That\u2019s not to say those who manage the two-time founder and CEO\u2019s schedule don\u2019t give Richards some wiggle room. Light green (admin) and dark green (compliance) can be shifted \u201cwithin reason\u201d, she says, and there\u2019s often \u201cfree time\u201d built into her day to accommodate the unpredictable. But they are never, Richards says, allowed to touch the yellows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to really be on my game,\u201d Richards says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re doing a lot of talking \u2026 you can\u2019t just show up as half a person. You have to have your energy restored for things like that, too, so you can think on your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yellow is crucial to Richards, who runs both online law firm Virtual Legal and tele-law platform Law on Earth, and who travels overseas two to three times a year. The yellow colour-coding is in her calendar every morning from when she wakes up until 7am. Yellow is Richards\u2019 label for \u201chealth\u201d. And that includes jumping on her mini-trampoline.<\/p>\n
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In addition to walking her dog or working out, yellow in Katie Richards\u2019 calendar also blocks out her dedicated mini-trampoline time.Credit: Dan Peled<\/p>\n
The theory behind \u2018microdosing delight\u2019 to alleviate stress<\/p>\n
Neuroscientist Dr Rachel Barr<\/a>, who wrote the book How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend while completing her PhD on the electrophysiology of memory and sleep, recommends that her social media followers \u201cmicrodose delight\u201d several times a day \u2013 it could be something as simple as spending a few minutes\u2019 listening to your favourite song, or playing with your dog until you feel calm \u2013 to help alleviate the compounding effect of chronic stress, of which, Barr says, we are more susceptible than our ancestors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe, as modern humans, are now dealing with an environment of stress that is harder for our brains and bodies to cope with,\u201d Barr tells more than 840,000 TikTok<\/a> users. Delight, Barr argues, is \u201cexactly the right shape\u201d to stop our stress response in its tracks.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n Neurobiologist Dr Natalie Matosin, of the University of Sydney\u2019s Brain and Mind Centre, agrees with Barr\u2019s theory, noting our \u201cdramatically different environment\u201d from when we were cave people, and the modern shift to external stressors being more psychological, than physical, means they are more difficult to escape.<\/p>\n Put simply, as hunter-gatherers, our stress response would cascade once our body knew we\u2019d successfully dodged the saber-toothed cat, our state of calm ushered along by the sprint, the resulting endorphins indicating to our stress receptors that it\u2019s time to lower our cortisol levels<\/a>.<\/p>\n But you can\u2019t run away from an after-hours text from your boss<\/a>, and while going for a walk to clear your head, you could easily spend that time ruminating on the situation instead. With the instinctive relaxation response not working for this scenario, it\u2019s harder for those receptors to know the threat has passed. But a small burst of joy would get the message across.<\/p>\n While some stress is good for us<\/a> \u2013 our naturally higher cortisol levels in the morning help us to wake up \u2013 a chronic activation of our stress response, Matosin says, is something our bodies aren\u2019t built to handle. Microdosing delight stimulates the neurochemical cocktail \u2013 dopamine, endogenous opioids, serotonin, oxytocin and the endocannabinoid system \u2013 that suppresses cortisol release, and is a way to tune down our stress system.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a biological standpoint, every positive experience makes less space for adverse experience,\u201d says Matosin. \u201cIt also inhibits, even if it\u2019s just a little bit, the biological stress response. Whether it turns it off or turns it down, eventually that could have a positive net effect on the way our brain cells connect and communicate.\u201d <\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n Richards took up mini-trampolining in February, after attending life coach Tony Robbins\u2019 Life & Wealth Mastery course<\/a> in Fiji. Robbins touts mini-trampolining as a way to stimulate the lymphatic system, which is responsible for helping the body filter out waste and bacteria. But Richards has found it\u2019s become a key way for herself and her employees to de-stress.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I can see that one of my staff has just had a difficult call with someone, then we all just say, \u2018Straight to the trampoline\u2019,\u201d says Richards, who spent extra on a mini-trampoline that can fold in half and be carried in a case wherever she goes. Richards will often unpack and jump on it for a few minutes to refresh after her \u201cheavy\u201d blue calendar blocks (legal drafting), or on a lunch break.<\/p>\n \u201cWe obviously absorb a lot of [clients\u2019] stress as lawyers. When you\u2019re jumping up and down, you don\u2019t think about anything else other than jumping up and down. It completely clears any sort of emotional stress that you\u2019ve just gone through.\u201d<\/p>\n Does \u2018microdosing delight\u2019 work for everyone?<\/p>\n It\u2019s complicated, says Matosin. Stress thresholds are specific to the individual \u2013 and those who have severe mental health concerns \u201cmay not even be able to get to a place where they can experience any delight\u201d. Effective delight dosages, in terms of frequency, activity and duration, vary. But it\u2019s also one of the more realistic wellness habits.<\/p>\n \u201c[Microdosing delight] is a small thing. With behavioural change, I think it\u2019s really difficult for people to overhaul their whole life, like get on an exercise regime, eat vegetables, drink lots of water and get eight to 10 hours of sleep a night,\u201d says Matosin. \u201cBut this is achievable because it only takes a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Dosage, however, doesn\u2019t only concern amount. It\u2019s also about the activity, which Dr Desir\u00e9e Kozlowski, associate professor of psychology at Southern Cross University and lead researcher for the National Pleasure Audit, says won\u2019t be the same for everyone.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody finds pleasure in different things to different extents,\u201d says Kozlowski, who says the concept should be broadened to pleasure, which isn\u2019t confined to delight\u2019s novelty stipulation. \u201cWe all have different personalities. We have different genetics. We have different learning; we have different sociocultural influences. All of those things affect what it is that we find pleasurable.\u201d<\/p>\n Richards needs to get away from her screen. Kozlowski finds enjoyment in music and ocean swimming. But game developer Marin Cristian-Ovidiu, CEO of OnlineGames.io, finds digitally playing five-minute rounds of classic arcade games (think Pac-Man, Galaga, Metal Slug) essential to resetting his mental state.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I\u2019m deep in strategy meetings, product road maps, or investor calls, those few minutes of gameplay aren\u2019t \u2018work\u2019 but kind of like a throwback to why I got into this space in the first place,\u201d says Marin, who finds traditional de-stress methods like breathing exercises more like work. \u201cIt feels nostalgic.\u201d<\/p>\n Kozlowski, who is also an advocate for savouring the small moments, says her general advice is \u201cdose yourself up as much as you possibly can\u201d with pleasure as \u201cthe more moments of reprieve you can grab, the better it is\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you feel your shoulders let down \u2026 or the buzzing has gone from your head, then you\u2019re doing the right thing,\u201d says Kozlowski. \u201cIf you wait for great big pleasures like an overseas trip, or falling in love or buying a new car, it\u2019s not enough. Because your stressors are coming thick and fast every single day, you need to be heading those off with these restorative moments every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n