Transition Bellingen News - review of frequency and content

Dear TB supporter.

We would love your feedback on something that is perplexing us.

We have had an increasing amount of requests from various groups and individuals in our community to pass on notifications of various meetings, events, and causes via this email list. We are beginning to be a little bit challenged by all these requests, as we feel that you signed up to our mailing list in order to hear specifically about Transition events, and we don't want to flood your inbox with emails.

Perhaps you have noticed that you ordinarily receive one email from us per week, usually on a Friday - which lists first all events connected directly to Transition Bellingen, and then other events. We have tried to limit these other events by using the following criteria: (1) local initiatives that will help make our community more resilient in the face of shocks such as peak oil, climate change and financial crisis, and (2)  initiatives from community-based, not-for-profit groups whose work is relevant to this goal, and that do not publicise commercial or party political initiatives.

But it often more complicated than that. Here is an example:  we received a request to urgently publicise an event on Lyme Disease which was happening before the next issue of our newsletter . Do we send it out at all - it is local and it is non-profit and it is about resilience, albeit not directly connected to climate change, etc. Do we send it out immediately or don't we? Well, in this case we are being creative - we are sending out the notification  - but we are also taking the opportunity to ask for your feedback about what you think about this.

Specifically:
(1) Do you want TB emails to be specifically about TB connected events, or do you want us to continue to include notifications of other events that fit our criteria as listed above?
(2) Would you prefer getting an email from us once a week, or would you mind  getting more emails from us mid-week if necessary?
(3) Do you have any comment on our criteria as listed above?

If you have gotten this far, thanks for reading - we look forward to hearing back from you with whatever you have to say.

Yours, in the spirit of transition,

David and Lisa, on behalf of the Transition Bellingen hub

Take the Nap challenge 16 April to 11 May 2012

Nap Challenge

Workplace Nap Challenge

work smarter, not harder

Monday April 16^th to Friday May 11^th, 2012 Bellingen

No matter what your profession, personal sustainability is essential to your livelihood.

So why not try the powernap as a potent source of ‘renewable energy’

and a proven performance enhancing practice?

The Challenge:  Powernap (i.e for up to 25 minutes) TWICE A WEEK for 3 WEEKS

at the Nap Zzone, St Andrews Church, Hyde Street or in a space that suits you.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t sleep. You just need to stop, lie down and take a break.

Why?  Research shows that a nap as brief as 10 minutes can:

Alleviate tiredness and increase alertness

Improve mood and concentration

Reduce workplace errors and accidents.

Evidence-base aside … the mini-siesta offers sweet relief from being “on” all the time. 

Participating in the challenge is an opportunity to:

·       train yourself in the habit of taking a brief energy-boosting  break during your working day, rather than simply pushing on despite fatigue, or relying on artificial stimulation to get you through the afternoon

·        help re-shape our Western work culture into one that recognises the mini-siesta as a smart and socially acceptable practice. 

TO REGISTER: 

Choose 3 weeks within the designated month for your challenge, then contact Thea O’Connor to sign up and for further details. enquiries@thea.com.au, 0412 190 860. FEE: $4 (for starter nap kit)

The Nap Zzzone at Still Point, St Andrews is a collaboration between Transition Bellingen and the Uniting Church in support of human beings (versus human doings). The Bellingen Chamber of Commerce supports NapNow! as a sustainable and tangible benefit for business owners, managers and staff. Transition Bellingen supports NapNow! as part of a larger social movement building community resilience and exploring sustainable ways of living now, and in the future.  

NAPNOW is a cultural change movement designed to normalise the mini-siesta in our work culture www.thea.com.au/nappingproject