Things that you, as a human being, may find interesting (psychology, productivity, health, career, relationships, parenting, …)
Here’s a really interesting article about remember things better by not finishing learning them.
Total mind hack. 🤯
👉 How To Remember Better by Not Finishing Learning
Start the task
Stop before finishing
Gather information
Reflect on what was gathered externally and internally
I took a class from this lady once, and I’ve really been digging the ideas in this video.
Basically, she’s saying that this pandemic is not just a problem. It’s an opportunity to reset yourself and find your focus. This extra time without a commute and all the normal trappings of life is a rare gift. Make use of it. 💪🏻
Having now read enough (too many) self-help books, I was starting to think that they all overlap and are just saying different variations of the same thing. I feel like I have unofficially graduated from self-help school. 👨🏻🎓
So I was happy to see this post that basically captures all of the self help out there in one concise list. It’s a really good summary of how to take charge of your life and your own happiness. It has “chapters” on goals, limiting beliefs, growth mindset, thinking too much, self-care, gratitude, and all the other top hits.
👉 The Shortest Self-Help Book You’ll Ever Read
My favorite quote is from The Mortality Chapter.
You have to go about every day like you might live forever, but also like you might die tomorrow afternoon.
That pretty well describes one of the key tensions in life. Well said, Jessica Wildfire (is that a pen name or what?).
As a bit of an introvert, I find happy hours 🙄, networking events 🥱, and other stand-around-talking situations frustrating. They tend to feel shallow, and they get boring fast.
But these events can be fun, even for us introverts!
I really like this Medium article because it’s just such a simple win-win: tips for having fun and being more likable when meeting random people. Plus it lets the people you are stuck talking with have a better time too!
👉 3 Habits of Super-Likable People
Basically, it says to go ahead and be the geek that you really are and curiously let other people geek out about themselves. Hmm, that feels like two tips. Anyways, it’s three somehow. 🤷🏻♂️
There is no right or wrong way to interact with people. There’s only the authentic way — being you; which means connecting with others in a way that feels right for you.
See also: 3 Ways To Improve A Conversation If You’re An Introvert (👉 Ask Open-Ended Questions, Don’t Make The Conversation About Yourself, Improve Your Body Language.
By the way, these tips overlap a lot with a previous post about easy conversation here as well.
I recently came across this book on Audible called The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins. I didn’t end up buying the book since I don’t want to send 7 hrs and 35 mins listening to a book about a 5-second strategy. The math just didn’t add up for me. 😆
But I saw there was a short TED talk on the 5 Second Rule plus an even shorter YouTube video on the topic.
The basic idea is that as you go through your day, you have things constantly popping into your head. These are fleeting things that you should do, would like to do, useful ideas, and so forth. Mel says you have 5 seconds to act on that idea or it’s gone, or at least you won’t do anything about it. And acting on those ideas is the difference between making the life you want and not. 🤯
I like that idea. But what can you actually do in 5 seconds? I mean, you’re probably driving or out for a jog or playing Wii. You can’t necessarily write down a note or call up your cousin right then and there and invite him to lunch. You can’t go adopt a dog in 5 seconds. And you sure as hell can’t write a book in 5 seconds.
Mel has other suggestions on how to handle this 5-second period, but I’ve been dumping things like this into the appropriately named Things app on my iPhone. It goes like this:
Hey Siri, using Things, remind me to invite my cousin to lunch
That’s it. Now it’s in your inbox. You can figure out the details later, but at least now you have a placeholder / reminder. My Things inbox has grown way too long to be useful in the past (way into the hundreds), but I eventually fought it down, gradually turning this list into projects or reference notes or calendar reminders. I’ve also turned more than 400 fleeting thoughts into a database of book ideas (thanks to Evernote).
The only way I keep my Things inbox under control is to clean out the inbox once a week on Sundays. Usually I have about 40 things for the week to act on, organize, file, or discard. It takes about an hour a week.
And by the way, both this very blog and this specific post came out of a 5-second thought. 🤓
Hey Siri, using Things, remind me to check out Mel Robbins and The 5 Second Rule
This looks promising. It’s a free, donation-funded online community for writers. 🤓
Recommended by my writing teacher. 👍
Writing a novel alone can be difficult, even for seasoned writers. NaNoWriMo helps you track your progress, set milestones, connect with other writers in a vast community, and participate in events that are designed to make sure you finish your novel
A while back, I posted a link to the Artist’s Hierarchy of Needs. The idea seemed useful, although it was not a hierarchy per se, but more of just a list. 🤷🏻♂️
I think the idea of the artist’s hierarchy was inspired Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which is more of a real hierarchy. So it’s kind of cool to see this post.
👉 SELF CARE PART 2: CREATIVE HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Basically it says that you need take good care of yourself before you can aspire to your “ultimate self-actualization”. I guess that’s super obvious, but still it makes for a cool idea and a good visual. 😆
And the Creatively, LLC blog looks great overall beyond this post. I like their motto, “Create Your Best Life”. Via Fresh Ink Austin
A few months ago, I took an improv class. You might think I did it to learn to be funnier. I mean, it did help a little. But mostly it helped my attitude, just being open and ridiculous. I do still have a stockpile of ready-made dad jokes, though.
Improv is not only about laughs. It’s about facing uncharted territory with curiosity, enthusiasm, and fearlessness.
The post below perfectly captures the real reason that I took improv, which is mainly dealing with fears and ambiguity when you can’t sit and think about it for more than, say, two seconds. I’m naturally a sit-and-think-about-it kind of person, so I needed some help on that. 🤷🏻♂️
👉 Improv as a Crisis Management Tool: Tackling Uncharted Territory
Cheat sheet from the article… Improv helps with:
By the way, Merlin Works, the same place where I took my improv class, is now offering online Zoom improv classes for the pandemic. If this thing drags on long enough, I might do improv 201 online. 🤷🏻♂️
Isn’t it unbelievable that the whole world is staying home?
Here are 100 ways to entertain yourself while stuck at home due to the current (or any) pandemic.
👉 100 things to do while stuck inside due to a pandemic
My favorite? “Try moving in super-slow motion. It’s OK to laugh at regular speed.” Or a better yet, a slow-motion sword fight if you have a friend around. Sound effects are required. Cha cha cha cha. Cha cha cha cha.
Currently, my living room is cleared out for yoga and Wii.
I’d also recommend writing, making an app, playing card/board games, hanging some pictures, changing your guitar strings, doing your taxes, and getting out if possible to safely support your local taco truck or coffee shop. 😊
Or I guess just watch some movies.
👉 100 movies to watch for every cinematic yearning or Every Oscar best-picture winner, ever
Even my rock climbing gym has some movie and book recommendations. 🤷🏻♂️
Some basic helpful advice to keep the coronavirus (or any virus!) away from your face. 🦠
