CHALLENGE MINDSET
The brain-changing magic of new experiences
Novelty, or the sensation of trying things for the first time, is a strong predictor of happiness and driver of mental health. According to one research experiment, people who are in a good mood are more motivated to explore, while people who explore more end up in a better mood. This stresses the importance of designing challenges for ourselves, to break out of rut, but to also boost the level of novelty in our lives. Related: GQ appears to have amped up their challenge-related content lately, also publishing pieces about ways to
design a better body through physical and mental activity and the
power of exercising in groups for accountability.
[GQ]
Do I follow the rabbit hole or does the rabbit hole follow me?
Curiosity is the first of five qualities of a challenge mindset. In the most basic terms, you could describe curiosity as a function of motivation plus direction. It's a place to start when exploring, learning, discovery, or simply just trying something you've never done. But what fuels it? And how can you become more curious? Scientists believe it's more about following what you already know and do to new extremes, not the pursuit of the completely new.
[Nautilus]
Another writing challenge boasts a success story
The annual #1000wordsofsummer writing challenge has grown from 2,000 participants in 2018 to more than 14,000 this year. Author Rachel Yoder used the challenge to write "Nightbitch," a novel which comes out in July and has been optioned for a film starring Amy Adams. Online writing events aren't new, of course. The nonprofit organization NaNoWriMo has made November a National Novel Writing Month, with Sara Gruen's bestselling "Water for Elephants" among the books to come out of it. I interviewed NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty
for my upcoming book.
[Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
CREATIVE HABITS + SKILLS
When goals and plans don't work, turn to systems and principals
This is a regular thread in this newsletter, but I think it's important to cover: the obsession with goal setting is misguided, even counterproductive. While setting goals isn’t inherently bad in and of itself, when the focus is on how to quantify rather than how to choose them, goals can easily work against you. Instead, consider the
6 fundamental concepts for system thinking or using
principals instead of making plans.
[Medium]
If you're worrying about the future, flexible thinking can help
Author and host of the Not Perfect podcast Poppy Jamie has developed the Flex Method, a four-step thought process for overcoming uncertainty, perfectionism, and fears of rejection.
[Harper's Bazaar]
LEADING TEAMS
Beware of companies that actively push "presenteeism" over productivity or the actual quality of the work
Over the next 6 months, companies are going to learn the hard way that they can't push the same old one-size-fits-all approach to managing their employees and teams. Going back to when I ran the national flexible workplace initiative at the US Chamber, smart companies (and managers) understand part of their job is to design workplaces that play to individual employees' strengths. Not-smart companies will continue to not get it, and lose people.
In a related story for Bloomberg, a research compliance specialist took a job that promised a remote work option, then the company took that away, insisting that she come into the office for meetings. After dropping her two kids at daycare, she arrived at work for the sake for a six-minute (!) in-person meeting. Later that day, she resigned.
[BBC/Bloomberg Wealth]
Signs of a toxic work culture and strategies for addressing them
If you want your team (and business!) to thrive, you need to not only recognize signs that your work culture is inching into toxic territory—but also correct those signs before they cause serious problems. But what are the signs you need to be on the lookout for? And what steps do you need to take to fix them and get your culture back on track?
[Trello blog]
All great strategies are arguments
Netflix has achieved breakthroughs in the media landscape in part through its success at encouraging its leaders to debate ideas frankly and its willingness to empower them to take risks without waiting for an annual strategy planning process. For the entertainment giant, formal processes, constructive debate, and logical rigor are the key ingredients to crafting consistently great strategies.
[MIT Sloan Review]
OTHER
+ Inside Calm, the
app that monetized doing nothing [The Atlantic]
+ How do people discover new products?
One of these 7 ways [Lenny's Newsletter]
