EDITION 837
28 SEPTEMBER 2020

As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. This newsletter is sent to 50,000+ subscribers each Monday at 10am. Please share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can subscribe, learn and engage. I'd be very grateful if you did.

1. How to embrace the power of restraint. Extroverted behaviour can be more effective in business when it’s infused with restraint. To practice more restraint, and stay focused on the things that really matter, try these methods: [READ MORE]

2. Labour records first poll lead of the Boris Johnson era. Labour has enjoyed its first poll lead since Boris Johnson became prime minister. Keir Starmer’s party now has a three-point lead over the Conservatives, according to the latest Opinium poll, which puts Labour on 42% support, with the Conservatives on 39%. The Observer says the numbers mark “an extraordinary changes in fortunes for the two main parties”. BBC

3. Count your blessings. The 20 things people value most include family, the NHS and Wi-Fi. A faithful partner and good health are no surprise at the top of the list of things we value – but access to Wi-Fi [#3] is now so vital it rates above our parents [#7]. Essentials to keep us ticking over include eating out [#19], a trip to the seaside [#16] and a Netflix subscription [#13]. According to the research, eight in 10 of us count our blessings for having a settled home life with well-behaved kids and a loving partner. Three quarters value their health and more than half need holidays and short breaks to get them by. Daily Mirror

4. Attenborough breaks Instagram record. Sir David Attenborough has broken Jennifer Aniston's record for the fastest time to reach a million followers on Instagram. At 94 years young, the naturalist's follower count raced to seven figures in four hours 44 minutes on Thursday, according to Guinness World Records. His debut post said: "Saving our planet is now a communications challenge." Last October, Friends star Aniston reached the milestone in five hours and 16 minutes. Evening Standard

5. The key to steering clear of burnout. As many professionals keep working from home amid the pandemic, many of us have begun to treat our workdays as a single, endless sprint. Such break-less days can render us exhausted, and that helps no one. To thrive during this remote work marathon of a moment, we need to build in several breaks throughout the day. There are five key moments we can step away: pre-work, pre-lunch, lunch, post-lunch and, finally, post-work. The main idea? When we're intentional about pressing pause, we give ourselves the mental nourishment to power through the day. Editor

6. Ministers are planning a total social lockdown. The government is preparing to impose a “total social lockdown” across much of northern Britain and London to combat a “spiralling second wave” of coronavirus. The emergency plan would see all pubs, restaurants and bars ordered to shut for at least two weeks. Households would be banned indefinitely from meeting each other in any indoor location where they were not already under that restriction. The Times

7. Reporting breaches of “rule of six.” Only 12% of adults in England and Scotland say they’d call the police if their friends were breaking the “rule of six”, and even fewer (7%) would inform on their immediate family. But17% would be willing to rat on their colleagues, 24% on neighbours, and 32% on strangers. Conservatives are more likely to sneak than others: 43% of Tory voters say they’d call the police on strangers, but only 28% and 26% of Labour and Lib Dem voters, respectively, would. YouGov

8. Premium bonds and other savings hit by interest cuts. Up to 25 million savers will see their returns plunge after National Savings and Investments (NS&I) slashed its interest rates. NS&I, which is backed by the Treasury, will slash rates on several accounts and significantly worsen the odds on winning in its Premium Bonds prize draw. The move has been described by analysts as “devastating” for the market and savers. BBC

9. WHO warns Covid death toll could double to two million. The global death toll from Covid-19 could hit two million before an effective vaccine is widely used, the World Health Organization has warned. Almost one million people have died so far but virus infections continue to rise, with 32 million cases confirmed globally. Across England, one in 500 people are believed to have had Covid-19 last week. The Guardian

10. The bottom line. The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the equivalent of $3.5tn (£2.7tn) in lost working hours during the first three quarters of 2020 compared to the same period last year, according to the International Labour Organization. While an earlier estimate from the organisation suggested the equivalent of 400 million full-time jobs would be lost in the second quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, the number is now estimated to be closer to 495 million full-time jobs lost during that time. Financial Times