffee, a chapter on the weekend — add up. Not just in books finished, but in how you feel: a little calmer, a little more focused, a little less pulled in different directions.

In a world always vying for your attention, reading stands out as a rewarding way to recharge your mind and mood.

So if World Book Day passed you by, consider this your reminder.

Pick up a book, read a page and see where it takes you!

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Meetings take up plenty of space in calendars, but they don’t always add value, and often, they take time out from the work you actually need to be getting done.

Most meetings start with a purpose — a weekly check-in to stay aligned, a project sync to keep things moving, or a catch-up to solve a specific issue. The problem is that recurring meetings often lose that purpose, but no one stops to question them.

It’s easy to treat meetings as time blocks. An hour here, thirty minutes there. They don’t necessarily take up much time individually, but put together, they can have a cumulative effect.

It’s hard to get into meaningful work when the day is constantly interrupted. Meetings also create decision fatigue and slow progress because there’s more talk than action.

How meetings turn into habits

Inertia - Once a meeting is in the calendar, it stays. There’s no trigger to review it, so it carries on.

Risk avoidance - Cancelling feels like creating a gap, which might be questioned. Or people might feel that a decision will be missed if the meeting isn’t there.

Signalling work - Meetings are visible. Being in them can feel like being productive, even when nothing moves forward.

Lack of better systems - Meetings are often used to communicate status updates, make quick decisions, or check in, which could be done by email or other methods if someone just worked out a process.

Making meetings more intentional

The goal isn’t to remove meetings entirely.

Instead of asking, “Do we have too many meetings?”, ask, “Why does this meeting exist?”

Question recurring meetings - If it didn’t already exist, would you create it today? Consider the purpose of the meeting. If it’s unclear, the meeting probably isn’t needed.

Replace where possible - Think about other methods of communicating, especially for quick decisions or status updates. Options include email, chat systems, a shared progress document, or a task management system.

Adjust the format - Not every meeting needs an hour. Not every weekly meeting needs to stay weekly. Ask attendees how they think things could be improved. Having an agenda, sticking to it and limiting time spent on each point can also help meetings flow and avoid wasting time.

Normalise cancelling - “There’s nothing to cover this week, so let’s skip it” should be a normal outcome.

With a few conscious changes, meetings can turn from things that simply block up your calendar to purposeful gatherings where real work gets done.

If every recurring meeting in your calendar disappeared tomorrow, how many would you bring back?

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You might not have paid much attention beyond a shift in the weather or the daylight hours. But it’s a useful point to pause and decide what the next few months are for.

The start of a new quarter is a natural time to plan in 90-day blocks.

Why 90-day blocks work

Often, planning tends to sit at two extremes. You set annual goals, which often get forgotten about or given up on because they are too vague or hard. Or you try weekly planning, which can get you bogged down in details but doesn’t always progress big goals.

A 90-day window is more practical.

Three months is long enough to take on something meaningful, but short enough that you can’t overload your plan or drift for too long.

It also makes it easier to stay close to your goals. You can see what needs to happen each week, and if something isn’t working, you’ll catch it early and adjust.

Plus, because the goals are smaller than something that might take you a year, you’ll see progress quickly, which can add motivation.

Why use the change of season

Your routines don’t stay the same all year. The seasons can bring a change in energy, and a change of activites.

Using the change of season as a reset point makes it easier to plan something that fits how you’ll actually live over the next few months.

Using the change of season as a reset point makes it easier to plan something that fits how you’ll actually live over the next few months.

Autumn usually suits structure and routine. Winter leans towards slower, focused work. Spring is a good time to start things. Summer tends to be lighter, with more emphasis on maintaining rather than pushing.

Get started

You don’t need to overcomplicate it.

• Look back on the last 90 days and note what worked.

• Choose two or three priorities for the next quarter.

• Keep it focused and be specific about the outcome.

  “Get fitter” leaves too much room for interpretation.
  “Exercise three times a week and run 5km” is clear enough to act on.

• Write them down clearly.

• Check in weekly and adjust if needed.

Try it this quarter and see how it goes.

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Loganair has made aviation history by completing the first all-electric flight in its network, using a battery-powered aircraft on a short UK route, marking a major step toward zero-emission regional travel.

Read more here.

Solar panels in the supermarket? The UK government plans to roll out low-cost “plug-in” solar panels in shops within months, letting households generate their own electricity simply by plugging panels into a socket.

Read more here.

A breakthrough pair of AI-powered smart glasses has won a £1million prize for helping people with dementia, using a virtual assistant to guide users through daily tasks, spark conversation, and support memory in real time.

Read more here.

A US jury has ordered Meta to pay hundreds of millions of dollars after finding it misled users about child safety risks on its platforms, in a landmark case over the impact of social media on young people.

Read more here.

After a 30-year conservation effort, kiwi have been returned to their ancestral Ngāti Rangi forest, marking a powerful milestone for both biodiversity and cultural restoration.

Read more here.

View some amazing wildlife photos in this gallery of animal stories from around the world.

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At its simplest, neurodiversity refers to the natural variation in how people think, process information, and interact with the world.

It includes people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and other cognitive differences.

Those labels can be useful, but they don’t tell the whole story. No two people experience neurodivergence in exactly the same way. Strengths, challenges, and preferences vary widely from person to person.

The value in different ways of thinking for workplaces

Neurodiverse team members may offer:

• Deep focus and sustained attention

• Creative problem-solving and idea generation

• Strong pattern recognition or systems thinking

• High levels of accuracy and attention to detail

• A tendency to question inefficient or outdated ways of doing things

When people think differently, they approach problems differently. That’s where better ideas come from.

Teams that include a mix of cognitive styles tend to:

• Solve problems more effectively

• Spot risks and opportunities others might miss

• Approach work from multiple angles, rather than defaulting to one way

And there’s a broader benefit too. Many of the changes that support neurodivergent employees, such as clearer communication, better processes, and greater flexibility, make work easier for everyone.

Designing for neurodiversity isn’t about creating a perfect system that works for every single person. It’s about building enough flexibility into how work happens that more people can find ways to work effectively within it.

Where problems can arise

Even well-intentioned organisations can create environments where some people have to work harder just to keep up.

Common friction points include:

• Vague or constantly changing instructions

• Expectations around communication style or “professionalism”

• Noisy, overstimulating office environments

• Hiring processes that prioritise interview performance over actual ability

These challenges won’t affect everyone in the same way. But they highlight how easily standard ways of working can exclude people without anyone intending them to.

What organisations can do to help

The good news is that many of the most effective changes are simple and low-cost.

A few practical starting points:

• Make expectations clear. Written instructions, defined outcomes, and fewer assumptions go a long way.

• Offer flexibility in how work gets done. Not everyone does their best work in the same way or at the same pace.

• Normalise different communication styles. Some people prefer direct, structured, or asynchronous communication.

• Create quieter options. Think remote work, quiet spaces, or just fewer unnecessary meetings.

• Rethink hiring. Work samples or task-based assessments often give a much better picture than interviews alone.

• Ask the question. “What helps you do your best work?” is a simple starting point.

Small adjustments like these create more room for people to find approaches that suit them.

What can help at an individual level

While workplaces have a big role to play, individuals often develop their own ways of making work more manageable and more aligned with how they naturally operate.

That can start with understanding your own patterns, like:

• When you tend to focus best

• What kinds of tasks feel easier or harder

• What environments or ways of working help or hinder you

From there, you can make small adjustments yourself or talk to your organisation leaders about changing things.

That might include suggesting changes such as:

• Asking for written follow-ups after meetings

• Clarifying priorities or deadlines upfront

• Proposing alternative ways to approach a task

• Letting colleagues know your preferred communication style

This doesn’t have to mean formally disclosing anything. Often, it’s about framing requests around outcomes:

• “I do my best work when…”

• “It would help me deliver this more effectively if…”

• “A small change that would make a difference is…”

Neurodiversity is a reminder that there isn’t one standard way to think or work and that trying to force one way often means missing out on what people can really contribute.

There’s no single approach that will work for everyone. But workplaces that allow for different styles, preferences, and ways of thinking are more likely to get the best out of all their people.

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They want to contribute to something meaningful by improving communities, protecting the environment, or supporting people through difficult circumstances.

That sense of purpose is a big part of what draws people to the sector.

But purpose-driven work can be emotionally demanding. Most jobs involve some level of pressure or stress. What makes the impact sector different is that the work is closely connected to issues people care deeply about — housing, poverty, health, climate, and community wellbeing.

And when the mission matters, the emotional weight of the work can be heavier.

That emotional labour can look like:

• finishing a conversation with someone in crisis and then having to move straight into the next meeting

• dealing with a funding decision that affects the services people rely on

• working on problems that don’t have clear or quick solutions

• trying to do more for less, if budgets are cut or you rely on volunteers

When emotional labour becomes a risk

In the impact sector, burnout often doesn’t come from people caring too little about the work. It comes from caring too much for too long without enough support.

Common signs include:

• feeling personally responsible for problems that are larger than one role or organisation

• carrying difficult conversations or situations home, or difficulty switching off from work

• feeling guilty about setting boundaries

What organisations can do

Organisations can’t remove the emotional weight of this work entirely. But they can make it easier for people to carry.

Practical steps include:

• normalising conversations about emotional load rather than treating it as a personal issue

• providing reflective supervision or debriefing space for roles that deal with difficult situations

• being realistic about workloads when teams are small and resources are limited

• encouraging people to take proper breaks and leave

What you can do as an individual

For people working in the sector, a few small shifts can also help make the work more sustainable.

For example:

• recognising that caring about the mission doesn’t mean carrying every problem personally

• building routines that help create a clear boundary between work and the rest of life

• talking openly with colleagues who understand the emotional side of the work

• noticing early signs of fatigue rather than pushing through them indefinitely

None of these totally remove the emotional side of the work. But they can make it easier to manage.

Purpose-driven work can be deeply rewarding. But it can also be emotionally demanding.

Recognising that emotional labour is part of the job and supporting people accordingly helps make work in the sector more sustainable.

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Find a better job.
Change careers.
Adopt a completely new productivity system.

Sometimes those things help. But much of the time, smaller adjustments to your schedule, your routine or your planning can be the answer.

Here are some small shifts that can make a big difference.

⭐️ One Hour of Focus Can Transform the Day

Many jobs now involve constant interruption, like messages, meetings and email notifications.

Even blocking one uninterrupted hour in your calendar can make a big difference. Treat it like an appointment and protect it from other meetings or calls.

⭐️ Shorter Emails Save Time

Many emails are longer than they need to be. A concise message stating the key question or decision, the context people actually need, and the response timeline can save time for everyone.

⭐️ Ending Meetings Early Creates Breathing Room

Back-to-back meetings leave no time to think, move around, or prepare for the next conversation.

Finishing meetings five or ten minutes early gives people a small buffer. They can stretch, grab a coffee, or simply pause before the next discussion.

⭐️ Not Everything Is Urgent

Some tasks genuinely are urgent. Most are not.

Being clear about timelines helps: “Could you look at this tomorrow?” or “Next week would be fine.” These simple signals make it easier for everyone to prioritise without unnecessary pressure.

Unclear timelines can also make planning difficult. A quick question like “When are you hoping to make a decision?” or “What timeline are you working to?” sets clear expectations for everyone.

⭐️ Clarify What “Done” Looks Like

Some tasks keep expanding because nobody has agreed on what “done” actually means.

Before starting a project, ask: What does a good enough version look like? This might be a two-page summary instead of a long report, or a draft ready for discussion rather than something perfectly polished.

⭐️ Clear Small Tasks Immediately

Some tasks take less than two minutes: replying to a simple question, approving something, or sending a document. Handling these quickly stops them from piling up and frees mental space.

⭐️ Match Work to Energy

Most people have times of day when thinking is easier. Use those hours for work requiring concentration — writing, planning, problem solving — and leave routine admin for lower-energy periods. Even small adjustments, like scheduling meetings later if mornings are prime thinking time, help.

Similarly, some conversations take more energy than others. After a tense discussion, a short break can help. A quick walk, fresh air, or switching briefly to a simple task helps reset focus.

⭐️ Assume Good Intent

Written messages are easy to misread. If a message seems abrupt, pause before reacting. A quick clarification, like “Just checking I understood this right…”, can prevent small misunderstandings from becoming bigger problems.

Small shifts like these don’t change everything. But they can make the day run a little more smoothly.

Which of these small shifts has made a difference in your workday? Or is there one you’d add to the list?

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For the first time in nearly two centuries, descendants of the Floreana giant tortoise, a subspecies thought to have been locally extinct since the mid-1800s, have been released back onto Floreana Island in the Galápagos as part of a major ecological restoration project.

Read more here.

American bobsleigh veteran Elana Meyers Taylor has seen her dedication pay off, finally winning her first Olympic gold at the Winter Olympics in the women’s monobob. With the win, she becomes the oldest individual Winter Olympic champion at 41 and the first mother to win Olympic bobsleigh gold. She’s also the most decorated black athlete at a Winter Olympics.

Read more here.

A stunning picture of a rare white humpback calf and her mother has won the World Nature Photography Awards.

Read more here.

Two siblings from New Zealand are preparing to lead a traditional voyaging waka (ocean canoe) from Napier, New Zealand, across the Pacific to Samoa and Fiji later this year, retracing the ancestral sea routes of their tīpuna (ancestors). They will use traditional wayfinding methods — navigating by stars, winds, ocean swells and birds rather than instruments — to honour and revitalise Māori and Pacific navigation knowledge.

Read more here.

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You’re left wondering whether you’re still being considered, whether to follow up, or whether it’s time to move on.

The most useful way to approach it is as a practical situation rather than a personal one.

Why organisations ghost

Ghosting isn’t always deliberate. Common reasons include:

• hiring timelines slipping or roles being paused

• decisions sitting with multiple stakeholders, none of whom are driving the process

• recruiters managing too many roles at once

• discomfort with sending rejections

• unclear ownership of candidate communication

None of these are good reasons, but they are common ones. They are also no reflection on your performance.

How to chase a ghost

You don’t need to wait indefinitely for an update.

If you haven’t been given a date as part of the process, then in general it’s reasonable to wait:

• three to five working days after submitting an application or having an initial conversation.

• five to seven working days after an interview.

If you’ve been given timelines as part of the process, then it’s reasonable to follow up a couple of business days after the deadline has passed.

Send a follow-up, but keep it clear and neutral.

For example:

Hi. I’m following up on my application. Please let me know if the role is still progressing.

That should be enough to prompt a response.

If there’s no response after your first follow-up, you might choose to send a second, especially if you are really keen on the role. If you still don’t get a reply, it’s usually best to move on.

How to reduce the chances and impact of being left hanging

You can’t control how an organisation runs its process, but you can set clear expectations upfront.

• Check the job ad for any initial timelines

  Often, ads will state when the applications will be reviewed or when interviews will be held. If the ad doesn’t say, you could email the recruiter and ask.

• Ask about timelines at the interview.
  A question like, “What does the rest of the process look like, and when should I expect to hear back?” gives you a reference point later.

• Confirm next steps before the conversation ends.
  A quick “So I should expect an update sometime next week?” helps make the process feel more concrete.

• Follow up on what they told you.
  If they gave you a date, you’re not chasing; you’re checking in on an agreed timeline. This isn’t unreasonable if you are a good enough candidate to have made it to the interview stage.

• Keep other applications moving.
  Not hinging everything on one role is the simplest way to reduce the impact of being ghosted.

These won’t eliminate ghosting, but they do make it easier to know when it’s reasonable to follow up or move on.

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Time to reframe. There’s more than one way to find love — friends, family, yourself, and your communities matter too.

Here’s why those four types of relationships can bring you benefits, on Valentine’s Day and year-round.

Friends

Friends often hold your life together when work or romantic relationships shift and offer a perspective that’s hard to get elsewhere. They often know your history, your patterns, and your sense of humour. They remember who you were before your current job, relationship, or life phase.

Friendship is also practical. A friend might help you move, pick up groceries when you’re sick, or just sit with you while you vent. These moments aren’t dramatic, but they’re reliable.

Chosen family plays the same role. These are relationships built on trust and shared responsibility rather than obligation. They often exist because people have decided, deliberately, to rely on each other.

Nurture your friendships by checking in regularly, even when life gets busy. Planning a coffee, sending a quick message and remembering birthdays or milestones are all great ways to be a good friend.

Family

Family relationships tend to provide long-term stability. They’re the people who show up repeatedly, even when nothing exciting is happening.

It can be easy to take family relationships for granted, so make sure you show your gratitude and spend time having fun as well as just doing all those everyday things.

Work and community

You spend lots of time with the people you work with, especially if you work on-site each day. Some co-workers you might get really close to, maybe even developing a friendship outside of the office.

Even colleagues you aren’t super close to can still provide support, whether it’s for a specific work task or more generally.

In your community, developing relationships with your neighbours can help you feel safer and contribute to a better atmosphere. Neighbours can also provide practical support, even if it’s as simple as putting your bins away or keeping an eye on your house if you are on holiday.

Yourself

Loving yourself is important. If all else falls away, you can rely on yourself.

Self-care, like good sleep, setting boundaries, and sticking to basic routines, makes you more patient, clearer in your thinking, and less reactive.

And when you feel good about yourself, you have more to give to other people.

Romantic love is often intense and visible. The other kinds are quieter, but they’re still important.

Having a mix of relationships offers you stability and more sources of support, which means when one wanes, another can step up to take the load.

You don’t need to reject Valentine’s Day. Just notice the other forms of love around you. Friends who check in, family and communities who support you and routines that keep you healthy.

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Sales of battery-electric vehicles (EVs) in the European Union exceeded those of standard petrol-only cars for the first time in December 2025, marking a historic milestone in the region’s shift away from internal-combustion engines. The data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) show that registrations of fully electric cars rose sharply while petrol car sales declined.

Read more here.

A former quarry near Hamilton has been transformed into a flourishing arboretum after decades of patient work by its owners. Once a barren, rocky site, it now features tens of thousands of trees from around the world, ponds, walking tracks and outdoor sculptures, and attracts thousands of visitors each year.

Read more here.

More bans on social media for teenagers are coming. The UK is considering a ban, as well as banning phones during the school day, and France has also voted to do so.

Read more here and here.

Swifts in Scotland will have better protection thanks to new legislation requiring all new homes to have “swift bricks” to create safer nesting sites.

Read more here.

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Today, many people’s careers don’t move in a straight line. In reality, they include pauses, plateaus, sideways moves, even shifts into whole new careers, and that’s just fine.

Linear careers are a myth

The standard model assumes steady upward progression with increasing responsibility, more seniority, and better pay.

In practice, that model ignores real life, which throws in things like:

• health or energy fluctuations

• caring responsibilities

• high-pressure periods that need recovery

• work that matters but doesn’t come with promotion

• industries that shift faster than roles

It also assumes your priorities stay the same. They don’t. What made sense at one stage of life may no longer fit later.

Pauses are often practical

If you take a break, there’s usually a good reason. Maybe you are stepping back to recover from illness or mental health issues, or perhaps you need more time to handle life responsibilities. Or maybe you pause because your current role no longer matches what you can realistically give or what you want.

These pauses often prevent bigger problems like burnout, rushed decisions, or leaving the workforce altogether.

Plateaus aren’t problems either

Not every phase of work is about growth. Stability can matter more than progression, particularly when life outside work requires energy.

Plateaus only become an issue if they stop meeting your needs. Pushing for change just because you feel you “should” rarely helps.

Sideways moves sometimes make sense

Lateral moves often get overlooked because they don’t look like progress. In reality, they can:

• reduce pressure

• allow recovery after demanding roles

• broaden skills

• let you shift direction without starting over

Sideways moves are often smarter than forcing upward movement that isn’t sustainable.

Complete changes are no longer seen as negative

Many people these days find new interests, which in turn can lead to new careers. And sometimes, as your circumstances or values change, you might find yourself leaning towards a complete shift. Maybe that’s from corporate to the for-purpose sector, working for a charity or not-for-profit. Maybe it’s from a desk job to an active outdoor career, or maybe it’s a shift into something part-time like local retail when you are done with your full-time career but not quite ready to retire completely.

Those kinds of changes are no longer frowned upon. And by highlighting transferable skills and showing your passion, you can more easily step into a new chapter.

Building a sustainable career

A lot of career stress comes from comparing yourself to others. Faster progression usually comes with trade-offs like longer hours, more stress, and less flexibility. That may suit some stages of life, but not others. It might suit some people but not others.

Pauses, plateaus, lateral moves and total shifts are all normal. The question isn’t whether your career looks linear. It’s whether it fits the life you’re actually living and the path you want to follow.

Have you ever shifted in a non-linear way? Do you have advice for anyone looking to do the same?

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The benefits of hybrid working for employees

• Better use of energy
  Different tasks suit different environments. Office time often works best for collaboration, discussion, and decision-making. Non-office time can support focused, uninterrupted work.

• Less wasted time
  Fewer commutes mean fewer dead hours at the start and end of the day. You don’t have to fill that with work, although you can if you feel productive. But it also reduces stress and gives you more time to relax.

• Flexibility for real life
  Hybrid arrangements can make it easier to manage caring responsibilities, health needs, appointments, or everyday logistics without constantly taking leave.

• Trust and autonomy
  Being trusted to manage where you work can increase motivation and engagement, particularly for experienced staff who are clear on expectations and outcomes.

The benefits of hybrid working for employers

• Retention and recruitment
  Flexibility is now a baseline expectation for many workers. Hybrid options help retain staff and widen the pool of people who can realistically take on a role.

• More intentional use of office space
  Offices become places for collaboration and connection rather than default work locations. This often leads to better use of space and, in some cases, lower costs.

• Less presenteeism
  Hybrid working can shift focus from visibility to outputs. Done well, this leads to clearer expectations and fairer performance assessment.

• Greater resilience
  Teams that can work effectively across locations are often better equipped to handle disruption, change, or growth.

The drawbacks of hybrid working for employees

• Blurred boundaries
  Flexibility can quietly turn into extended availability. Without clear limits, work can creep into home life and make switching off harder.

• Heavier communication load
  Working remotely can lead to more meetings, messages, and documentation requirements.

• Reduced visibility
  Employees who are in the office less may worry — sometimes with good reason — about being overlooked for opportunities or progression.

• Harder learning curves
  New or junior staff can miss out on informal learning, quick questions, and observation unless these are deliberately built in.

The drawbacks of hybrid working for employers

• Inequity between roles
  Not all jobs can be done remotely. If flexibility is uneven or poorly explained, resentment can build quickly.

• Proximity bias
  Managers may unconsciously favour those they see more often. This requires active effort to counteract.

• Coordination overhead
  Scheduling collaboration and decision-making takes more planning in hybrid environments.

• The risk of half-measures
  Mandatory office days with no clear purpose or policies that exist only on paper often leave everyone frustrated.

Is hybrid right for your role?

Before raising the topic with your employer, it’s worth doing a brief reality check.

Which parts of your work require sustained focus, and which benefit from collaboration? How often do you genuinely need to be physically present to do your job well? How are your outcomes measured? When has being in the office added real value, and when has it mostly added noise?

How to approach your employer about hybrid working

Before the conversation, consider your organisation’s culture and any existing policies. Be specific about what you’re asking for — particular days, a level of flexibility, or a trial period — rather than a vague request for “hybrid”.

During the conversation, focus on outcomes rather than convenience. Explain how the arrangement would support your work and your team. Acknowledge constraints and offer solutions. Suggesting a time-limited trial with a review point often lands better than asking for a permanent change upfront.

It also helps to show you’ve thought through the practicalities like communication, availability, handovers, and accountability.

How to make hybrid work as an organisation

Hybrid working succeeds when responsibility doesn’t sit solely with individual employees.

Organisations need clear, explicit expectations around availability, communication, and performance. Office days should have a purpose rather than existing just because you think they should.

Managers need support and guidance to manage hybrid teams well, particularly around avoiding proximity bias and supporting learning. Junior staff and new hires often need more structured check-ins and clearer pathways to informal learning.

Hybrid arrangements should also be reviewed regularly. What works for one team, or at one stage of growth, may not work forever.

Hybrid working isn’t about making work nicer. It’s about making it workable.

It helps in some roles and not in others. What matters is being clear about when it’s useful, when it isn’t, and what people are actually expected to do.

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At this time of year, your attention span might be a bit uneven, routines aren’t quite back in place and you might be finding it takes you a bit longer to do normal tasks.

That’s normal.

A few practical choices early on can make the early period of back to work easier, and set you up for a good year.

1. Don’t restart everything at once

The instinct is to pick up every project, meeting and responsibility where you left off before Christmas.

But you might not need to. Instead list what genuinely needs attention in the next couple of weeks and focus on that.

If something can wait until February without real consequences, let it. Spreading yourself too thin early is what creates the feeling of being behind before the year has properly started.

2. Limit how quickly your calendar fills

January calendars tend to get busy. Before saying yes to commitments see if you can:

• combine meetings where possible

• shorten them

• make them different — try a walking meeting or a lunch meeting

• push non-essential ones out a few weeks

3. Start with contained work

Early in the year is a good time for work that has clear edges: tasks you can start and finish without too many dependencies.

Leave the messier, more ambiguous projects until you’ve got some rhythm back.

4. Assume your energy is lower than usual

Most planning assumes ideal energy. January rarely offers that.

Work as if your capacity is slightly reduced:

• fewer big decisions per day

• more space between demanding tasks

• less stacking of meetings

If you end up with more energy than expected, that’s a bonus. Planning for less tends to work better than constantly compensating for too much.

5. Pick one thing to make workdays easier

Skip the full reset. Choose one practical adjustment that reduces daily friction.

For example:

• clearer start and finish times

• turning off one notification channel

• batching email or admin

• giving yourself a treat, like a Monday morning coffee run

If you start a little slower, limit what you take on, and plan around the energy you actually have, you’re less likely to hit that familiar wall a few months in.

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That can cause a sense of panic and a feeling that you need to set New Year’s resolutions and then overhaul every part of your life. And then, instead of being useful, the plan just becomes another thing to keep up with, or quietly fail at.

In reality, you don’t need an intricate system or a colour-coded life blueprint to have a good year. In fact, for many people, the more detailed the plan, the faster it becomes overwhelming. A gentler reset can be far more effective. Plan just enough to give yourself some direction, without trying to account for every possible version of the year ahead.

Focus on the things that matter

Rather than trying to map out everything, it’s often more useful to focus on a smaller set of questions:

• What matters most to me this year?

• What do I realistically have capacity for?

• What do I want to protect — time, energy, health, relationships?

If you didn’t do it in December, then doing a quick review of last year now can help you answer the questions above. Look at what went right, what didn’t go so well and what you found draining and energising.

Take a simple view of the year

If you want something concrete, a one-page overview is usually enough.

Take a year planner and mark your known commitments and non-negotiables. Block out busy work periods, travel, family events, and admin like dental or hair appointments.

This helps you get life admin that often gets forgotten, or fun (but important) stuff like a holiday booked in early, so they don’t get lost in the mix and forgotten when things get busy.

Once you have those building blocks in place, look for patterns. Where does the year get busy? Where do you have more space? This helps to see the shape of your year so you know when you might need to protect your energy levels and when you might be able to schedule some extra things.

Fewer priorities give you more flexibility

Often, at the start of the new year, you want to do a complete overhaul. Career, health, finances, relationships, personal growth — all neatly covered.

In reality, most people can only meaningfully focus on a small number of things at once.

Choosing just one or two priorities, an overarching theme or a word for the year guides you without overwhelming and without tying you to too many specifics.

Leaving space on purpose

Detailed plans tend to assume your energy will stay consistent — that you’ll show up the same way in March as you do in January.

One of the more overlooked planning skills is knowing when to stop.

Not every gap needs filling. Not every week needs to be productive. Leaving some space in the year makes it easier to respond when energy dips or circumstances change.

A small amount of structure, some awareness of your limits, and a bit of space left open will usually take you further than an overly detailed plan ever does.

How do you plan your year? In great detail or just a light overview with room to breathe? Have you changed your planning style over time?

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Want to feel better this year? There are science-backed changes you can make.

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A New Zealand couple made a surprising discovery when they brought their Christmas tree home — three tiny hatchlings hidden in the branches. With experience in animal rescue, they fed and cared for the birds, later identifying them as greenfinches and naming them Finch, Grinch and Egg.

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A new joint WHO and World Bank Global Monitoring Report shows that most countries have expanded health service coverage and reduced financial hardship from health costs since 2000.

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An 81-year-old great-grandmother made history at this year’s Rhythm and Vines music festival by performing her very first live DJ set under the name DJ SuperGran, becoming the oldest artist in the festival’s lineup, challenging stereotypes about ageing, and generally having a great time!

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Our planet is still facing plenty of challenges, but in the past year, more than a few good things have happened, and there have been some quiet wins.

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Animals. Doing funny things. Can’t go wrong.

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Australia has introduced a world-first law banning children under 16 from using major social media platforms, requiring companies to take steps to stop under-16s from creating accounts or using services like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and others as part of a broader effort to protect young people online.

Read more here.

The UK government is planning to ban AI “deepfake nudification” apps that can generate sexually explicit images of people without their consent, especially those created using artificial intelligence. The move is part of broader efforts to tighten online safety and regulate harmful AI-driven content.

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Scientists at Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London have developed a “ready-made” gene therapy using gene-edited immune cells (BE-CAR7) to treat previously incurable T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), a rare and aggressive blood cancer.

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Ever felt better after uttering an expletive? A new study from Keele University suggests that swearing can help people perform better and push themselves harder in challenging situations by freeing them from self-restraint and boosting focus, confidence and effort.

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White storks are set to return to the Dagenham area of east London for the first time in around 600 years as part of a rewilding and nature restoration project. Conservationists are also planning to reintroduce beavers to local waterways, reflecting growing efforts to restore lost species and enhance biodiversity in urban environments.

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And lastly, if you are yet to wrap your Christmas gifts and are looking for the perfect formula - give this story a read and try some maths!

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It’s also a time when energy levels dip, and there’s plenty of other distractions to manage too. Here’s how to finish the work year, without being so tired you can’t enjoy your festive break.

Step back before you step forward

Before pushing ahead, take 10–15 quiet minutes to look at what you’re actually trying to finish. A small pause now can save you hours of flustered, aimless work later.

Try a mini-audit:

• What genuinely needs to be done before the break?

• What could be shifted to January without consequences?

• What can be gently crossed off the list altogether?

Instead of trying to clear your entire backlog, choose a “must-finish” list of three to five items.

Work in small bursts

Big energy is rare in December. Rather than expecting yourself to push through, use short, focused blocks of 20 to 40 minutes to move important tasks forward.

Keep meetings light and short where you can and leave buffers in your schedule; December always throws curveballs.

Communicate so you don’t have to scramble

You can avoid a lot of last-minute stress simply by setting expectations early. A quick message like: “I may not get this completed before the break, so can we pick it up in the new year?” or “I can get XYZ done, but ABC will need to wait until January.” can help to set boundaries with managers, colleagues or clients.

These small signals help people plan around you and keep you from quietly panicking when you realise you can’t fit everything in.

Do some things to make it easier for January you

Before you log out for the final time this year, do a few small things that will make coming back in January easier.

• Clear the inbox backlog (or at least archive everything older than a few weeks).

• Tidy your desk so you’re not returning to a total mess.

• Make a short “first week back” list so you don’t waste energy remembering where you left off.

Take a quick look back

Before signing off for the year, take a few minutes to reflect.

Ask yourself:

• What worked pretty well?

• What didn’t go the way you hoped?

• What would you like a little more (or less) of next year?

You don’t need to form any plans right now, but understanding your thoughts can help you when you start planning next year.

These simple steps can help tie up loose ends, successfully complete projects and get ready to enjoy the festivities.

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If you’re trying to keep things manageable this year, here are a few practical ideas that might help.

Start with your capacity

Before calendars disappear under a sea of RSVPs, take a quiet moment to look at your calendar. Think about:

• How much energy you have

• What sort of events make you happy, and which ones are more of a struggle

• How many events in a row you can cope with and when you will need a break

Once you’ve worked out what you can manage, you can set some boundaries and plan your rejection strategy if you need to. Remember, there’s nothing wrong with…

• Setting boundaries so you aren’t committed to staying for the whole event

• Saying no to some invitations

• Changing your mind later on

Most people are pretty understanding, so don’t be afraid to politely say no.

Keeping work events manageable

Work functions can be fun, but they can also become a string of late nights and small talk when you’re already end-of-year tired.

A few things that help:

• Decide what you’re willing to attend and let the rest go.

• Check if a work friend or colleague you get on with is going, so you have someone to talk to

• Give yourself an exit plan — taking your own car, or being clear about timing.

• Don’t feel obliged to match anyone else’s drinking or energy levels.

• Showing up briefly is still participating. You don’t need to be the last one at the bar.

Lowering the pressure at family gatherings

Family Christmas can be great. It can also be loud, emotional, or simply a lot of people in one place for longer than anyone intended.

Some practical approaches:

• Set a rough time you’ll stay, and stick to it.

• Share the workload so one person isn’t carrying the whole event.

• Take a breather if things get tense — a walk, a quick drive, sitting outside for a few minutes.

• Consider organising some things that capture attention, like a movie viewing or playing a game (but make it optional so people don’t feel coerced).

• Consider offering to host if you feel more comfortable in your own home and you are happy to have people round. This can work well if you have children, as they can retreat to their own space if they need to.

If you’re introverted (or just running on low battery)

Not everyone finds socialising energising, especially in bulk. Small, doable resets that can help:

• Step outside for a few minutes when you need space.

• Find a corner or a quieter person to chat to.

• Build in downtime on the days around big events.

• Choose smaller catch-ups when that’s an option.

Most people have one or two things in December that they genuinely look forward to, and a long list of things they don’t mind but don’t necessarily need.

It’s okay to prioritise the few that matter and treat the rest as optional. And don’t forget to add in some space for errands and other December tasks, and some time where simply nothing happens — instead, you catch up on some sleep, watch your favourite show or read a book, or just sit quietly and relax.

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