“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” -Jim Rohn

How To Be Smarter With One Simple Habit

We all want to know how to be smarter, but what if I told you there was a single habit that could give you leverage over the majority of other people in the world?

It will boost your creativity and problem-solving skills. 

It will inspire you. 

It will help you relax. 

It will help you empathize with others.

It will make you smarter, richer, happier, and more interesting.

It’s a habit billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet credit for their immense success. Yet it is also something most of us claim to not “have time for”. 

What is this high-leverage habit?

Reading.

I know what you’re thinking. 

You are busy, and you don’t have the free time and flexibility of a billionaire. It would be nice, you say, but it’s just not realistic.

In most cases, people know why reading is beneficial. 

It’s like going to the gym- you want to, you intend to, but life always gets in the way. It’s just one of those things. 

So today, my goal is not to tell you why you should read, but how. 

I will share the lessons I’ve learned to go from reading almost nothing on a daily basis to easily reading over ten hours a week. 

My goal?

To give you the single most powerful tool possible to generate creative interdisciplinary solutions.

Step #1: Pick Material You’re Excited To Learn About.

One of the big mistakes that get people disillusioned with reading is simply picking a painfully boring book, and then refusing to break up with it. 

There are two ways to avoid this. 

One is to only give a chance to the books you’re excited about.

Don’t be pressured by what everyone else is reading, what is (or is not) a New York Times bestseller, or what you think is a more “impressive” book to say you have read. 

Remember, you don’t have to justify your reading to anyone.

Two is to put down a book once you realize it’s bad.

Don’t fall prey to the mindset that you need to “commit” to a book, even once it becomes apparent that it’s a waste of time for you.

If it bores you, you will probably not be able to retain the information anyway. 

Use ChatGPT to help you. 

Once you find books you are genuinely excited about, put them on a list so that you remember to order them

Feel free to use the following ChatGPT prompt below to help confirm this is a book you will love.

You can follow up this prompt by asking ChatGPT to recommend additional titles based on what your interests are.

Just copy and paste, then personalize it for yourself: 

I am interested in [insert here some ideas, authors, concepts, hobbies, or genres you are interested in exploring], and I typically enjoy content like [insert here books, movies, articles, podcasts, or YouTube channels you have enjoyed in the past]. Based on this, please help me decide whether to read [insert here book you are considering].

Step #2: Make it into a game. 

Now you have the book, and the question is how on earth to make the time to read it. 

The first thing is to realize that you have the time, but not the priority. 

Ouch.

If you, like many of us, spend more time on Instagram or Netflix than with a book in your hands, this is the uncomfortable truth.

Not to fear!

There is hope because now you can see that it’s possible to fit reading into your life if you want to. 

In fact, the trick I use to read more is the same trick social media apps like Snapchat and language-learning apps like Duolingo use. 

It’s gamification!

Use a habit tracker!

To gamify reading, I downloaded a habit tracker onto my phone to log my reading hours and see how I was progressing each week. 

Once in the habit tracker, create a new habit and log each reading session’s time after completion. 

Below is a picture of my habit tracker. 

Start small, and gradually build up. 

Another big mistake people make when building new habits is to go big all at once. 

This is a noble goal, but it often ends in failure because it creates an “all or nothing” mentality with no room for error. When error does inevitably occur (and life happens), you might end up just giving up. 

Want to avoid this?

Start small and build up slowly. 

Start with 15 minutes daily, then increase by fifteen-minute increments once you have managed to comfortably find the space for the given amount of time.  

Step #3: Take notes. Test ideas. 

So you have a habit, now what?

If you want to stop here, that is perfectly fine, but if you are reading a more informational book whose contents you want to somehow implement in your life, I have some ideas. 

Reading time is learning time, after all, and one of the best ways to retain knowledge is to apply it. 

First, flag the information that stands out to you. 

The simplest ways to do this are underlining sections of text, and taking notes- in the margins, on your phone, using voice recordings, or on your laptop are all fine.

Anything you want to explore later or remember in a conversation is fair game.  

How To Test Your Ideas

Now that you’ve got some ideas down, you can test them by asking what others think and engaging in discussions to strengthen your reasoning. 

This will give you external feedback to work off when you then continue to engage with what you’re reading. 

Step #4: Maintain the habit. 

To make sure the habit sticks, track your progress. 

It’s easy to maintain a new habit for a day or a week, but once a month passes, it’s tempting to quit.

One approach I have been using is setting a goal of 500 hours reading for 2025. Every week, I can see if I’m on track or not, and this motivates me to keep going. 

You can try this approach by setting targets for how many books to read per three-month window, for example. 

Thought to Action 

1. Conversation: Engage in curiosity-based conversations with more people from outside your area of expertise, your industry & your culture. 
2. Journaling: Use journaling to track your progress in all areas of your life, including ideas you have while reading. 
3. History: Learn from the creative geniuses of history how to leverage the tools we have today to generate impactful solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. 
4. Self-educate: Don’t stop at reading. Leverage the plethora of free podcasts, YouTube videos, Coursera courses, and more to expand your mind and empower you to solve the problems you care about. 
5. Habits: Apply these 3 methods to start thinking outside of the box by switching up your routines and changing the way you look at the world around you. 

Sources

No external sources were used for this post.

The post How To Be Smarter Than 99% Of People appeared first on Green Also Green.

“Don’t think about making women fit the world- think about making the world fit women.” – Gloria Steinem

Me Before Cycle Syncing 

I’m going to be honest with you. For a long time, I thought I was just a lazy person. 

I would spend at least half the month steeped in a cocktail of anger, depression, tiredness, everybody-hates-me-ness, and the other half recovering. 

I was always tired. I was often sad. 

I frequently wondered why I couldn’t just sit down and study, write, ideate, and create. 

One part of me assumed it was “teenage brain”. The other part assumed life was just a consistently difficult experience, and I simply hadn’t developed enough discipline to get everything done.

Enter: Cycle Syncing

Gradually, I began to try a new approach- scheduling creative and analytical work at different points in the month, supplementing with magnesium during my luteal and menstrual phases, having four separate grocery lists for whatever phase my hormones were in.

I was cycle syncing- adapting my eating, working, exercising, and social interactions to fit my hormones rather than forcing myself to show up the exact same way every day. 

Today, I want to tell you some of the lessons I learned from this process- lessons that will hopefully make you a more creative problem-solver, or maybe- if your hormones work on a daily cycle and not a monthly- more aware of how to support those around you. 

PSA: You aren’t lazy. 

There is a myth that to be a high-achieving person, your daily routine must consist of waking up at 5am, spending three hours at the gym, running uphill to work (uphill both ways), and cranking out 25 hours of deep work without taking breaks. 

Okay, maybe this is extreme, but it is not too far from how most of us imagine the gold standard of productivity. 

The problem here can be boiled down to one word: hormones. 

While male hormones work on a 24-hour cycle, female hormones simply don’t, and this makes a big difference toward how males and females should each optimize their performance at different tasks. 

For men, with testosterone peaking in the morning, the 5am wake-up call to do deep work and intense workouts makes perfect sense. 

For women, on the other hand, not quite. 

So today, I will be talking to those of us with female hormone cycles about how I learned to harness my hormones to be a more creative problem-solver. 

My hope? To help you harness your hormones too.

Let’s get started. 

#1: Track, observe, adjust.

The first step to addressing your specific needs in relation to what your hormones are doing is to know what phase of your hormone cycle you are in. 

Because this is a gradual process, there are several approaches you can use to help with this, and ultimately, the best way to gain awareness is to understand what each phase feels like for you and what factors might influence this (e.g. dietary, exercise, mental health, etc.).

To begin, you can use an app like Clue to track your periods. Then, when you’re planning each week, you can log in, check what phase of your cycle it says you’re in- follicular, ovulation, luteal or menstrual-  and plan accordingly. 

For example, in the follicular and ovulatory phases, you are likely to feel more energized and sociable, so you could aim to schedule networking events, dinner parties, of other get-togethers then. On the other hand, you might plan more reflective, gentle activities during the luteal and menstrual phase, such as that yoga class you’ve been wanting to make it to, or that quiet spa day you have been needing. In work, you could use the luteal and menstrual phase for organizational, strategic, or creative tasks, and the follicular and ovulatory phases for problem-solving and collaborative tasks. 

Then, as you begin to experiment with what tasks your energy levels are more inclined to at each phase, you can fine-tune your scheduling to your own hormones.

Cycle Syncing Tips: Awareness For Each Phase

All:

• Use a period tracker like Flo or Clue

Follicular Phase:

• During this phase, you are likely to feel highly energized. 
• You will likely see little to no discharge.
• Roughly days 6-13

Ovulatory Phase:

• During this phase, you are likely to see stretchy, clear and wet discharge. 
• You are likely to feel very energized when in this phase (more than in any other phase).
• Roughly days 14-16

Luteal Phase:

• During this phase, you might experience sudden mood shifts due to the sudden drop in estrogen from ovulation. Symptoms like PMS might suggest you are in this phase. 
• You might also notice more white, creamy discharge. 
• Roughly days 17-28

Menstrual Phase:

• Easy to track- this is when you’re on your period! You can use this as a reference point for when the other phases are happening. 
• Roughly days 1-5

#2: Ride the energy wave. 

When you live in a female body, there is a consistent fluctuation in your energy levels that you can expect pretty much every month. 

What does this mean for you?

You can roughly predict how much energy you will have over the next week, and when you will be more “in the mood” for certain activities. 

In a world designed for male hormones, this idea might seem strange.

But if you yourself have a body that doesn’t work this way, realizing that your energy levels are on a 28-day (ish) cycle can completely revolutionize how you think about “laziness”, “hustle”, and productivity overall. 

The best approach, in my opinion?

Ride the wave. 

When you undergoing the extremely energy-intensive process of menstruation, let yourself rest. Accept that your body is putting a lot of energy towards shedding the lining of your uterus, and that might mean you get less done those days. You will not go so intense in the gym. You will need more sleep. It’s okay. 

On the other hand, harness the energetic high of the follicular and ovulatory phase. Go out with friends. Go on that weekend trip. Batch-create content, or meals, or new experiences. 

Cycle Syncing Tips: How To Ride The Energy Wave

Follicular Phase:

• Your most experimental and mentally-flexible phase – try new routines and ideas at this time. 

Ovulatory Phase:

• Your social butterfly is unleashed- use it to connect meaningfully.
• Lean into boldness. 
• Don’t overschedule yourself. A big dip in your energy is coming up. 

Luteal Phase:

• Frontload your work early in this phase so you can spend more time resting towards the end. 
• Prioritize editing, decluttering, and organizational tasks. 
• Limit unnecessary social interactions.

Menstrual Phase:

• Build in “buffer days” on your calendar.
• Prioritize rest and hydration, and view rest as productive. 

#3: There’s a time to be a social butterfly & time to be a hermit crab.

As an introvert, my natural habitat will always be at home, in my sweatpants, curled up with a book. 

That said if I’m going to register for a networking event, I will get much more out of it if I go durning my follicular phase, as I will be less self-conscious and much more sociable than if I go during my luteal phase. 

This willingness can also be influenced by diet (e.g. Many women experience magnesium deficiencies during their luteal phase, leading to symptoms like PMS. Magnesium supplementation can help with this.), exercise (e.g. Strength-training, cardio, and yoga can each significantly mitigate your emotional state at different points in your cycle), and general stress levels.

Cycle Syncing Tips: Dealing With Other Humans

Follicular & Ovulatory Phases:

• Schedule meetups, dates, and collaborative work during this phase—you’re more outgoing and mentally sharp.

Luteal & Menstrual Phases:

• Set boundaries around plans—this is a “nesting” time.
• You might be more sensitive to conflict; try not to schedule emotionally charged conversations late in this phase.
• Say “no” freely—this is a great time to withdraw and reset.
• If you need connection, prioritize low-key, comforting company.

#4: Rest is an opportunity for growth. 

Everyone has ideas for how to stay “productive” when your energy is high, but what do you do when your energy levels are low (besides sleep)?

In my experience, it helps to consider two types of energy here- physical energy and emotional energy. 

During the luteal phase, emotional energy is low, and I tend to feel more sensitive. During the menstrual phase, on the other hand, my physical energy is low and my emotional energy is moderate. 

However, there is strength in sensitivity, as cliche as it sounds. In my experience, this is a great time to do creative work, organize my schedule, and complete any administrative tasks I might have been procrastinating on.

For the type of low energy characteristic of the menstrual phase, on the other hand, it is a great time to do slower exercises, such as gentle walks or taking time to stretch. 

Cycle Syncing Tips: How to Rest & How To Push

Follicular Phase:

• Perfect for: brainstorming, planning projects, starting habits, trying new things.
  
• Avoid: intense decision-making about rest or relationships—your mood is higher than it will be later in the cycle.

Ovulatory Phase:

• Perfect for: visibility (presentations, launches), collaborative work, pitching.
  
• Avoid: major decisions about rest or future goals—you may feel overly optimistic.
  

Luteal Phase:

• Perfect for: editing, finishing tasks, checking details, home organization.
  
• Avoid: high-stimulation environments or long days packed with people—protect your energy.

Menstrual Phase:

• Perfect for: reflection, journaling, spiritual practices, evaluating what’s working or not.
  
• Avoid: major meetings, demanding tasks, or making long-term decisions unless absolutely necessary.

Thought to Action 

1. Label your week by phase (follicular, ovulatory, luteal, menstrual) and try aligning your to-do list to match.
2. Consider working in femtech to solve problems in women’s health, which is sure to be highly lucrative. 
3. Learn the four phases of the female hormone cycle —get familiar with what you or your partner/friend/team might be going through.
4. Normalize conversations about periods and energy—mention it casually to reduce shame and improve empathy.
5. Use journaling to monitor your emotions, energy levels, and productivity at different points in your cycle.

Sources

https://helloclue.com/articles/cycle-a-z/wet-sticky-what-your-discharge-is-telling-you

https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/stages-of-menstrual-cycle

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/menstrual-cycle-phases

The post Cycle Syncing: The Biological Secret That Will 10x Your Productivity appeared first on Green Also Green.

“60% of the time it works every time.” -Brian Fantana (Played by Paul Rudd), Anchorman

What I learned about data advocacy from Ron Burgundy.

It was around Christmas when I sat with my brother in the living room watching Anchorman and laughed over the adventures of Ron Burgundy, the protagonist of the film (played by Will Ferrell).

The beauty of Anchorman is the satire. It portrays the childishness of misogyny in the workplace with a rare comedic elegance. Ron Burgundy and his posse, the epitome of the toxic “boys club” in the newsroom, are threatened by the presence of even just one female anchor on the channel, Veronica Corningstone (played by Christina Applegate). 

However, what I want to talk to you about today is my favorite quote from the film, which comes from Paul Rudd’s character, Brian Fantana. It goes like this:

“60% of the time it works every time.”

Of course, Burgundy replies with what we already know: “That doesn’t make sense.”

But this got me thinking. 

Oftentimes, the statistics we hear and the data we use to make decisions make similarly ludicrous claims.

The Birth Of A Statistic

All statistics have an origin story.

It’s easy to forget this. 

Imagine you are conducting a study on coronary heart disease. 

In one version of your study, your participants are all women aged 30-60. In another, they are men aged 20-50. In another study, your participants are all college students. In another, they are only vegetarians. 

Within each of these, the simple choice of who gets to be a participant in your study drastically influences what kind of results you get, regardless of whether you are studying the influence of medication, lifestyle choices (e.g. diet or exercise), or anything else. 

The same principle applies to whether your study is interventional or observational, how you measure the study outcomes, and even what rules your statistical analysis uses to deem a correlation “significant” or not.

It boils down to this: How you observe determines what you observe.

Thus, statistics are born from the lens and tools we are using to observe the world. 

So when Brian Fantana claims “60% of the time it works every time”, we laugh, because we know it’s nonsensical to say something “works every time” if you are only looking at 60% of the attempts.

What we fail to acknowledge is that a lot of statistical claims work this way. 

For example, it’s commonplace to extrapolate medical results from predominantly white, predominantly male samples to the entire population.

It’s common to extrapolate psychological findings from industrialized, Western populations to non-industrialized, Eastern populations. 

We know these so-called “data-based” approaches are based on flawed assumptions, but we use them anyway. 

We accept the error. 

Science is objective, right? 

Torture The Data!!!

Well… not entirely. 

How we observe determines what we observe. 

Data collection and analysis are both rife with bias, and this bias is only perpetuated by the belief that something so “technical” must by its very nature be objective. 

So what do you do when you want to dive deeper into the story behind the data? 

Torture it. 

How To Torture Data (…In the name of advocacy)

Torturing the data is a lot like analyzing a poem. 

First, you have to understand grammar. You must know the sounds each letter is making and the way letters come together to make words, and the way words come together to make each line. 

Then, you have to understand connotation. The color black isn’t just a color; it’s a symbol. It communicates a sense of evil sometimes, but at others it was signal elegance or mystery. Sometimes, red symbolizes passion. At others, it is a sign of good luck. 

But if you want to really dive into a poem, you don’t stop here. 

If you dive deeper, you also ask about the context. 

Who was the poet? What time period was the poem written in? What culture was this written within? Who was the poem written for? What are all the angles (if you can even access them all)?

Data is like this – telling countless different stories depending on who collected it, why, how, when, and where. 

Data analysis is our way of dissecting what the story is, and maybe even more importantly, our way of deciding how to respond. 

It’s an art almost as much as it is a science. 

For now though, here are 4 frameworks you can use to leverage the data you have, turning it into impact. 

Impact to Advocacy Tip #1: Think beyond numbers. 

Numbers tell a story, but they don’t tell the whole story.

Data often has blind spots—missing contexts, underrepresented groups, or nuances that numbers alone can’t capture. 

That’s why combining data with real conversations and lived experiences helps fill the gaps. 

How to Apply This Approach For Advocacy:

1. Start with the Data – Identify key insights and trends from your dataset. What patterns stand out? What gaps or anomalies do you notice?
   
2. Go to the Source – Engage with the people behind the numbers. Talk to individuals, attend community meetings, or conduct informal interviews.
   
3. Ask “Why?” and “How?” – Use open-ended questions to understand the lived experiences behind the data. Example: If data shows a low participation rate in a program, ask why people aren’t joining. Is it awareness? Accessibility? Cultural barriers?
   
4. Compare Insights – Look for mismatches between the data and real-world experiences. If the numbers suggest one thing but people say another, dig deeper.
   
5. Refine Your Narrative – Adjust your analysis based on what you’ve learned, ensuring your conclusions reflect both statistical evidence and human reality.

Impact to Advocacy Tip #2: Use multiple metrics to measure impact. 

Data isn’t just about defining the problem you’re dealing with. 

It’s also about measuring your success at developing a solution. 

Many people make the mistake of tracking only one metric, but real impact is multidimensional. 

A single number rarely tells the full story, which is why looking at multiple data points ensures a more complete picture of success.

How to Apply This Approach To Advocacy:

1. Empathize – Understand the people affected by the problem. What challenges do they face? What does success look like to them?
   
2. Define – Use data to clearly articulate the problem. Instead of just saying “food insecurity is rising,” define who is affected, where, and why.
   
3. Ideate – Brainstorm potential solutions while considering how success should be measured beyond just one statistic.
   
4. Prototype – Implement a small-scale version of your solution while tracking multiple indicators.
   
5. Test & Measure – Instead of just tracking the number of meals distributed, also look at long-term impact (e.g., changes in income, school performance, or community health)..

Impact to Advocacy Tip #3: Ask “So what?”

Numbers might tell you what’s happening, but they don’t explain why it matters. 

Too often, people stop at presenting statistics without considering their human significance. 

For example, let’s say 30% of elderly people live alone. 

So what? 

Instead of responding with another number, consider: What does isolation feel like? How does it affect mental health? What support systems are needed?

By asking “So what?”, you move beyond data points to uncover the real-life impact behind them. 

Then, instead of answering with more numbers, use empathy to connect the data to people’s lived experiences.

How to Apply This Approach In Advocacy:

1. Start with a Statistic – Identify a key data point related to your work. Example: “40% of low-income students drop out of college.”
   
2. Ask “So What?” – Why does this number matter? What’s the consequence of ignoring it?
   
3. Find the Human Story – Instead of citing another statistic, answer with a personal or collective experience. What does dropping out mean for a student’s future, mental health, or family?
   
4. Use This to Guide Action – Now that you understand the real-world impact, how does this shape your next steps? What kind of solution would actually help?

Impact to Advocacy Tip #4: Apply the  Four Levels of Data Impact (DIKW Pyramid)

Not all data is created equal. 

A statistic alone doesn’t lead to meaningful action—it has to be processed, interpreted, and applied. 

The DIKW Pyramid (Data → Information → Knowledge → Wisdom) helps you move beyond just collecting numbers and toward making strategic, high-impact decisions.

How to Apply This Approach  To Advocacy:

1. Start with Data – Collect raw numbers, facts, or statistics. (Example: 60% of startups fail.)
   
2. Turn Data into Information – Analyze patterns and trends to understand why something is happening. (Most failures occur due to funding gaps.)
   
3. Convert Information into Knowledge – Identify the deeper implications. (Minority-owned businesses are disproportionately affected.)
   
4. Apply Wisdom – Use insights to make informed, actionable decisions. (We need policy incentives to close the funding gap.)

Data Is Your Friend.

Data is all around us, and it always has been. 

The only difference between data now and at other points in history is that now we collect more of it than ever before. 

In many ways, this is scary, but I invite you to think about it differently. 

I invite you to be empowered by this. 

We don’t have to play a guessing game anymore when it comes to making an impact. 

We don’t have to jump so many hurdles to access the vast sea of databases and scientific journals. 

With a wifi connection and a laptop, anyone can use open-source datasets and scientific articles from online to build their own evidence-based solution to the world’s problems. 

If we want a starting point for where to make an impact, we need not look any further than our computer screens. 

So why not start using these tools today to dive into the data, to think critically about advocacy?

I promise it’s easier than you think, and the impact will surprise you. 

Thought to Action 

1. Self-Educate: Immerse yourself in the world of data literacy. Utilize free online courses and resources to understand data collection, analysis, and interpretation. This foundational knowledge will empower you to harness data effectively in your advocacy efforts.​
2. Engage with Communities: Combine quantitative data with qualitative insights by engaging directly with the communities you aim to support. Attend local events, conduct interviews, or organize focus groups to gather personal stories that add depth to your data.​
3. Diversify Metrics: When measuring the impact of your initiatives, go beyond surface-level statistics. Consider multiple metrics that reflect both immediate outcomes and long-term effects, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of your efforts.​
4. Ask “So What?”: For every data point you encounter, challenge yourself to understand its real-world implications. Reflect on how the numbers translate to human experiences and adjust your strategies to address these underlying issues effectively.​
5. Apply the DIKW Pyramid: Transform raw data into actionable wisdom by progressing through the stages of Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom. This approach ensures that your advocacy is informed by deep insights, leading to more impactful outcomes.

Sources

https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-public-affairs/transforming-healthcare/tackling-inequalities-in-heart-health-and-care-our-policy-initiatives/download-bias-and-biology-briefing

https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/psychologys-weird-problems/C324108A678435B4F18EF712EFB793BB

https://www.correlation-one.com/blog/data-advocacy-big-data-transformation

The post Advocacy That Works: 4 Ways To Turn Data Into Impact appeared first on Green Also Green.

“Sustainability is a political choice, not a technical one. It’s not a question of whether we can be sustainable, but whether we choose to be.” – Gary Lawrence

Sustainability is like math class.

Before we talk about materials and sustainability, let’s talk about math. 

Do you remember that fateful algebra class where the heartbreaking split between the “naturally-gifted” math geniuses and the “I’m not a math person” students began?

I do, and I remember thinking it was odd how many of these math geniuses actually turned out to be complete idiots, and how many of the not-math people were intelligent, analytically-minded, and capable individuals. 

Now, as someone far-removed from the toxic grounds of middle school math class, but still in a good relationship with math, I have often gone back to the question of whether math is really difficult, or if we just make it difficult. 

Do we teach it the wrong way and mistakenly perpetuate the idea that you will only succeed if you’re genetically destined to, or is it really just the domain of a select few with genetically-determined talent?

The research that has sought to answer this question tells us that actually, there is no such thing as a “math person”. 

These are just labels we made up- imaginary constraints made to excuse lazy instruction and embarrassingly low diversity in STEM. It is not that women, Hispanics, black people, and other minorities “just don’t think that way”; it’s that they are systematically force-fed the false narrative that math just isn’t for them.

Now, what does this have to do with materials and sustainability?

Once again, “sustainability” is a word with baggage, and the baggage mostly tells us that to be sustainable is extremely difficult, if not impossible, and that our attempts at it are futile anyway. 

Don’t get me wrong; it’s noble to have a high standard. 

But also, learning sustainability is a lot like learning math. If we think it’s hard, it will become that way. In the same vein, if we approach it with a patient, open mind, and a willingness to really wrestle with the problem, we are inevitably going to reach a solution. 

How To Make Sustainability Easy 

#1: Define & Research The Gap. 

There’s an Albert Einstein quote I love that goes, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”

What I love about this is (1) it’s uncommon to see implemented in practice, and (2) it’s simple, practical, and right on point. 

How many times have you been so insistent on making a particular purchase that you neglect whether it will even solve the problem you think it will? Think: that one guy who overthinks the supplements he should take without having established a clean diet and consistent workout routine. 

Instead of jumping to the solution you’re emotionally attached to- like making another random household item out of bamboo or hemp- consider analyzing the deeper problem at hand for a new leverage point you can meaningfully explore.  

This is frustrating, I know. 

In our 15-second-attention-span, results-driven world, it can feel silly to just sit around and think. It feels like you’re going crazy while everyone else is being productive 25 hours a day. 

However, the truth is that when you jump to results too fast without the right consideration of the problem, you might end up focusing on an inefficient answer to your question.

Or worse, you might be tackling the wrong problem altogether.

Creativity is like fishing.

To borrow a concept from Rick Rubin, creativity is like fishing. You have to create the environment for the bait to be in the water, for fish to come, and for you to feel them tugging on your line. Then, (and this is the hardest part) you have to wait. 

The fish, like the ideas, will come, I assure you. But will you create the right space to let them in?

If you want to create space for the creativity that will make a difference, but you don’t know how, there are some easy initial steps. 

Easy Initial Steps

1. To begin with, you can improve the quality of what your brain consumes. Replace 30 second reels with podcasts on your drive home. Replace doom scrolls with books. Make deliberate time to read them. 
2. Do less. Schedule less. Commit to less. When you whittle down your calendar to only the essential commitments, you will notice there is more time to engage with your ideas. Chances are you might also be less stressed, and more inclined towards creativity as well.
3. Have fun. Play. While I stand by the belief that play is a thoroughly atelic activity, an activity that is itself an end, you can also view it as a low-stakes way to boost your creativity and problem-solving ability. This is backed up by research. 

#2: Ideate, prototype, iterate.

Part of making an amazing and sustainable product is effectively applying the design process. 

For products that help people and the planet both, this is even more important as you continue to see opportunities for growth. 

Engage with ideas playfully, and think deeply about how the user will interact with your product. Don’t just think about what your vision is, but also how others engage- not only your intended users, but also professionals with different backgrounds.

One of my favorite examples of this is IDEO coming up with a new shopping cart. 

#3: Define your own “enough”.

The thing about the design process is that it just keeps on going. 

Because of this, you get to define where the process of prototyping and revising should end. 

Here, you need to consider your metrics of success and what you want to achieve. 

Applying constraints like this, in which you decide to let go of the project after a certain amount of time or after spending a certain amount of resources, further supports your creativity in coming up with a new approach to solving the problem. 

Additionally, it helps you get your work into the world and into the hands of other people.  

You can always revisit the design later, although maybe once you step back, you will be able to see a more pressing challenge that calls for your attention.

Sustainability In A Material World

One of the biggest leverage points in making sustainability easy is energy efficiency. 

That’s why materials and sustainability go hand-in-hand.

It’s the force multiplier that ripples across industries—from agriculture to aerospace—reducing waste, lowering emissions, and cutting costs. 

But what often gets overlooked is this: the key to energy efficiency isn’t just in better systems; it’s in better materials.

Materials determine how much energy is needed to produce, transport, and use a product. 

Think about fishing gear that resists biofouling, reducing drag and fuel consumption in boats. Or hospital equipment designed with lightweight, durable composites that make sterilization faster and less energy-intensive. 

In agriculture, self-cooling storage materials cut down on the need for constant refrigeration. 

In energy storage, advanced battery materials increase charge efficiency, reducing energy loss. 

Even in cars and airplanes, switching to ultra-lightweight, high-strength materials slashes fuel consumption dramatically.

By designing for efficiency at the material level, we’re addressing sustainability at its roots. Hence, the perfect marriage: materials and sustainability.

When you are innovating for a more sustainable world, here are some questions you can use to combine what we know about energy-efficient materials and sustainability to make a great product.  

Questions To Combine Energy-Efficient Materials And Sustainability

1. Where does this material come from? Is it made from renewable, recycled, or non-toxic sources?
2. How much energy does it take to produce this material? Does it require lots of heat, water, or electricity to make?
3. Is there a lower-energy alternative? Can I replace this with something that takes less energy to produce or use?
4. How long does this material last? Will it break down quickly or last for years before needing replacement?
5. What happens when it’s thrown away? Is it biodegradable, recyclable, or does it end up in a landfill?
6. Does this material help reduce energy use in the product’s life? Can it make the product lighter, more efficient, or better insulated?
7. How does this material impact human health? Is it free of harmful chemicals and safe to use?
8. What’s the environmental impact of getting this material? Does it involve deforestation, mining, or pollution?
9. Is it easy to reuse or repurpose? Can parts of it be taken apart and used for something else later?
10. Does this material support a circular economy? Is it part of a system where waste becomes a resource instead of trash?

Thought to Action

1. Enter global innovation challenges like the Biodesign Challenge or XPRIZE Circular Economy competitions.
2. Write to local policymakers advocating for more research funding and pilot programs in biodegradable materials & circular economy incentives.
3. Leverage Free Resources: Learn from free resources online to maximize your awareness of other disciplines, such as statistics, data analysis, and marketing. 
4. Measure your progress using these 3 journaling ideas to accelerate your success.
5. Cultivate An Interdisciplinary Network: Use these techniques to talk to professionals from a range of other fields. Use the expertise of others to see unique solutions at the crossroads of different disciplines.  

Sources

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9590021

https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/future-system-scenarios.html

https://www.perlego.com/book/4191891/sustainable-materials-without-the-hot-air-making-buildings-vehicles-and-products-efficiently-and-with-less-new-material-pdf

The post Materials And Sustainability: Why Sustainability is Easy  appeared first on Green Also Green.

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein

The Invisible Problem To Solve

Before we talk about femtech problems to solve, let’s talk about awkward conversations.

In my experience, the most effective way to make the average man squirm is to tell him, “I’m on my period.” This has always, without a doubt, evoked a long period of awkward silence, stifled confusion, and hesitant nods. 

After all, blood in war and video games is fine, but please don’t go on and on about the blood coming from the female body. It’s crass, it’s gross, it’s disgusting.  

On the other hand, I have found that the most effective way to make the average man hyped up is to talk about the “grind” of making money, working out, and building success (stay hard, son). 

There is an interesting question for me here, as the one who has had the periods, seen the blood, survived the cramps and surfed the sea of hormones…the many “pain points” that Silicon Valley seems to mysteriously overlook.

Any female-bodied human being knows these struggles inside and out, and most men at least know vaguely that it sucks.

So why isn’t there a rush to fill the gap, to sell the proverbial “painkiller”? Why is almost nobody selling the solution to the challenges almost all women would pay boatloads of money to get rid of?

Really, there is no satisfying answer to this question. Women are huge economic drivers, and there is no reason to ignore their routine discomfort. 

…Not just because it is blatantly unjust, but also because it is a huge untapped opportunity for anyone interested in making a difference and a lot of money at the same time.

If that’s you- regardless of your background, education level, or even gender (I’m looking at all you tech bros.) – read on. 

Problems To Solve!

I have done the first step for you (the pleasure is mine, truly), and identified 11 problems to solve in the women’s health space. 

Let’s dive in!

#1: Lack Of Data On How Menstrual Cycle Affects Overall Health.

Despite being a fundamental aspect of many individuals’ lives, academia has under-researched the menstrual cycle, leading to significant gaps in our understanding of its impact on overall health.

This lack of data hampers our ability to address various health issues effectively.

For instance, conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are linked to increased risks of heart disease and stroke. However, doctors often fail to diagnose them in time due to insufficient research and awareness.

To bridge this knowledge gap, here are some problems to solve:

• Pharmacology: How do hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle impact drug metabolism, and why have clinical trials historically excluded menstruating individuals from these studies?
• Sports Science: What role do cycle phases play in strength, endurance, and injury risk? How should training programs adapt to these variations?
• Mental Health: Why are conditions like anxiety and depression more prevalent in menstruating individuals, and how do hormonal shifts contribute to their severity?
• Workplace, Schools & Productivity: How does menstrual pain and fatigue affect cognitive function, absenteeism, and economic productivity? What metrics could be used to quantify this?
• Medical Diagnostics: Why do so many reproductive disorders (PCOS, endometriosis, PMDD) take years to diagnose, and what biomarkers could improve early detection?
• Sleep Science: How do menstrual phases influence sleep patterns and overall sleep quality? Could poor sleep in certain phases contribute to long-term health risks?
• AI & Data Science: How can machine learning models better predict and track cycle irregularities? Why is existing menstrual tracking data often unreliable or biased?

#2: Lack Of Effective Diagnostic Tools For Endometriosis & PCOS

Endometriosis and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) are prevalent gynecological conditions that significantly impact individuals’ quality of life. Often, this leads to chronic pain, infertility, and metabolic complications.

However, diagnosing these conditions remains challenging due to the absence of reliable, non-invasive diagnostic tools, resulting in prolonged suffering and delayed treatment.

Endometriosis: Affects approximately 10% of individuals with uteruses during their reproductive years. Diagnosis often requires invasive procedures like laparoscopy, leading to delays averaging 7 to 12 years. 

PCOS: Impacts up to 10% of individuals with ovaries of reproductive age. Diagnosis is complicated and the lack of a definitive test, often relying on the exclusion of other disorders. 

To address these challenges, consider the following research problems to solve:

• Biomarker Discovery: What specific biomarkers can we identify in blood or menstrual fluid to facilitate non-invasive, early detection of endometriosis and PCOS? ​
• Imaging Techniques: How can we advance imaging technologies to improve the sensitivity and specificity of detecting endometriotic lesions or polycystic ovaries without resorting to invasive methods? ​
• Genetic Factors: What genetic predispositions contribute to the development of endometriosis and PCOS? How can we use this information to enhance diagnostic accuracy?
• Artificial Intelligence: How can we train machine learning algorithms to analyze medical records? How can imaging data be used to predict and diagnose these conditions more effectively?​
• Patient-Reported Outcomes: How can we integrate patient-reported symptoms and histories into electronic health records improve early recognition and diagnosis?

#3: Stigma & Misinformation

Stigma and misinformation have long plagued women’s health, leading to misdiagnoses, delayed treatments, and inadequate care.

Conditions like endometriosis and menopause are often misunderstood or trivialized. This results in prolonged suffering and diminished quality of life. Similarly, menopause remains shrouded in stigma, leaving many women unprepared and unsupported during this natural life transition. 

To address these challenges, consider the following interesting problems to solve relating to stigma and misinformation:

• Media Studies: How do media representations of women’s health issues perpetuate stigma and misinformation? What strategies can promote accurate portrayals?​
• Medical Education: What gaps exist in medical training regarding women’s health? How can we improve curricula to ensure healthcare professionals are well-equipped to address these issues? 
• Public Health Communication: How effective are current public health campaigns in dispelling myths about conditions like endometriosis and menopause? What approaches can enhance their impact?​
• Sociology: In what ways do cultural norms and societal expectations contribute to the stigmatization of women’s health issues? How can community-based interventions foster open dialogue?​
• Psychology: What psychological effects do stigma and misinformation have on individuals experiencing women’s health issues? How can we tailor mental health support to their needs?​
• Policy Analysis: How do existing healthcare policies address or neglect the impact of stigma and misinformation on women’s health outcomes? What policy reforms are necessary to mitigate these issues?

#4: Safer & More Accessible Birth Control Options

Despite advancements in medical science, many individuals still face challenges in accessing birth control methods that are both safe and convenient. Traditional options like hormonal pills have remained largely unchanged for decades, leading to dissatisfaction due to side effects and health concerns. Additionally, financial barriers prevent many from obtaining modern contraceptives, underscoring the need for more affordable solutions. 

To address these issues, consider the following problems to solve in the birth control space:

• Pharmaceutical Research: Why has there been limited innovation in developing new contraceptive methods? What factors contribute to the stagnation in contraceptive research and development?​
• Male Contraception: What are the challenges hindering the development and adoption of male contraceptive methods? How can these barriers be overcome to promote shared responsibility in birth control? ​
• Financial Accessibility: How do economic factors influence individuals’ access to preferred contraceptive methods? What policies could be implemented to make birth control universally affordable? 
• User Experience: What are the common side effects associated with current birth control methods? How do they impact users’ satisfaction and continuation rates? 
• Digital Tools: How reliable are menstrual cycle tracking apps in preventing unintended pregnancies? What improvements are necessary to enhance their effectiveness? 
• Education & Misinformation: How does misinformation about contraceptive methods spread through social media? What strategies can be employed to provide accurate information to the public?
• Policy & Regulation: What role do governmental policies play in either facilitating or hindering access to a variety of contraceptive options? How can legislation evolve to support reproductive autonomy?

#5: Less Invasive Fertility Treatments

Traditional fertility treatments, such as conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF), often require intensive hormonal stimulation and surgical procedures, leading to physical discomfort, emotional stress, and financial burdens for individuals and couples seeking to conceive. The invasiveness of these methods can deter many from pursuing treatment, underscoring the need for safer, less invasive alternatives.​

To address these challenges, consider the following problems to solve regarding fertility treatment:

• Microfluidic Sperm Selection: What impact does the SpermGuide device have on selecting high-quality sperm? How does it compare to traditional methods in terms of reducing invasiveness and improving outcomes?
• In Vitro Gametogenesis (IVG): What are the potential benefits and ethical considerations of lab-grown gametes for fertility treatments? How might IVG reduce the need for invasive procedures? 

#6: Better Solutions For Hot Flashes & Night Sweats

Hot flashes and night sweats, collectively known as vasomotor symptoms (VMS), affect approximately 80% of women during menopause, significantly impacting their quality of life, daily activities, and work productivity. These symptoms can lead to sleep disturbances, mood swings, and cognitive impairments, underscoring the need for effective and accessible treatments.

To address these challenges, consider the problems to solve for those experiencing hot flashes:

• Neurokinin 3 Receptor Antagonists: How effective and safe are novel medications like fezolinetant in alleviating VMS compared to traditional hormone replacement therapies? 
• Non-Hormonal Therapies: What is the efficacy of non-hormonal treatments, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and anticonvulsants, in managing hot flashes and night sweats? 
• Lifestyle Interventions: How do lifestyle modifications, including diet, exercise, and stress management, influence the frequency and severity of VMS?​
• Wearable Technology: Can wearable devices that monitor physiological changes provide real-time feedback and personalized strategies to manage VMS? ​
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): What role does CBT play in mitigating the psychological impact of VMS, and how can it be integrated into standard care practices?​
• Workplace Accommodations: How can employers implement supportive policies and environments to assist employees experiencing VMS, thereby enhancing productivity and well-being?

#7: Personalized Hormone Therapy & Menopause Monitoring

Menopause marks a significant transition in a woman’s life, often accompanied by symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, and sleep disturbances. While hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can alleviate these symptoms, its application has been met with controversy, particularly concerning dosage and potential health risks. Recent debates have arisen over high-dose HRT prescriptions, with concerns about increased risks of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, the lack of personalized treatment plans often leads to suboptimal outcomes, highlighting the need for individualized approaches.​

To address these challenges, consider these problems to solve relating to HRT:

• Individualized Hormone Therapy: How can genetic and metabolic profiling be utilized to tailor hormone therapy, ensuring efficacy while minimizing adverse effects?​
• Non-Hormonal Interventions: What alternative treatments can effectively manage menopausal symptoms for women who cannot or choose not to undergo HRT?​
• Wearable Health Technology: How can wearable devices, such as smart rings, monitor physiological changes during menopause? What role do they play in personalizing treatment plans? 
• Long-Term Health Outcomes: What are the long-term effects of various HRT regimens on cognitive function and cardiovascular health? 
• Patient Education: How can healthcare providers improve communication to ensure women are well-informed about the benefits and risks of different menopause management strategies?

#8: Menopause Workplace Support

Menopause is a natural phase in a woman’s life, yet its impact on the workplace is often overlooked. In the UK alone, approximately 14 million working days are lost annually due to menopause-related symptoms, with around 900,000 women leaving their jobs because of inadequate support. Similarly, a 2023 Mayo Clinic study estimated that menopause symptoms contribute to an annual loss of $1.8 billion in the United States due to missed workdays…sounds like many billion-dollar problems to solve.

To address these challenges, consider the following research questions:

• Policy Development: How can organizations implement effective menopause policies that provide flexible working arrangements, access to healthcare resources, and supportive environments? 
• Awareness and Education: What role do awareness campaigns and training programs play in reducing stigma and fostering open discussions about menopause in the workplace? 
• Economics: How does inadequate menopause support contribute to economic losses due to absenteeism, reduced productivity, and employee turnover? ​
• Employee Retention: What strategies can organizations employ to retain experienced female employees who might otherwise leave due to menopause-related challenges? 
• Global Practices: How have different countries implemented reproductive leave policies? What lessons can be learned to support menopausal employees effectively? ​

#9: Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Treatment

Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) encompasses a range of disorders resulting from weakened or overly tight pelvic floor muscles, leading to symptoms such as urinary and fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and chronic pelvic pain.

To address these challenges, consider the following research questions:

• Physical Therapy Efficacy: How can pelvic floor physical therapy protocols be optimized to effectively treat various forms of PFD, including stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse?​
• Integration of Biofeedback: What role does biofeedback play in enhancing patient outcomes during pelvic floor muscle training? How can its application be improved?
• Postpartum Interventions: What are the most effective strategies for preventing and treating PFD in postpartum women, considering the high prevalence of urinary incontinence in this group? ​
• Impact of Physical Activity: How does engaging in high-intensity physical activities, such as heavy lifting, influence the development or exacerbation of PFD, and what preventive measures can be implemented?
• Technological Innovations: How can emerging technologies, such as wearable devices or mobile applications, be utilized to support pelvic floor muscle training and improve patient adherence to treatment plans?

#10: Vaginal Microbiome Research & pH Balancing

The vaginal microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining women’s health, serving as a defense against infections and contributing to overall reproductive well-being. A balanced vaginal environment is typically dominated by Lactobacillus species, which produce lactic acid to maintain an acidic pH, thereby inhibiting the growth of pathogenic organisms. Disruptions to this balance can lead to conditions such as bacterial vaginosis (BV), characterized by a decrease in Lactobacillus and an overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria like Gardnerella vaginalis and Prevotella species. Recent research has identified BV as a sexually transmitted infection (STI), highlighting the importance of treating both partners to prevent recurrence.

To address these challenges, consider the following research questions:

• Microbiome Composition: How do variations in the vaginal microbiome across different populations influence susceptibility to infections? What role does Lactobacillus dominance play in maintaining vaginal health?​
• pH Regulation Mechanisms: What are the underlying mechanisms by which Lactobacillus species regulate vaginal pH? How can this knowledge inform the development of targeted therapies to restore and maintain pH balance?
• Impact of Hygiene Practices: How do common hygiene practices, such as the use of scented menstrual products, affect the vaginal microbiome and pH balance, potentially increasing the risk of infections? 
• Partner Treatment Strategies: What are the most effective treatment protocols for BV that involve simultaneous treatment of both partners, and how can these strategies reduce recurrence rates? 
• Probiotic Interventions: Can probiotic therapies effectively restore Lactobacillus dominance in the vaginal microbiome, and what are the long-term outcomes of such interventions on vaginal health?

#11: Gender Bias In Research & Funding

Gender bias in medical research and funding has led to significant disparities in healthcare outcomes for women. Historically, women were underrepresented in clinical trials, resulting in a lack of data on how treatments affect them differently than men. This exclusion has contributed to misdiagnoses and less effective treatments for women. For instance, a 2019 study revealed that when grant reviewers focused on the applicant rather than the research proposal, male principal investigators had a higher success rate (13.9%) compared to female principal investigators (9.2%). 

To address these challenges, consider the following research questions:

• Clinical Trial Representation: How can we ensure equitable representation of women in clinical trials to obtain accurate data on sex-specific responses to treatments?​
• Funding Allocation: What strategies can be implemented to eliminate gender bias in research funding decisions, ensuring that women’s health issues receive appropriate attention and resources?​
• Femtech Support: How does gender bias in venture capital funding affect the development of femtech innovations, and what measures can be taken to support female entrepreneurs in this sector?
• Educational Reforms: In what ways can medical education be restructured to address and reduce gender biases in diagnosis and treatment?​
• Policy Development: How can government policies be shaped to mandate the inclusion of sex and gender analysis in all health research?

So what now?

Good question, and an important one. We all have different levels of commitment to the challenges within women’s health, and different skillsets to contribute. 

That said, regardless of where you stand, there is an impact you can make. 

In your professional life, make a point to ask, “where are women being excluded here?” If you can’t find an answer, just ask a female colleague. From medicine, to tech, to engineering, architecture, urban design, education, and even public transport, there are many blindspots just waiting for creative problem-solvers like you to make a difference. 

But even if you are not interested in pursuing the problems to solve for women’s health through your career, one simple step you can take is to learn how to listen. 

If a woman in your life (colleague, significant other, friend, daughter, co-worker, or a stranger on the street) is brave enough to open up, just be there to acknowledge their struggles and their feelings. Don’t jump to invalidate. Don’t jump to “mansplain”. Just listen. Offer your support in whatever way possible. 

For some, that means buying a box of tampons and chocolate for your girlfriend when they’re on their period. For others, it means cranking up the thermostat in the office. Maybe, it’s just acknowledging that in a world so systematically biased against the female body, there is no such thing as a “hysterical woman”.

Thought to Action

1. Sign petitions & support legislation for more women’s health research funding.
2. Email universities & research institutions encouraging more studies on underfunded women’s health issues.
3. Donate to organizations funding women’s health research, like the WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters) Initiative or the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR).
4. Support crowdfunding campaigns for femtech innovations, even with small donations.
5. Become an early adopter—test new femtech apps and products and provide feedback.

Sources

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17455057241290895?icid=int.sj-abstract.citing-articles.12

https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2024-global-report-reveals-major-gaps-in-menstrual-health-and-hygiene-in-schools

https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2024/05/period-poverty-why-millions-of-girls-and-women-cannot-afford-their-periods

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/31/endometriosis-study-1000-women-wanted

https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-023-02732-2

https://drseckin.com/endometriosis-and-pcos

https://www.axios.com/2025/03/03/menopause-doctors-education-harvard-mayo

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39511120

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/greens-announce-election-push-to-make-birth-control-free/news-story/6e974c3f287fbb90356fa77a28ebc41a

https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2025/feb/22/the-pill-hasnt-been-improved-in-years-no-wonder-women-are-giving-up-on-it

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3233302

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-novel-drug-treat-moderate-severe-hot-flashes-caused-menopause

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8746897

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/26/lab-grown-eggs-sperm-viability-uk-fertility-watchdog

https://www.heraldsun.com.au

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/article/dr-louise-newson-hrt-menopause-expert-celebrities-zg7zxxb0n?region=global

https://www.wired.com/story/oura-perimenopause-report

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-study-puts-price-tag-on-cost-of-menopause-symptoms-for-women-in-the-workplace

https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/sjp-charles-stanley-boost-menopause-support-for-city-workers-9cef0327

https://apnews.com/article/menopause-work-benefit-hot-flash-insomnia-support-c91eb76a8802c3dbbd5a0fdef219086c

https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/women-flee-uk-fund-jobs-after-50-398c445d

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shattering-the-silence-about-menopause-12-month-progress-report/shattering-the-silence-about-menopause-12-month-progress-report

https://www.parents.com/postpartum-incontinence-is-common-but-untreated-8785817

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4570968

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559246

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fbacterial-vaginosis-now-classified-as-an-sti%2Fnews-story%2Ffc1975db9d71f78418a292a3fc5d08d2&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/05/paradigm-shift-australian-researchers-discover-key-to-treatment-of-bacterial-vaginosis

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/08/the-huge-disadvantage-women-behind-femtech-phenomenon-face

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-close-the-gender-health-gap

The post 11 Problems To Solve In FemTech That Will Make You Rich appeared first on Green Also Green.

“A woman’s health is her greatest asset; invest in it wisely.” -Unknown

The Mystery of Menopause

The first time I heard the word “menopause”, I was 14 years old. 

I remember thinking a lot of things about it. First of all, why was the word “men” in there? Second, how does it work? How do you know when it’s started, when it’s over, when you’re in the middle of it? When will it happen to me?

It was a word shrouded in mystery and hushed acknowledgement. It was complicated, poorly defined, and faraway. 

But there is something we do know about menopause, and that is: it happens to women everywhere, en masse, all the time.

So, naturally, there must be a bunch of products people have designed to make the years women spend in menopause easier, right?

Well…not really. 

Besides supplements, if you search up “menopause products”, you will mostly encounter a barren wasteland of search results. 

This isn’t to say women experiencing perimenopause or menopause aren’t interested. 

In fact, the market for “femtech” relating to all things menstruation, menopause, and female hormone cycles is ripe with demand. 

Today, I’m going to give you 8 reasons why you- regardless of your field, education level, background, or gender (I’m looking at all the tech bros out there)- should fill the gap in the menopause market. 

…If not just because it addresses a huge but invisible injustice in the healthcare space, because it taps into one of the largest and most powerful economic driving forces of the world- aging women. 

#1: By 2025, over 1 billion women globally will be experiencing menopause.

I’ll say it now and I’ll say it again: menopause is not a niche issue.

Actually, it’s a global phenomenon that will affect over 1 billion women in 2025, according to projections from the World Health Organization (WHO). 

This shift means a significant portion of the world’s population will be navigating menopausal symptoms, yet the medical and technological advancements in this space remain insufficient. 

Unlike other major life transitions, menopause has historically been underfunded, understudied, and under-discussed in both the healthcare industry and society at large.

The implications of menopause extend beyond personal health—they affect workforce productivity, economic structures, and even healthcare systems. 

Women in midlife represent a growing segment of the workforce, yet many face significant challenges due to unmanaged symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, and cognitive changes. 

The lack of comprehensive solutions often forces women to reduce work hours, take career breaks, or even leave jobs entirely, affecting financial stability and contributing to gender disparities in career advancement.

So there is an urgent need for new solutions, whether in healthcare, workplace policies, product development, or education. But innovation in this space isn’t limited to medical professionals—there’s room for entrepreneurs, technologists, designers, educators, and researchers from diverse backgrounds to make a difference.

#2: Most FemTech has been active in menstrual health and pregnancy, with midlife women’s health largely underfunded.

Over the past decade, FemTech (female-focused technology and healthcare solutions) has seen rapid growth, with billions of dollars invested in products and services aimed at menstrual health, fertility, and pregnancy. 

However, midlife women’s health—especially menopause—remains significantly underfunded and underserved. 

According to a Forbes report, while the global FemTech market is projected to reach $50 billion by 2025, the vast majority of funding has gone toward reproductive and maternal health, leaving menopause-related innovation lagging far behind.

This funding gap is largely due to historical biases in medical research and a lack of awareness about the widespread impact of menopause. 

Despite the fact that every woman who reaches midlife will experience menopause, it has been treated as an afterthought in healthcare and innovation. 

The result? 

Women facing symptoms such as hot flashes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular risks, cognitive decline, and metabolic changes often struggle to find tailored solutions beyond hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which remains controversial for some due to concerns about potential risks.

The underfunding of menopause-related innovation isn’t just a problem—it’s a massive opportunity.

The market for menopause solutions is wide open, and you don’t need to be a doctor or scientist to contribute.

Entrepreneurs, researchers, and creative problem-solvers from all industries can help close the gap.

#3: Less than 2% of biomedical research funding goes toward menopause, leaving a bunch of room for innovation.

This World Economic Forum article states,“According to Imperial College London, less than 2% of medical research funding is spent on pregnancy, childbirth and female reproductive health. The statistics are abundantly clear: Women are being medically denied and left with profound unmet need. 

A recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for major reforms, recommending that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) establish a dedicated institute for women’s health research and that Congress provide increased funding to close the gender gap in medical research. 

The World Economic Forum also highlights that the healthcare system’s failure to prioritize women’s health results in poorer medical outcomes, increased economic strain, and diminished quality of life for millions of women.

With such a glaring lack of research and funding, there’s massive potential for groundbreaking innovation—and you don’t have to be a doctor or a scientist to make an impact.

Right now, the lack of funding is a barrier—but it’s also an opportunity. 

If even a fraction of the energy that’s gone into other medical research were directed toward women’s health, we could completely change how women experience midlife and beyond. 

Whether through research, technology, or advocacy, there’s no better time to innovate in menopause healthcare.

#4: Menopause symptoms cost billions annually in sick days, early retirements, and decreased productivity. 

Menopause, a natural phase in a woman’s life, often brings symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep disturbances, mood changes, and cognitive difficulties. These symptoms can significantly affect a woman’s quality of life and her professional performance. Recent studies have quantified this impact, revealing substantial economic consequences for both individuals and organizations.

A comprehensive study by the Mayo Clinic estimated that menopause-related symptoms lead to an annual loss of approximately $1.8 billion in work time in the United States. When accounting for direct medical expenses, the total economic burden rises to $26.6 billion annually. The study highlighted that menopausal symptoms adversely affect work performance, with severity correlating strongly with negative work outcomes. 

Beyond absenteeism, presenteeism—where employees are physically present but less productive due to health issues—also contributes to economic losses. Research indicates that women experiencing menopausal symptoms report higher levels of work impairment and increased healthcare utilization compared to those without such symptoms.

#5: Many low-income communities lack access to hormone therapy or specialist care. 

Menopause is a universal experience for women, but access to effective treatments like hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and specialist care is not equally distributed. 

Women in low-income communities often face significant barriers to accessing these essential health services, leading to disparities in menopause management and overall health outcomes.​

Research indicates that socioeconomic status significantly influences the utilization of HRT. 

A study found that women with moderate to high incomes were three times more likely to use HRT compared to those with low incomes. This disparity is attributed to factors such as lack of healthcare coverage, limited access to healthcare providers, and insufficient information about treatment options. 

Additionally, women from disadvantaged backgrounds often experience an earlier onset of menopause and report more severe symptoms. Despite this increased need, they are less likely to receive appropriate care, exacerbating health inequities.

Addressing these disparities is crucial for promoting health equity and ensuring that all women have access to effective menopause management.

#6: Specialized sleep technology for menopausal women has not been developed yet. 

Menopause often brings about significant sleep disturbances, with studies indicating that 40–60% of menopausal women experience sleep problems. These disturbances can severely impact quality of life, leading to fatigue, mood disorders, and decreased productivity. Despite the prevalence of these issues, there remains a notable gap in the development of specialized sleep technologies tailored specifically for menopausal women.

While general sleep aids and cooling products exist, few are explicitly designed to address the unique challenges posed by menopause-related sleep disturbances. 

For instance, some companies have introduced cooling mattresses and temperature-regulating bedding aimed at alleviating night sweats and hot flashes. However, these solutions are often generalized and not specifically tailored to the menopausal demographic. 

Moreover, comprehensive wearable devices that monitor sleep patterns in conjunction with menopausal symptoms are still underrepresented in the market.

#7: Most meal planning services and food products overlook the needs of women experiencing menopause.

Nutrition plays a major role in managing menopausal symptoms, yet most meal planning and food product development overlook the needs of this demographic.

This oversight leaves a substantial gap in the market for solutions tailored to alleviate menopause symptoms and promote overall health during this transitional phase.​

During menopause, decreased estrogen levels can lead to various health concerns, including bone density loss, increased cardiovascular risk, and weight gain. Incorporating specific nutrients, such as increased calcium, phytoestrogens, vitamin D, and omega 3 fatty acids into the diet can help mitigate these risks. 

The limited availability of menopause-focused meal planning services presents a significant opportunity for innovation.

#8: Menopause increases the risks of many chronic diseases.

Menopause marks a significant transition in a woman’s life, characterized by the cessation of menstrual cycles and a decline in estrogen levels. This hormonal shift is associated with an increased risk of several chronic diseases, making it a critical period for proactive health management.​

Below are just a few examples of the health risks menopausal and postmenopausal women face.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

The decline in estrogen during menopause contributes to an elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Estrogen is known to have a protective effect on the heart and blood vessels.

Its reduction leads to changes in body composition and lipid metabolism, increasing the risk of conditions such as coronary heart disease and stroke. Research indicates that women experience a notable increase in CVD risk during midlife, coinciding with the menopausal transition.

Osteoporosis

Estrogen plays a crucial role in maintaining bone density.

Post-menopausal women experience accelerated bone loss, leading to an increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures.

The World Health Organization notes that the loss of bone density at menopause significantly contributes to higher rates of osteoporosis and fractures among women.

Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes

Menopause is associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome. This elevates the risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

The hormonal changes during menopause can lead to visceral obesity, insulin resistance, and unfavorable lipid profiles.

Thought to Action

1. Normalize conversations about menopause. Menopause is still a taboo topic in many cultures. A layperson can help break the stigma by discussing menopause openly with friends, family, and colleagues.
2. Advocate for menopause-friendly workplaces. Many women suffer in silence at work due to symptoms like brain fog, sleep disturbances, and hot flashes. Let’s push for workplace policies that support menopausal employees. Supporting HR initiatives or signing petitions for legislative changes can make a real difference.
3. Support organizations focusing on menopause research. Men and women alike can back businesses and researchers focusing on menopause. For example, support can be investing, sharing their work, or simply choosing products that benefit menopausal women. If an entrepreneur in his network is working on a menopause-related innovation, he can offer mentorship or support.
4. Be a listener without jumping to being a “fixer”. Sometimes, we just need someone to listen without judgment. If a woman in your life shares her struggles with menopause, resist the urge to offer solutions unless she asks for them. Just acknowledging her experience with a simple “That sounds really challenging. How can I support you?” can go a long way.
5. Be curious, kind, and present. Whether it’s attending a menopause-awareness talk, joining a couple’s health checkup, or just being present when she’s struggling, showing up without making menopause feel like a taboo subject helps remove stigma.

Sources

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3820128

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/menopause-and-workplace-productivity/menopause-and-workplace-productivity

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-study-puts-price-tag-on-cost-of-menopause-symptoms-for-women-in-the-workplace

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10347781

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/menopause

https://www.forbes.com/sites/reenitadas/2019/07/24/menopause-unveils-itself-as-the-next-big-opportunity-in-femtech

https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/01/women-healthcare-gap

https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2024/12/to-advance-womens-health-research-nih-should-form-new-institute-and-congress-should-appropriate-new-funding-says-report

https://www.balance-menopause.com/menopause-library/how-your-background-can-affect-your-menopa

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1026537114638

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11297189

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6092036

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000912

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/menopause

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10672665

The post 8 Reasons You Will Regret Not Innovating For Menopause appeared first on Green Also Green.

“Learning never exhausts the mind.” – Leonardo da Vinci

One of the most well-known figures to represent Renaissance culture is the world’s favorite creative genius, Leonardo DaVinci. A painter, engineer, and scientist, he lived dozens of lifetimes in one. 

How did he do it? 

And why have so few managed to do it since?

This is a good question, an important one in a world so simultaneously plagued with problems and blessed with beauty. 

For many of us, living the life of a Renaissance person seems like a romantic pipe dream. 

Indeed, it seemed not so long ago that we were all starry-eyed toddlers who had seven answers whenever an adult hovered over us and asked that expansive-but-terrifying question: “So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Fast forward twenty, thirty, or forty-plus years, and those pipe dreams have been flushed away. 

But what if there was still time, and a strong need, for more people with DaVinci careers?

I’m not describing an alternate universe; I’m describing our reality. 

Now, here are 4 easy lessons that you can apply from DaVinci himself to make it your reality too. 

#1: Study Nature Closely

When designing his flight machine, DaVinci sketched an entire folio titled Flight Of Birds. He studied their wings, how air passes over them, and was even the first to document a maneuver called dynamic soaring. According to this research paper, his description pre-date the first “generally accepted explanation of the physics” of this technique by almost 400 years.

What can you take from this?

Observe patterns, systems & behaviors in the natural world. 

The original creative genius is natural selection herself.

#2: Embrace Experimentation. 

Another branch of Davinci’s legacy concerns his sketches of human anatomy. 

At the time, dissection was against the law unless you were a physician- he wasn’t. Nevertheless, he still dissected human remains, drawing what he saw and providing us with breakthroughs about the functions of bones and muscles in the body. 

Another example is DaVinci’s water vase experiment, which sought to test the theory that gravity is a form of acceleration. Ultimately, engineers at Caltech have confirmed that his understanding of gravity was centuries ahead of its time, and that he was able to calculate the gravitational constant with 97% accuracy. 

But what about the experiments that didn’t quite go to plan?

His Last Supper painting, whose experimental pigment didn’t stick to the wall, leading to quick degradation. 

His rejected plans to cast the bronze doors of a cathedral in Piacenza or design the dome for the cathedral of Milan.

In fact, for most of his life, DaVinci’s idea of himself was far from “creative genius”.

He considered himself a failure.

He experimented anyway. 

He tested his ideas (especially if they seemed unconventional).

He embraced failure. 

We need to do the same. 

#3: Self-Direct Your Education. 

Leonardo DaVinci was not what you would call “well-educated” in the traditional sense. He received the usual schooling of reading, writing, and arithmetic, but no “higher education” at university. 

In fact, it was only once he was about 30 years old that he started diving deep into the realms of advanced geometry, arithmetic, and Latin. 

At the end of the day, DaVinci was self-taught. 

He did his own experiments. He led his own research. He came up with questions and sought to answer them on his own terms. 

To what end? 

Making connections. 

The curse of being endlessly curious is that you are endlessly unsatisfied by the curriculums created by others. 

However, once you start to direct your education to learn about what truly fascinates you, you realize that the blessing is in gaining your own unique problem-solving vision that single-field, single-culture, single-skillset individuals just don’t have. This turns you into a creative genius.

DaVinci created a curriculum that answered all his questions, and for you to do the same is easier than it’s ever been before. 

Harness all the books, podcasts, YouTube videos, blogs, AI agents, and social media platforms that stimulate your curiosity.

Stop trying to make sense of your interests. 

Start following them. 

#4: Make Creativity A Habit. 

Arguably the most important of DaVinci’s creations was the creation of a habit, or perhaps several habits that changed the way he saw and responded to the world, ultimately creating a creative genius.

So, what can you do to replicate DaVinci’s genius (or maybe just his habits) in our fast-paced, hyper-productive, mostly-online world?

Make time daily to create.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Go out for walks in nature. Bring a sketchbook and pencil with you. Spend a few minutes looking closely at one component of your surroundings, and sketch it as you observe it.
• If you’re working on a design, product, or engineering problem, look at how nature solves similar challenges.
• If you’re learning something new (coding, art, engineering), try unconventional methods without worrying about failure.
• When stuck on a project, ask: “What would happen if I did the opposite?” or “What rule can I break?”
• Pick a subject unrelated to your field and explore it (e.g. read a book or article about it, listen to a podcast episode) —Leonardo studied everything from music to anatomy.
• Set up “apprenticeships” for yourself—shadow professionals or take online courses outside of your formal education.
• Schedule daily “idea time” (even 10 minutes) to brainstorm or sketch.
• Use cross-training: If you work in STEM, do something artistic like painting or writing to keep your creativity active. If you work in the arts, try a logic puzzle or engineering concept.
• Take Leonardo-style breaks: He believed stepping away from work helped ideas incubate—try taking walks, changing environments, or switching tasks.

Thought To Action 

1. Keep a Curiosity Journal: Note down observations about how things work or ideas for inventions, no matter how small.
2. Sketch For Your Brain: Draw diagrams and sketches to help process your thoughts and develop your ideas further. 
3. Study the “How” Of Everything You Find Interesting: Ask more questions and get in the habit of approaching all situations with curiosity and interest. 
4. Innovate Through Collaboration: Partner up with someone from another discipline to work on a project or to hear how they conceptualize particular challenges or ideas. 
5. Ask “What If” Questions: Regularly ask questions with a beginner’s mindset, asking the sort of “What if?” questions a child would. Make curiosity fun. 

Sources

Heydenreich, Ludwig Heinrich. “Leonardo Da Vinci.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Oct. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Leonardo-da-Vinci.

Papadopoulos, Loukia. “Experiments in Gravity: How Leonardo Da Vinci Was ahead of His Time.” Interesting Engineering, 14 Feb. 2023, interestingengineering.com/science/leonardo-da-vinci-inner-workings-of-gravity. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

Richardson, Philip L. “Leonardo Da Vinci’s Discovery of the Dynamic Soaring by Birds in Wind Shear.” Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science, vol. 73, no. 3, 3 Oct. 2018, pp. 285–301, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2018.0024. Accessed 22 Feb. 2021.

The post 4 Secrets From Leonardo da Vinci On How To Become A Creative Genius appeared first on Green Also Green.

“Creativity is connecting things.” – Steve Jobs

Why You Should Innovate At The Intersections 

Once upon a time, phones were ugly. 

They were clunky at first, then shrunk. In 1971, Intel invented microprocessors. The tech was revolutionary, but the aesthetics were abysmal. 

Enter Steve Jobs. 

After taking a calligraphy class, he fell in love with typography, which went on to heavily influence the aesthetic charm of all Apple products to this day. 

No, it wasn’t coding or engineering. It wasn’t a “practical” subject that promised high starting salaries. 

It was calligraphy. 

And it changed the course of history. 

What happened here was a collaboration across disciplines, facilitated by one man’s curiosity. 

After leaving Apple, Jobs went on to found Pixar, and once again created a beautiful collaboration between storytelling, art, and computing. 

The exciting part about this is that many opportunities to do what Jobs did exist in other intersections.

Which ones?

Read on to find out.  

The Top Emerging Fields For Interdisciplinary Teams

#1: Agriculture + Robotics

This combination is great for interdisciplinary teams interested in revolutionizing food production by increasing efficiency, sustainability, and precision. 

Currently, the agricultural sector is under immense pressure to produce more with fewer resources. 

As a result, it’s an exciting industry ripe for combining AI, machine learning, and robotics to solve real-world problems.

How to Get Started:

1. Learn Basics of Robotics and Agriculture: Take online courses in agricultural science and robotics (e.g., through Coursera or edX).
2. Gain Practical Experience: Volunteer or intern at farms or agritech companies that use robotics or smart farming techniques.
3. Build a Network: Join forums, attend agritech expos, or connect with professionals in agriculture and robotics.

#2: Ecology + Urban Planning

Ecology and urban planning together create sustainable, resilient cities that harmonize human development with the natural world. 

As urban populations grow, the need for eco-friendly planning becomes critical to prevent environmental degradation, manage resources, and combat climate change.

It’s a rewarding area for interdisciplinary teams passionate about blending science, creativity, and policy to design cities that thrive in balance with nature.

How to Get Started:

1. Study Fundamentals: Learn about environmental science and urban planning through degree programs or certifications.
2. Work on Local Projects: Volunteer with urban greening initiatives or ecological conservation projects in cities.
3. Engage with Professionals: Attend conferences like the American Planning Association’s events to network with experts, and others who are interested in working in interdisciplinary teams or already do.

#3: Music + Physics

Understanding the physics of sound enhances instrument design, audio technology, and acoustics, creating new possibilities for musical expression and innovation.

This field also has practical applications in sound engineering, concert hall acoustics, and music therapy, making it versatile and impactful for interdisciplinary teams. 

If you’re passionate about both music and science, this intersection offers a fulfilling career that combines analytical skills with artistry to innovate in the entertainment, technology, and health sectors.

How to Get Started:

1. Learn the Basics: Explore introductory courses in acoustics, sound engineering, or physics of music.
2. Experiment: Use DIY sound experiments to understand resonance, frequency, and waveforms.
3. Join Communities: Participate in forums like Acoustical Society of America or attend events on sound innovation.

#4: Fashion + Materials Science

The fusion of fashion and materials science is transforming the industry by pushing boundaries in sustainability, functionality, and innovation. 

This field is vital for developing eco-friendly fabrics, smart textiles, and performance wear, addressing consumer demand for sustainable and high-tech clothing. 

Materials science contributes to waste reduction by creating recyclable or biodegradable fabrics, while smart textiles enable wearable technology. 

It’s a dynamic industry for those who enjoy blending creativity with scientific discovery, offering a chance to redefine how we wear and produce clothing.

How to Get Started:

1. Educate Yourself: Enroll in textile science or fashion technology courses online or at design schools.
2. Explore Innovations: Research new materials like biofabricated leather or smart fibers and experiment with DIY designs.
3. Collaborate: Network with professionals in fashion and materials science to discuss innovative ideas and trends.

#5: Civil Engineering + Disaster Management

Civil engineering and disaster management form a critical partnership in protecting communities from natural and man-made disasters. 

This field focuses on designing resilient infrastructure, creating early warning systems, and planning disaster response strategies. 

It’s an essential area as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of disasters. 

Professionals in this intersection play a vital role in reducing loss of life and property while fostering sustainable rebuilding efforts. 

The work is impactful, directly contributing to the safety and recovery of affected communities.

How to Get Started:

1. Acquire Relevant Skills: Pursue civil engineering degrees with a focus on sustainable design and disaster mitigation.
2. Volunteer: Work with disaster relief organizations or local emergency management agencies.
3. Specialize: Take certifications in disaster risk reduction (e.g., through FEMA or Red Cross) to deepen your expertise.

Thought to Action 

1. Ask Unconventional Questions: Practice questioning assumptions, e.g., “What’s the opposite approach to solving this?”
2. Volunteer for Cross-Field Projects: Look for community initiatives blending art and technology or education and environment.
3. Create an Idea Board: Encourage cross-department brainstorming for social or environmental initiatives.
4. Leverage Free Resources: Learn from free resources online to maximize your awareness of other disciplines, such as statistics, data analysis, and marketing. 
5. Sketch For Your Brain: Draw diagrams and sketches to help process your thoughts and develop your ideas further. 

Sources

Cheng, Chao, et al. “Recent Advancements in Agriculture Robots: Benefits and Challenges.” Machines, vol. 11, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2023, p. 48, www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/11/1/48, https://doi.org/10.3390/machines11010048.

Gossett, Stephen. “Farming & Agriculture Robots.” Built In, 7 Mar. 2023, builtin.com/robotics/farming-agricultural-robots. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

Hrga, Iztok. “Wearable Technologies: Between Fashion, Art, Performance, and Science (Fiction).” TEKSTILEC, vol. 62, no. 2, 14 June 2019, pp. 124–136, www.tekstilec.si/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Tekstilec-02-2019-clanek-5.pdf, https://doi.org/10.14502/tekstilec2019.62.124-136. Accessed 20 Jan. 2021.

Suits, Bryan H. Physics behind Music. 2023.

“The Role of Civil Engineers in Disaster Management and Relief Efforts – GIS User Technology News.” GISuser, 12 Aug. 2023, gisuser.com/2023/08/the-role-of-civil-engineers-in-disaster-management-and-relief-efforts/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

The World Bank. “Agriculture and Food.” World Bank, 2018, www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

Wakchaure, Manas, et al. “Application of AI Techniques and Robotics in Agriculture: A Review.” Artificial Intelligence in the Life Sciences, vol. 3, no. 100057, Dec. 2023, p. 100057, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ailsci.2023.100057.

Witt, Emlyn, et al. “Mapping Construction Industry Roles to the Disaster Management Cycle.” Procedia Economics and Finance, vol. 18, 2014, pp. 103–110, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212567114009198, https://doi.org/10.1016/s2212-5671(14)00919-8. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

Wu, Jianguo. “Urban Ecology and Sustainability: The State-of-The-Science and Future Directions.” Landscape and Urban Planning, vol. 125, May 2014, pp. 209–221, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614000322, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.01.018. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

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“When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported back, the rate of improvement accelerates.”  – Pearson’s Law

Why Journaling Works

Before we talk about journaling ideas, imagine wanting to lose weight without knowing how much you currently weigh.

You brazenly announce with a bold New-Year-Resolution sense of conviction that this is the year. Yes, now you will finally start eating healthy and working out. You will fit into your old jeans again. It will be different now. 

Why?

Well, because you say so. 

One of the many reasons resolutions like this fail is because they do not involve tracking progress. 

While it takes courage to announce your goals, and clarity to design the systems to achieve them, one essential component to drip-feeding yourself motivation when you’re on the verge of giving up is knowing exactly how you have moved towards your goals on a smaller scale. 

How much weight did you lose in the last month? How many steps did you take today? What weight are you lifting now compared to two weeks ago? 

It is not to trick yourself into thinking you are at your goal, but instead to highlight that your effort has made a difference. 

Maybe you haven’t lost 20lbs yet, but your hard work has already lost you 3, and you are able to run for 3 consecutive minutes instead of only two. 

So actually, you are getting better and you should keep going…just to see what happens. 

That said, tracking progress isn’t always as easy as it sounds, and if you’re tracking progress for a project that has less obvious indicators of success, and you yourself are a busy person with lots of competing priorities, using these journaling ideas to keep track of your progress requires some tips and tricks to get started. 

Here are three journaling ideas just to get you started…

Journaling Idea #1: Record Reps 

It’s fun to come up with goals…less fun to work hard on them. 

The reality of making your goals happen is that you have to put in regular, consistent action. Usually, it takes longer than you hope for and requires you to grow in ways you could never anticipate. 

In those moments, it’s easy to lose motivation. 

…Unless you have a tangible measure of just how far you have come in that moment.

This journaling idea will help you save up motivation for the days when you ask yourself if your goal has any merit.

On these days, record the reps.

Record the smaller steps.

Record the daily wins and the time you put in. 

You have made progress, I promise you. 

How To Do It:

1. Define Key Actions
   • Identify the specific, repeatable actions (the “reps”) that directly contribute to your goal.
   • Example: For fitness, it could be “workout sessions”; for writing, it could be “words written.”
2. Choose a Tracking Method
   • Use a consistent format like a table, list, or tracker template in your journal to record each action.
   • Include dates, details of the action, and any measurable outcomes (e.g., “wrote 500 words on Jan 15”).
3. Set Daily or Weekly Targets
   • Establish how often you aim to perform the action (e.g., 5 times per week).
   • Break it into manageable chunks to keep it achievable.
4. Note Qualitative Observations
   • After each “rep,” jot down how you felt, what worked, and what didn’t. This adds context to your progress.
5. Review Weekly
   • At the end of each week, summarize the total number of reps completed, what helped you stay consistent, and what barriers you faced.
6. Adjust as Needed
   • Use your review to refine your approach, adjust targets, or find ways to improve consistency.
7. Celebrate Consistency
   • Acknowledge your streaks and progress regularly to reinforce positive habits and keep motivation high.

Journaling Idea #2: Visualize Success

It seems counterintuitive to visualize success before you’re even there. It feels like you haven’t “deserved” the win. 

Except that you have. 

To align your mindset with a vision of success allows you to translate your mindset into actions that accelerate your progress. It takes a big highlighter to all the opportunities you have for success in your domain, gradually diminishing the gaps between your current reality and your ideal state. 

This journaling idea leads to an intuitive track of progress that motivates you consistently. 

How To Do It:

1. Set a Visualization Ritual
   • Dedicate 5-10 minutes daily (morning or night) to visualize your success. Use your journal to support the process.
2. Describe Your Ideal Outcome
   • Write a detailed narrative about what achieving your goal looks and feels like. Include sensory details, emotions, and specific achievements.
3. Create a Vision Board (Optional)
   • Use your journal to sketch or paste images, quotes, or symbols that represent your goal.
4. Write as If You’ve Achieved It
   • Regularly journal from the perspective of your future self, describing the day, your accomplishments, and how life has improved.
5. Identify Key Behaviors and Mindsets
   • Reflect on what the “successful you” is doing regularly. Write out these habits and compare them to your current actions.
6. Review and Update
   • Revisit your visualization weekly to adjust it as your goals evolve or become more refined.
7. Use Affirmations
   • Write affirmations related to your goal. For example, “I am consistent in taking action toward [goal].” Use these as daily journal prompts.

Journaling Idea #3: Celebrate “Lessons Learned”! 

Not all progress is about “wins”. Sometimes, progress is about lessons.

To not only acknowledge this but use it to your advantage, make a special effort to journal about what you have learned from all the times your efforts didn’t quite pan out. 

This will help you avoid the same mistakes, and to show more patience toward the process of trial and error that is often required to achieve big goals. 

How To Do It

1. Acknowledge the Failure
   1. Write down the event or situation where you fell short. Be specific and avoid judgmental language.
2. Identify Contributing Factors
   1. Break down the reasons for the failure. Was it lack of preparation, external circumstances, or unrealistic goals?
3. Extract the Lesson
   1. Reflect on what you learned from the experience. Write how it could help you avoid similar mistakes or improve next time.
4. Reframe the Failure
   1. Write a positive takeaway by reframing the failure as a stepping stone toward growth. Example: “Missing my deadline taught me to set reminders and plan earlier.”
5. Plan Your Next Steps
   1. Write an action plan for how you will apply the lesson. Be specific about changes to your approach, strategy, or mindset.
6. Track Improvement
   1. Use your journal to monitor whether implementing the lesson leads to progress in future efforts.
7. Celebrate the Growth
   1. Take a moment to acknowledge your courage to face failure and learn from it. Write about how the experience has made you stronger.

Thought to Action 

1. Gratitude + Goals: For each of the above journaling ideas, start each entry with one thing you’re grateful for and one small step you’ll take tomorrow.
2. Visualize Success: Use sketching or doodling to map out goals and progress instead of writing paragraphs.
3. Keep a Curiosity Journal: Note down observations about how things work or ideas for inventions, no matter how small.
4. Leverage Free Resources: Learn from free resources online to maximize your awareness of other disciplines, such as statistics, data analysis, and marketing in conjunction with the above journaling ideas.
5. Understand Your Metrics: Track and measure your own progress with progress trackers, making sure to carefully determine which metric will appropriately measure your progress. 

Sources

No external resources were used to research for this post. 

The post Unlocking 3 Easy Journaling Ideas To 10x Your Progress appeared first on Green Also Green.

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.” -Maya Angelou

Creativity and innovation isn’t just for artists. 

It’s also for scientists and engineers, bankers and tech bros. It’s for mothers with screaming toddlers, and broke college students far away from home. 

Creativity lives within everyone, and it is for everyone. 

But even more importantly than this, we need creativity to solve the problems we face in our world. 

The issue?

We often turn away from exercising our creativity muscle due to fear of failure and embarrassment. 

It’s a stupid idea anyway. I’m probably not the first one to think of it. They will think I’m being weird. 

It is easy to have excuses like this. However, it stifles our development. 

So how do you finally, once and for all, learn how to be creative again- without the fear, the embarrassment, and the doubtful self-talk?

Practice. 

It’s not a quick fix, but it is an easy one. 

This Psychology Today article even suggests that “acts of creativity add meaning, shape, purpose, and richness to our days”.

This is to say, not only will practicing creativity make your life better, but it will also be fun, fulfilling, and add “richness” to your days. 

So how can you get started?

Let’s find out. 

What are the barriers to creativity and innovation? 

While we’re on the topic of using creativity to stimulate innovation, let’s talk about what innovation and creativity actually are. 

Wolfgang Grulke, author of Lessons In Radical Innovation defines innovation as “the change into something new, the introduction of novelties and the alteration of what is established”.

In other academic sources, creativity is defined as “the production of novel ideas that are useful and appropriate to the situation”.

So what are the implications of these definitions for us?

It means that to be innovative and creative, we need to change what is established into something new. 

Let’s consider that: creativity is changing what is established into something new. 

It is transformation. 

How does this take place? 

Is it through locking yourself in a room for weeks to write the next great classic novel? Is it by living isolated from society in the middle of the desert? Maybe for some. 

If you’re not willing to do either of those, however, the good news is that it’s actually a lot more simple. 

The formula is this: (1) recognize what is established and (2) identify how to transform it. 

If it’s this simple though, why isn’t everyone a creative genius?

Well, turns out these two steps are pretty difficult.

Here is a short list of just a few of the reasons why:

• Diminished engagement in artistic pursuits as we get older. 
• Low self-confidence
• Fear of failure
• Educational environments that stifle creative thinking
• Need for conformity
• And so on

The list is exhaustive and depressing. 

The good news is you don’t have to succumb to these reasons, nor do you have to let your creative potential dwindle. 

No matter who you are, what you do, or what problems you face, practicing creativity will make your life and work better. 

Want to know how to get started?

Keep reading. 

3 Simple Steps To Foster Creativity And Innovation

Now that we have discussed some of the common barriers to creativity, and you understand the importance of building the creativity muscle, what are some ways you can put this into practice?

Below are 3 simple easy strategies you can start applying today in order to get started!

#1: Use limitations as catalysts. 

This technique is all about setting arbitrary constraints to get your wheels turning. It’s about asking “What If”s several times to think in a way you wouldn’t have otherwise. 

What if your budget was $10? $100? $1000?

How would you create a particular artistic work if you only had half an hour? A day? A month? A year?

What if you had to cook dinner, but you were only allowed to use what you already had at home?

These limitations are only limitations in the superficial sense, because actually, they open your mind to several new possibilities. 

Concrete Steps Toward Creativity and Innovation

1. Set a specific problem or challenge: Identify a small, solvable problem in your life or work (e.g., how to organize your desk more efficiently).
2. Choose 3 tools or resources: Limit yourself to only three tools or items to solve the problem. For example, scissors, string, and a shoebox.
3. Write down possible solutions: Challenge yourself to come up with at least five creative ways to solve the problem using only those tools.
4. Think like a minimalist: Imagine you have to solve the problem with no access to technology or external help.
5. Ask “What if?”: Pose questions like, “What if I had to do this in under 10 minutes?” or “What if I had to explain this solution to a child?”
6. Test your solution: Try out your ideas practically and assess how well they work.
7. Reflect and iterate: After testing, write down what worked and what didn’t, and how the limitations pushed you to think differently.

#2: Break your routine. 

We are creatures of habit. 

In many ways, this is an incredible strength. 

When it comes to creativity though, it can hinder us. 

Habit shapes the way we see the world, and how we distribute our attention. By breaking out of this, we incrementally get to see the world from a new angle every time. 

Instead of eating the same recipe for dinner, try something new. Try vacationing in a new spot. Try listening to a new genre of music. 

Sometimes what we crave is the familiar, and that’s okay. 

But when we get stuck, or feel like we aren’t making progress, a little shift can be just what we need. 

Concrete Steps Toward Creativity and Innovation

1. Choose one daily activity to change: Identify something you do every day, like your commute, your lunch break, or your workout.
2. Plan one small change: Decide how you’ll do this differently. For example, take a different route, eat a meal from a different cuisine, or do your workout outdoors.
3. Explore a new medium or skill: Find a free resource online to try something new, such as watching a YouTube tutorial on origami or listening to a podcast outside your usual topics.
4. Interact with new people: If possible, initiate a conversation with someone you wouldn’t normally talk to, even just a brief chat.
5. Notice and record the changes: Write down how this change made you feel, any unexpected observations, and what you learned.
6. Repeat daily for variety: Commit to one small routine-breaker every day for a week to build momentum.
7. Be open to discomfort: Remind yourself that unfamiliarity is a sign of growth and lean into it.

#3: Keep a curiosity journal.

Throughout my own life, the benefits of writing have manifested in a plethora of unexpected ways- from the solace of keeping a diary, to the intellectual fulfillment of hosting a blog. 

Yet another facet of my journaling habit that has hugely benefited me is keeping a small notebook to simply write down the things I’m curious about – an idea I want to explore, or a book I want to read. 

It can even be as simple as a thought-provoking question or a clever phrasing. 

Writing down what you’re curious about ensures that you remember it.

It creates a springboard for you to dive deeper into your interests, or to simply become aware of them in the first place. 

Ultimately, it is a habit of self-awareness, signaling to yourself “this is something I want to learn about”, “this is what I believe”, “this is who I want to become”, or “this is why the world is beautiful to me”.

Concrete Steps Toward Creativity and Innovation

1. Find or create a journal: Use a notebook, an app, or even a stack of sticky notes to collect your ideas.
2. Take 5 minutes to observe: Look at your surroundings with fresh eyes and jot down anything that sparks your curiosity. For example, how a particular building is designed or why your coffee cup is shaped the way it is.
3. Think like a child: Ask “Why?” about everything, no matter how simple or obvious it seems.
4. Add invention ideas: Write down any ideas for new products, solutions, or art—even if they seem unrealistic.
5. Revisit and build on ideas: Review your journal weekly to identify patterns or ideas worth exploring further.
6. Share your curiosity: Ask others about the things they’ve noticed or wondered about—it could inspire you further.

Thought To Action 

1. Ask Unconventional Questions: Practice questioning assumptions, e.g., “What’s the opposite approach to solving this?”
2. Keep a Curiosity Journal: Note down observations about how things work or ideas for inventions, no matter how small.
3. Try DIY Experiments: Use simple household items to recreate basic scientific experiments or art projects.
4. Nature Art Observation: Spend 10 minutes observing a tree, leaf, or pattern in nature. Sketch or write about its design and possible applications in everyday life.
5. Leverage Free Resources: Learn from free resources online to maximize your awareness of other disciplines, such as statistics, data analysis, and marketing. 

Sources

Chacón-López, Helena, and Ana Maeso-Broncano. “Creative Development, Self-Esteem and Barriers to Creativity in University Students of Education according to Their Participation in Artistic Activities.” Thinking Skills and Creativity, vol. 48, June 2023, p. 101270, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101270.

Cohan, Deborah J. “The Importance of Creativity | Psychology Today United Kingdom.” Www.psychologytoday.com, 1 Oct. 2022, www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/social-lights/202210/the-importance-of-creativity. Accessed 16 Jan. 2025.

Nordin, Norshidah, and Mellisa Malik. “Undergraduates’ Barriers to Creative Thought and Innovative in a New Millennial Era.” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 201, Aug. 2015, pp. 93–101, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.08.136. Accessed 21 Oct. 2020.

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