Dorney gives name to new grant, forget about time management, and the new Apple credit card. Readings from around the world on business, leadership and management.

Sean Dorney

Better journalism about the Pacific region from the Australian media—who wouldn’t like to see that?

It’s great to see the Walkley Foundation in Australia launch a new AUD$10,000 (K24,000) grant for Pacific journalism in the name of the celebrated journalist, Sean Dorney.

Applications for the Sean Dorney Grant for Pacific Journalism, which ‘aims to encourage more and better journalism about the Pacific islands region by Australian media professionals and outlets’ open on 12 April.

Let’s hope they’re inundated with applicants.

Are you paying attention?

Credit Maura Thomas, maurathomas.com

Feeling a bit overwhelmed with the amount of work piling up in front of you? Organisational psychologist Adam Grant has some advice.

‘The key to getting things done, we’re often told, is time management. If you could just plan your schedule better, you could reach productivity nirvana,’ he writes in a recent article in the New York Times.

‘But, after two decades of studying productivity, I’ve become convinced that time management is not a solution—it’s actually part of the problem.’

‘A better option is attention management: prioritise the people and projects that matter … Attention management is the art of focusing on getting things done for the right reasons, in the right places and at the right moments.

‘It’s not about time; it’s about timing,’ says Grant. ‘If you’re trying to power through a boring task, do it after a moderately interesting one, and save your most exciting task as a reward for afterward.’

Apple takes bite on credit card

Tech giant Apple has plans to put a credit card into the hands of every iPhone user. Backed by Goldman Sachs and Mastercard, the Apple Card announced last month is effectively a virtual credit card that it sits in the Wallet app on your phone (Apple will issue physical cards as well, for those that need them.)

You apply for the card via your phone and, once it’s ‘installed’, you can make a purchase simply by tapping your iPhone (or, presumably, an Apple Watch) against any compatible EFTPOS terminal, or use it to pay for online goods and services as you would with a regular credit card.

Apple Card claims lower fees than a ‘usual’ credit card, a cute interface via the app, enhanced security, and cash back on every purchase you make.

The card won’t be launched in North America until July or August and there are no dates yet for this corner of the world, but already US magazine Forbes is predicting 30 million customers within two years.

Given how closely Apple’s competitors mirror its products, can a Google Card be far behind?