Hi Reader,

This week I went to a 110th birthday party.

Not for a person but for Troop 6 in Brookline, Massachusetts - a Scout troop that has been meeting, tying knots, burning marshmallows and building character continuously since 1916.

I find this almost impossible to believe. Most organizations don’t last a decade. This one has outlasted two world wars, the invention of the internet (and perhaps more challenging - social media) and many, many predictions of its own irrelevance.

It has not been an easy 110 years. Scouting has had some real failures, real harms and real reckoning to deal with. Longevity is not the same as virtue. But they have adapted and changed, and much more than people think. As a volunteer-led organization, it is not a monolith applying and requiring the same set of rules. It’s more a kaleidoscope that provides some structures and constraints, but otherwise relies on the local volunteer leaders to share and most importantly model what leadership and good character can mean.

​Michele Zanini (a friend and neighbour) and Gary Hamel’s Humanocracy names what I think is core to being a part of Scouting (whether Scouting America or Girl Scouts): the best institutions are ones where the structure exists to unlock the potential of the humans within them, not the other way round. Scouting is a national and an international brand. Troop 6 isn’t. It’s people in a neighborhood on a Tuesday night, unlocking Scouts first - and then, quietly, the adults too.

I’ve been a Scout dad on both sides, Scouting America and Girl Scouts. Same motto for both: Be Prepared. Same slogan: Do a Good Turn Daily.

Which brings me to a lesson I keep learning. What is truly heroic - in the Scouts and the leaders, and what really returns the greatest reward - is showing up. Again and again. For years. That is the lion’s share of the magic (that and of course getting outside!).

So many thanks to Dr. Jason Soderblom and the other Scout leaders I recognized in this LinkedIn post.

So I spent the week thinking about and sharing a little of what I learned in trying to be a good Scout dad. The first lessons were the simplest and the most powerful - gratitude and the power of just showing up.

• On Wednesday, I explored knots, knowledge work and ties that bind or break​
• On Thursday, I tried to think about what is the Scout pocket knife of knowledge work​

Community notes

The student cohort is full. We’re learning so much together, both about how to lean into learning and living well while in high school, college and beyond, and about how to establish new systems and routines while adjusting to big life changes.

Together we’re exploring learning theory and some of the best practices out there - the newest tools (RemNote and yes AI tools used wisely), some of the oldest tools (paper) and some of the most powerful - reflection and active recall.

Personally, I’ve loved relearning some of the fundamental equations in physics and how to use LaTeX to quickly capture mathematical concepts in text. If you want to geek out and relearn trigonometric values for common angles (who doesn’t!) - here’s a RemNote based refresher​

What’s new in MakeTimeFlow

There is a new little big thing in the platform that I’d like to spend more time talking about (the interesting research) in another newsletter. It’s already embedded in all the rituals so see if you can find it ;-)

The rest of the week was spent on smoothness - letting you flow more easily in moving and prioritizing and reprioritizing tasks in your thinking space (outline) and actionable lists, connecting quickly to all your current success stories (Cmd+K, type “story”) - and getting out of your way/protect mental clarity - coaching suggestions now wait for your reflections, better defaults for which tasks do and don’t show up in your today list.

I hope you’ve had a wonderful week. I hope you have people in your life whom you show up for, and who show up for you.

Yours in flow,
Narath