Ideas to Try, Effective Communicators and Past Year Review: What I’m Reading This Week
It’s a new year. Are you ready for it?
I am not. My holiday decorations are still strewn about the house, presents are still piled up by the fireplace and my to-do list is a mile long. But I haven’t cared.
Instead, I have been focused on watching the sweetest little dog for the past couple weeks while her owners visited family on the West Coast. I haven’t had the joy of caring for and being cared for by human’s best friend for a while; it’s funny how they can just wiggle worm their way into all aspects of your life.
I suppose you could say the dog helped me take care of myself by taking care of her—including getting outside first thing in the morning, no matter the weather. My friend picked up her precious pooch the other day, which was always the plan, but I still miss the pup.
I have started easing myself back into old routines, but I’m also carving out time for introspection and reflection. A new year is a fresh start, and I want to examine what habits I need to leave behind and what I can start doing for myself this year. Perhaps you will also find some inspiration in the stories that I have highlighted this week.
Until next time, stay safe and be well!
Ideas to Try
The New York Times’ Well vertical is one of my favorite places on the internet. This article, “10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Healthy in 2025” is no exception.
The authors offer new as well as tried and true suggestions, such as to move your body, but they explain that it can help lower a person’s risk of developing depression and dementia. Scientists speculate that physical exercise stimulates extra blood flow and chemicals to be released in the brain, which can help build new connections between neurons.
While there are 10 ideas to focus on, it doesn’t feel overwhelming. I also love that each idea includes suggestions for further reading. I have bookmarked this article because I have a feeling I’ll be returning to it again and again this year. After all, who doesn’t need periodic reminders to quiet our inner critic, get unstuck and lower our anxiety?
Read the full list here.
Effective Communicators
In a time of such divisiveness, being able to connect with and relate to another person is nourishment for the soul. I often find a good conversation with a stranger at the grocery store, gym or other public place can bolster my mood for hours.
That’s why I want to make more of an effort to communicate with others in 2025, especially those who have different experiences and beliefs from me. I appreciated Andee Tagle’s discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg about his new book, Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection.
Duhigg explains there are three main categories of conversations: practical, emotional and social. I had to pause after reading that because I’ve never thought—let alone tried— to analyze or categorize conversations before. It makes so much sense!
I’m not a fan of networking events, because it usually means repeated superficial chatter. But, if I approach them as practical conversations and focus on the other tips in the article, such as to ask good questions and prove that I’m listening, we just might get to some meaningful conversation.
Given that your role involves talking with a lot of people with different roles and backgrounds, you might find this article immediately applicable in your everyday life. I hope you give it a read (or a listen) here.
Year in Review
While scrolling on LinkedIn, I came across a novel idea to conduct a past year review instead of a New Year’s resolution. I was intrigued by the idea, especially since it involves using hard data (in this case, your calendar or planner) to understand how you feel about what you do.
Full disclosure: The idea comes from Tim Ferriss, and I live in a household that, shall we say, isn’t aligned with his philosophies.
Which is perhaps all the more endorsement for this exercise.
The instructions are simple: Divide a piece of paper into two columns and write Positive and Negative. Sort through your previous year’s calendar and write down any people, activities or commitments that prompted either positive or negative emotions. Jot those down on the paper.
Then, reflect on those positive experiences and schedule more of them on your calendar. “It’s not real until it’s in the calendar,” Ferriss writes. And, for good measure, compile your most negative experiences into a “Not-To-Do-List.” Keep that list visible and try to decline or avoid putting them onto your calendar for the year ahead.
It sounds simple, but I suspect it will be challenging; growth and forming new habits usually are.
Read Ferriss’ philosophy here and someone’s own attempts here.
