The walking conversations with my dear friend Luca are an endless source of inspiration. I wish for everyone to have the opportunity to walk regularly with someone with whom you can easily create a sacred and inspiring space. If you don't know that person yet, just get your shoes, grab your phone and give me a shout. I'll be happy to walk with you.
In our last conversation, Luca introduced me to a simple yet ingenious concept from permaculture.
It is the concept of zones, part of the fourth principle of permaculture design. I'm entirely new to the subject, but this is what I understood.
The idea of zones is to plan the placement of elements in the space - trees and plants, animals, structures and buildings - to make to most efficient use of energy. Zones are determined by two straightforward metrics: how often you need to use the element and how often you need to service it.
Zones spread like concentric ripples from your house. The things you use the most or require the most attention should be closer to you. And the elements you use least often or need little, or no attention can stay further away.
Obviously, it's more complex than this. Zones are not rigid boundaries, and they blend into each other. Plus, this planning system is part of a larger one. However, my simple mind is constantly craving mental models and structures, so its simplicity struck me.
I think it's a brilliant system that can inspire a model we can use to plan how we do things in our life and work. For example, if we look at zones as priority areas, we can organize the things we have to do starting from the centre (zone 0, you) and then moving outward (depending on what things in your life you need more).
If you have any idea how we can use this system to improve efficiency in life and work, please share it in the comments below!
There is plenty of material on the topic, but I found this article very well written for someone completely new to the subject like me.