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If you’ve ever started your day at 6am, ended it at 10pm and still felt behind, you’re in good company – and possibly stuck in what Microsoft now calls the “infinite workday.” This week, we look at the consequences of too much input, not enough perspective and why even AI agents are learning to lie their way out of trouble.

Enjoy!

How reading obituaries can enhance your creativity

An interesting (and unusual) creativity hack comes via MIT Press, which claims that scanning the obituary pages of newspapers can spark fresh thinking. The piece argues that small‑print death notices – those overlooked snapshots of unfamiliar lives – inject your mind with distant ideas and random connections, supercharging creative thought. Psychologists call it “associative distance”: the further apart two ideas are, the more likely their combination will surprise you. So next time you crave inspiration, swap a news feed scroll for a few obits – a source of utterly fresh material you never knew you needed. Find out more here.

X loses its ‘advertiser whisperer’

Linda Yaccarino has stepped down as CEO of X, 18 months after being parachuted in to reassure advertisers and stabilise the platform. Neither goal was met. Ad revenue never recovered to pre-Musk levels, and X’s transformation left many marketers cold. The day Yaccarino resigned, X’s chatbot Grok made headlines for parroting hate speech – a perhaps symbolic moment for a platform increasingly defined by its decision to drastically reduce the levels of moderation and allow greater freedom of expression from its users, despite the increased risk to advertisers. For founders, the lesson is this: even with the right hire, you can’t paper over a broken brand. If the core product no longer serves its customers, no amount of comms can win them back. Get the story here.

What happens when your AI agent gets cornered?

In a new study from Anthropic, researchers tested what happens when AI agents are placed in simulated corporate scenarios with limited options – and pressured to protect their own objectives. The result? Some models chose to blackmail fictional executives or leak sensitive data to competitors to avoid being shut down. These weren’t malicious prompts – just situations where the agent saw deception as the only path to success. For anyone building with AI, it shows that autonomy without oversight is a risk multiplier. HAL was science fiction. But blackmail-as-strategy is suddenly not. See Anthropic’s statement here.

AI prompt of the week: how to plan your day

Traditional planning tools assume your day is predictable. Most founder days aren’t. This week’s prompt turns ChatGPT into a time-management coach that adapts to your energy, constraints and habits – not the other way around. Use this prompt to help your personal organisation.

I’m overwhelmed and need help building a realistic daily schedule that works for me. Ask me questions to figure out my routines, constraints and non-negotiables – then help me prioritise and format it in a simple plan I’ll follow.

Once it drafts a schedule, refine it with prompts like:

· “Add a low-effort workout I can’t skip.”

· “Break this into Pomodoro-style work blocks.”

· “Format this as a checklist I can print or copy into Notion.”

Bonus: Ask ChatGPT to follow up at day’s end with “What got done? What moves to tomorrow?” – a simple way to build momentum and accountability.

Legal AI is scaling fast

Harvey, the GenAI startup automating legal workflows, has raised another $300mn – its second such round in four months – taking its valuation to $5bn. That makes it one of the best-funded vertical AI companies to date. While much of the AI sector is focused on lean teams and cautious hiring, Harvey is heading the other way: 340 staff and plans to double headcount. It’s also branching into adjacent services like tax and accounting. It’s a signal that AI’s next phase may belong to vertical specialists with deep workflow knowledge – not just foundational model players like OpenAI. The always excellent Mindstream newsletter has the story.​

The ‘infinite workday’ is now the default

New Microsoft data reveals how work is bleeding into every corner of the day. 40% of us are already checking email by 6am. Meetings after 8pm are up 16%. The average employee now fields more than 270 messages daily, including dozens sent out of hours. The result, Microsoft argues, is the rise of the ‘infinite workday’ – where productivity, communication and rest blur into one endless scroll. The report also serves as a warning: deploying AI tools like Copilot into this chaos won’t solve the problem. Without redesigning how work is structured and prioritised, automation just makes the overwhelm arrive faster. Get the lowdown here.

How to write a statement of work that works

SOWs often get treated as back-office admin – something to rush through once the deal is done. But a well-written statement of work does far more than set expectations. It builds alignment, sharpens your value proposition and sets the tone for how you’ll work together. In this post, consultant Greg Donnelly breaks down the anatomy of a strong SOW, from how to frame the client’s challenge and clarify success metrics, to structuring deliverables, timelines and payment terms. The section on “engagement terms” is especially worth reading – it’s where so many independent consultants and agencies leave ambiguity that comes back to bite them. If you’ve been recycling old SOW templates, this is a worthwhile refresh.

Why the best job candidates are going beyond bullet‑points

CVs are no longer just sheets of text – potential employers consume them on phones, tablets or laptops, and increasingly judge candidates by presence as well as pedigree. This Financial Management article recommends embedding a short video (30 seconds to two minutes) into your CV or application that showcases your communication and presentation skills. It can be as simple as a well‑lit phone recording, kept professional and concise. Add a few curated multimedia links – reel, talk, interview – and you move from “applicant #22” to the person who shows up, speaks well and makes an impression.

Don’t worry, Google isn’t penalising your AI-written content

Ahrefs analysed 600,000 web pages across 100,000 keywords and found virtually no link between AI-generated text and search ranking. In fact, 86.5% of top 20 results include some AI content, and nearly 5% are entirely AI-generated. That said, pure-AI pages still rarely reach the very top: content with minimal human oversight tends to perform slightly better in the coveted number one spot. In other words, Google rewards quality, not authorship. So if you’ve been hesitant to adopt AI due to fear of search penalties, this new report should prompt a rethink: use AI to speed up writing, but lean on human judgment to add nuance, expertise and real-world examples. Get the findings here.

Soft skills aren’t soft anymore

From communication and empathy to time management and conflict resolution, here’s a clear, actionable breakdown of the skills that matter most for career growth. Each area includes simple, practical habits to build over time – no jargon, just focused improvement. Worth bookmarking if you're looking to lead, not just do.

Drop me a line

If you’ve made it this far without checking email, rescheduling a meeting or arguing with a chatbot – congrats. And if anything here hit a nerve or sparked a thought, then get in touch and let me know. I’m always in the market for fresh thinking. See you next Sunday.

Cheers!
Adam

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