Sunday Setup
A weekly newsletter to help get your mind set up for a positive workweek.
08.03.2025 — Concert Crasher
Bishop Takes Night
Everybody loves music. Maybe not the exact same music, but you'd probably have to travel the world three times to find a human who doesn't like melodic singing, a funky baseline, and an infectious beat that gets you out your seat. And judging from recent events, that third trip would end in central London.
Last Friday a jam-packed church concert in Holborn, London was cut short when a barefoot bishop wearing a dressing gown pulled the plug on the praise and worship. As the concert was nearing the end, Jonathan Baker, the bishop of Fulham, emerged out of nowhere — perhaps from his bell tower — and lambasted the choir for making "a terrible racket" past 10 pm.
Many of the audience members thought the church curmudgeon was a character in a prank, but Bishop Begone (from my sight) was dead serious when he was caught on a dis cam telling everyone to "leave his house." Crestfallen and confused, the choir complied and instructed the audience to vacate the premises immediately. But one monkey don't stop no show.
Everyone was so present and in the moment, what started as a regular ol' concert ended as an epic, one-pub pub crawl. While angrily filing out of the church, the audience's outrage inspired the choir to perform an a cappella version of the their last song — Abba's Dancing Queen — which was met with the joyful noise of a thunderous applause and a trip to the neighborhood pub.
Let the church say Cheers — and Amen.
Be Here Now
When was the last time you were fully present at work? I mean in a "firing on all cylinders," deep, focus flow state that helped you efficiently produce a piece of work that enhanced your self-confidence.
For most of us, those type of moments are fleeting. We're often expected to manage multiple responsibilities while navigating even more interruptions, so we rush through tasks, bounce between meetings, and check items off a list without ever really being there for any of it. If you frequently find yourself feeling exhausted and unfulfilled at the end of the day, presence may be the missing ingredient.
Being present while you work isn’t about doing less. It’s about showing up more fully by giving your attention, energy, and care to whatever’s in front of you. When you’re fully immersed in a task, you make fewer mistakes and you notice subtleties that you might miss while multitasking. Plus, presence reduces the mental friction — and burnout — that comes from constantly switching gears.
When you're scattered, your body stays tense, even if you're sitting still. Presence calms the breath, softens the shoulders, and signals to your body that it's safe to focus. Over time, this reduces chronic stress, improves mood, and increases your ability to think clearly under pressure.
Now, if you're thinking the idea of being more present at work makes sense in theory, but is easier said than done, trust me, I get it. I was so overloaded with tasks recently, when I tried to offload some to ChatGPT, he replied, "Bro, I'm busy too!" But while the concept of presence at work may seem a bit contrived and Pollyannic, it's actually achievable with the consistent application of a few techniques.
Begin with a One-Breath Pause
While it may sound overly simplistic, taking a couple of seconds to consciously inhale and exhale before you open that file or join that call can change the way you approach the task. Saying to yourself — mentally or out loud — "This is what I'm doing now” can lead to enhanced focus.Work in Sprints
The Pomodoro Technique — not to be confused with Pomodoro Sauce — increases focus through time boxing. Set a timer for, say 25 minutes, then commit to working non-stop until the timer sounds. When it does, take a short break, say 5 minutes, to focus on something else — a walk, a quick stretch, a social media doom scroll — then get back to work. Rinse and repeat until your work is done or it's time to go home.Close Before You Continue
When you finally finish a task, don't immediately hop right into the next one. Instead, pause for a moment to acknowledge what you just completed. Engaging in a little self reflection with a question like, “Can I appreciate my effort, even if it wasn’t perfect?”, can help you shift from autopilot to intentional flow for the next task.
Presence at work isn’t some abstract ideal. It’s a decision — moment by moment — to bring your full self to what matters. You don’t need a quiet retreat or a silent inbox to practice it. You just need one task, one breath, one small return.
Let that be enough.