Tiny Glimmers #1 - New Beginnings & Slow January

What if everything could be different...

Jenny Lachs

Jan 31, 2024

Welcome to the very first edition of Tiny Glimmers! ✨

I can't even tell you how much overthinking has gone into this first edition. 🤯

Kind of ironic considering I wanted to start a new newsletter to help me fall back in love with writing.

But here we are, and not a moment too soon...

New year, new newsletter?

I had promised myself to publish the first edition in January 2024, so, of course, I waited until the 31st.

Classic.

All my good intentions of starting the year off slowly went down the drain in week two. I somehow got sucked into the whole January hustle once again.

When you think about it, it's bizarre how much pressure we put on ourselves during the first month of the year. Especially as it's the middle of the winter here in the Northern Hemisphere.❄️

But then I realised, this is actually the perfect way to kick off Tiny Glimmers.

After all, the whole point of this newsletter is to practice stretching my imagination! To envision how the world might be different 10, 20 or 50 years from now.

So I'd love to take you on a little journey to January 10 years from now, let's see what's changed…

✨

Welcome to 2034...

[Monday, January 9th, 2034]

I woke up so excited this morning. It was my first day back at work after the holidays and I couldn't wait to see some of my friends for brunch.

January Brunch has become a tradition in my town. It's so popular that we do it all month long. Today we met up at 11 am for hot chocolate, pancakes and a good catch-up. Afterwards, I did a few hours of work before heading out around 3 to enjoy a few rays of winter sun on my walk home.

I never thought I'd say this, but since the UK followed the EU and US and introduced 'Slow January', it's become one of my favourite months of the year.

I still remember what it was like before, though.

When we'd spend all December running around like crazy buying stuff we didn't need. Even on Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Then, on January 2nd, we'd be expected to be back at the office, to "hit the ground running". "New Year, new me!" and all that nonsense.

Leaving the house in the dark and leaving work when it was dark again. No wonder we were all depressed.

Woof. I feel exhausted just thinking about it.

Of course, that was when we still viewed GDP as the measure of a healthy society. Before we followed in Bhutan's footsteps and switched to measuring the GNH (gross national happiness). As soon as the goal changed, we remembered that winter was a time for rest, recovery, and slowness - and we started embracing that again.

So now, the first week of January is a week of rest for everyone. Only essential workers are on duty and they get paid 3 times overtime.

During the 2nd week of the month, we start going back to work, but only at 25% capacity. In week 3 at 50% capacity, and week 4 at 75%. It's pretty simple, really.

And by the time we get to February, everyone's re-acclimatised to working our usual 3-day workweek.

Turns out this slow and gentle start to the year is good for our mental and physical health AND the planet. It massively lowers emissions when people stay home, nap, read and go for walks.

Who would have thought...

✨

Oooh, that was my very first tiny glimmer! 🥳

Back to today (and reality)

Ok, you might think “That's a lovely little story Jenny, but never in a million years could that ever happen”. 🙄

And I get that, it's not easy to imagine the world being so utterly different from how it is today.

But that doesn't mean it's impossible.

In fact, futurist Jim Dator said:

“Any useful statement about the future should at first seem ridiculous.”

Signals of Change

And while my 'Slow January' story might “at first seem ridiculous”, a lot of the ideas I incorporated are already happening today:

The 4-day work week is gaining traction across the world. And with the advances in AI that we're already seeing, it doesn't take a big leap to imagine a 3-day work week (Bill Gates thinks so, too).
Many countries are looking beyond GDP growth to measure success. Like Bhutan or New Zealand which is part of The Wellbeing Economy Alliance.
Keeping shops closed on bank holidays leads to lower emissions - so a day of rest could help fight climate change.

Futurists call these kinds of clues "signals of change".

And while we can never predict the future, we can use these signals to help us get a better idea of what it might look like. And how to prepare for it and usher it in.

So this is what Tiny Glimmers will be all about.

🧪 It's brand new and a total experiment

So we'll see where it goes.

The main themes I want to explore are around climate change:

😔 Climate emotions (like eco-anxiety and climate grief)
✨ How imagination can help us navigate them
🛠️ And how envisioning a better world is the first step towards building it
Plus mental health, wellbeing, nature, food, travel, fashion!

❇️ For each glimmer I write, I will also share some signals of change to show that my imagined future might be closer than we think.

📚 And I'll share my favourite books, blogs, podcasts and resources on all of these topics.

🔮 Let’s imagine together

Most importantly, Tiny Glimmers will be a space for me to practice flexing my own imagination - and to invite you along for the journey.

Because collective imagination is what truly has the power to change the world.

So I would love to hear from you:

What futures are you imagining?
Do you find it hard to imagine anything different than the world today? (you’re not alone!)
What topics would you like to explore?
What signals of change have you stumbled across lately?