TKW Newsletter : Being well with money and mind

Kia ora anō e hoa 👋

In 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to give women the right to vote in parliamentary elections. Only two months after the law was passed, 109,461 women enrolled to vote in the 1893 election.

It wasn’t achieving equity by any measures, but it was certainly a big step for women, and it marks a reminder of the efforts trailblazing women went to 130 years ago, to ensure we today, are able to have a voice.

We’re sure we don’t need to remind you that this week is your chance to exercise that right to vote in Aotearoa. Here are some quick tips about voting:

• You don’t need to be enrolled on the day, to vote. You can visit a voting place and they will enrol you on the spot.

• You can vote any day, not just on Saturday 14 October - election day, but on this day in particular, all voting places will be open from 9am - 7pm.

• If you are currently overseas and you didn’t vote before you left, you can vote here.

• There are lots of voting places around - you can search for the closest voting place to you here.

• You get two votes - one vote for your electorate candidate (the area that you live in) and one party vote. Check out who you can choose for your electorate candidate and party votes.

It’s so important that you exercise your right to vote. You might not feel that one vote matters, but every single vote does matter. When you vote, you’re making a statement for the country you want to live in, work in, and support your whānau in.

We all count, and we all matter whānau mā.

In this newsletter we’re doing things a little different! We’ve got:

• The Podcast: A new episode with Cat Rikihana

• New Tool: Zoom AI Companion

• A Lesson: Avoiding Burnout in the tail end of the year

🔊 The Podcast: Empowering Financial Wellbeing with Cat Rikihana

🖥️ New Tool: Zoom AI Companion

We’ve been watching AI technology roll out in many spaces since ChatGPT hit the ground running, and we’re always keen to check out the latest tools, so that we can share what works to enhance, expand or improve the work that our community does.

For a while now we’ve been playing around with different AI tools that are designed to summarise online meetings (if you’ve been in a meeting with Amy, you might have met her Otter once or twice!).

However in keeping up with the game, Zoom have dropped their own AI companion into the atmosphere and so we’ve been in to have a play to find out more!

Here’s what we know:

• If you have a paid Zoom account, you automatically get access to Zoom AI Companion features;

• If you’re late to a meeting, you can ask Zoom AI companion to “catch you up”, great for summarising what’s been shared so far so your team doesn’t need to stop and go over things;

• Meeting summary and smart recording features are golden nuggets for capturing key points, actions, and minutes of a meeting, so you can get on with the doing afterwards;

• There are loads more features available within team chats now, including thread summaries, and drafting or customizing messages.

READ: Getting started with Zoom AI Companion features

Why are we sharing this with you? We think it’s important that wāhine are not left behind when it comes to technology. We approach tech with a curiosity mindset and hope that by sharing what we learn, we might just help you improve systems in your pakihi or mahi.

☮️ A Lesson: Avoiding Burnout in the Tail End of the Year

We often notice at this time of the year, mahi seems to ramp up instead of taper down. This unusual pressure we put on ourselves to “get it done before the end of the year”, when in actual fact, the start of the new year is just a few days later.

You might also notice a lower mood or energy over winter (our natural instinct to hibernate) and the energetic pull to do more as the days get longer.

We want to encourage you to go against the grain, and avoid symptoms of burnout at the tail end of the year, so you can truly enjoy your summer.

• Hinengaro - mental overload is a thing. When your brain goes into overdrive, it affects your sleep, anxiety levels, mood, and more. Find moments in the day where you can empty your mind - through meditation, brain dumping lists or a work shutdown routine (to switch out of work mode).

• Whānau - build your self-awareness on how social engagements fill or drain your energy. If you’re introverted particularly, block out time where you can be alone. Be intentional with who you spend time with - more time with those who give you energy, less time with those who drain your energy.

• Wairua - it’s important to find ways to switch off from stimulation. Netflix and chilling sounds like great fun, but too much can have your brain wired. Find time to step away from devices, and instead go outside, be around the sounds of nature - birds, trees, wind, water.

• Tinana - focus on what goes in your body, on your body, moving your body and resting your body. But don’t overwhelm yourself with a transformation all at once if it’s all brand new. Pick one thing at a time. It might be aiming for 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Or 3L of water. It could be going out for a walk or to a gym class.

Ngā manaakitanga,
Te Kāinga Wāhine