In addition to the weekly E-Notes, I’ll update The Repository with shareworthy items for you to peruse at your leisure. Check back frequently for new posts. The topics will vary widely. The most recently added items will always be at the top.
Last Updated 7/21/2022
The Burnout-Busting Benefits of Taking a Vacation by Sarah Goff-Dupont in Atlassian’s Work Life newsletter breaks down 5 psychological benefits of vacation. If you need another reason to take a vacation, here are 5!
The 20 Scariest Theories Known to Man was an interesting read.
For my higher ed readers, this is an important post by the Beyond Transfer blog in Inside Higher Ed regarding advocacy for transferability of credits. The Beyond Transfer Task Force has an excellent plan and I hope they are able to achieve it.
This website provides side by side comparisons of the Hubble and James Webb images. It reminds me of going back and watching VHS or DVD movies after switching to Blu-ray/HD. (I don’t have a 4K TV so I don’t even know what that looks like. Ha!)
3 Ways to Make ‘Belonging’ More Than a Buzzword in Higher Ed – a quick but necessary reminder by Michelle Samura
One more read for the folks in higher education, The Different Types of Potential Learners and What They Want – Samantha Fisher of Accenture presented findings from a survey they conducted in Summer 2021 to the NACUBO (National Association of College and University Business Officers) conference this week. The article shares much of the information but there is also a link to the slide deck and more details.
Last Updated 7/8/2022
Fantastic post from Seth Godin: Two Kinds of Cooks. Which one are you?
We’ve talked about getting better at saying No before. Here’s some additional advice from the Admired Leadership Field Notes about “Developing Your ‘No’ Muscle“
The questions posed in this article on How to Build a Culture That Honors Quiet Time are worth considering.
Last Updated 6/15/2022
Bertrand Russell’s Ten Commandments are worth
Some McSweeney’s humor for your summer – “I’m an Adorable Romper and I’m About to Make Your Life a Living Hell“
Leo Babauta shared these questions to help his readers approach more moments with curiosity:
- What can I learn from this moment?
- What can I appreciate about right now?
- What is the light I can see in this person?
- What is the love I can put into this task?
- How can I find play in this work?
- What is sacred about what I’m experiencing?
- What is beautiful about the emotion I’m feeling?
- What more can I learn?
- What can I notice that I’ve never noticed before?
- Where can I find joy in this moment?
- How can I be at peace right now?
- What does my heart want?
- How can I express my love in this moment?
A sound generator organized by what you need at the moment. Check out myNoise!
If you would like to do mnemonic drills as mentioned in today’s blog post, here’s a website with 9 Types of Mnemonics to Improve Your Memory!
I know a few of you need this article in your life. You may be too busy overworking to read it but let’s change that soon, shall we?
Last Updated 6/8/2022
Time100: The Most Influential People for 2022 – putting this here for me to pick up later as much as everyone else. I’m interested to read about all of them.
This video is quite fun – “You Are Not Where You Think“ After about 7:40 it shifts to a creative ad about the company and Shopify.
An interesting read on TikTok by Scott Galloway
A song scheduled to be played until 2640
A good reminder for any blogger out there from Seth Godin in his post “Interested vs. interesting” shared below:
Of course you’re interesting. There’s something about what you’ve done, what you say, how you show up in the world that’s worthy of interest.
But that doesn’t mean that people are interested.
We each have a noise in our heads, an agenda and something urgent that’s grabbing our attention. And so, the amount of interest you receive (or don’t receive) has little to do with how interesting you are and a lot to do with how the people you seek to serve have organized their priorities long before you got there.
Seth Godin
Last Updated 6/1/2022
I LOVE this idea! “A Team Roadmap to Catch Up New Team Members” by Admired Leadership (I highly recommend all leaders subscribe to their daily email. 100% worth your time!)
“Helping Students Succeed in Algebra” – an blog post from Bill Gates about an exciting initiative of the Gates Foundation
Tempted by urges? Here’s a guided meditation on “Urge Surfing”
Here’s one former president’s explanation of why she stepped down and what she did next
A person who is a friend to themselves, Seneca wrote, is an aid to all mankind. They are kind. They are calm. They have empathy—for themselves and for others. They aren’t desperate. They can quietly spend time alone. They don’t need to pull others down to lift themselves up.
An excerpt from Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic email titled “This is What Progress Looks Like”
Last Updated 5/25/2022
Scientists Discover Method to Break Down Plastic in One Week, Not Centuries article from Motherboard Tech by Vice
Microsoft Excel Keyboard Shortcut mouse pad, anyone?
Good post on why company culture and values matter by the team at Trello
No yelling from the bleachers! Check out this post from Seth Godin
An article about higher ed’s invisible understaffing epidemic by Joshua Kim
A little required reading for higher education administrators, faculty, and staff: 10 Conversations Our Campuses Need to Have by Steven Mintz
Last Updated 5/18/2022
“How to Become a Better Listener According to Science” by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
Would You Do It Tomorrow? by Austin Kleon – how to decide whether to do something
“Too Much to Do, Not Enough Time” by Leo Babauta – Two-step process to deal with fitting everything you think you need to do into 24 hours
“Why Academics with No Time Should Read 8 Billion and Counting” by Joshua Kim
Serving by Meeting Students’ Basic Needs by Ann McElaney-Johnson
Professors’ Part in Maintaining Student Mental Health by Melissa Ezarik
Last Updated 5/11/2022
Kevin Kelly posts lists of unsolicited advice for his birthday. He just turned 70 and posted a list of 103 things he wished he had known when he was younger.
First Round Review shared this helpful post about onboarding yourself by Wes Gao.
Speaking of letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and the cult of busy, Leo Babauta shared an excellent post on his blog Zen Habits called “How to Put Life on Easy Mode.”
“The opportunity for anyone seeking to make a change happen is to enlist people who are on a similar path and give them the tools and the motivation to engage with the people around them.”
Quote from Seth Godin’s post “Preaching to the choir.”
Last Updated 5/4/2022
Dr. Megan Krone’s Medium article “To Those Who Have Stayed” says so much that needs to be said right now. It’s honest and brave…and probably painful to read and and possibly triggering for anyone working in higher ed. If someone you care about has left/is considering leaving higher education or has been brave enough to admit that they are struggling to remain in a field to which they’ve dedicated their entire careers, reading this will give you some insight as to why. Administrators here is the quick link to the recommendations she offers to bring about change. The future of higher education cannot look like the past if the sector is going to survive.
This article “Combatting Toxic Positivity with Critical Hope” is from earlier in the pandemic but it is just as relevant today. HT to Dr. Krone for linking to it in her article.
Just because you’re good at something, doesn’t mean you have to do it.
Just because you see an opportunity, doesn’t mean you have to pursue it.
The willingness to ignore things you can do to focus on things you want to do changes everything.
Josh Spector, For the Interested #306 email newsletter
Seth Godin sent a fantastic daily blog post on Saturday. I’m sharing his full post outside of the usual block quote format so you can see his original formatting:
Making our decisions
For trivial matters, it’s efficient and perhaps useful to simply follow a crowd or whatever leader we’ve chosen.
But when it matters, we need to make (and own) our own decisions.
To do that effectively, consider:
- Do the reading
- Show your work
- Avoid voices with a long track record of being wrong
- Ask, “and then what happens?”
- Ask, “how would that work?”
- Ignore people who make a living saying stupid things to attract attention
- Follow a path you’re eager and happy to take responsibility for
- Be prepared to change your mind when new data arrives
- Think hard about who profits and why they want you to believe something
- Consider the long-term impact of short-term thinking
None of these steps are easy. This could be why we so often outsource them to someone else.
Last Updated 4-27-2022
I loved this “Reset Ritual to Come Back to Focus” post by Leo Babauta at Zen Habits. Lately I’m either in flow and hours go by unnoticed or I’m in full “SQUIRREL!” mode and can’t concentrate for more than a few minutes. This post is for distracted Erin.
Athletic Brewing Company’s “Two for the Trails” grant application recently opened. Consider applying if you have an environmental clean up project that needs funding in your community.
Many people are changing positions or considering leaving. Here’s an article on, “How to Ask Whether an Employee is Happy at Work” which includes tips for a “stay interview” instead of an exit interview.
Last Updated 4-20-2022
Explore these amazing “Tools for Better Thinking” brought to you by Untools, which is a collection of thinking tools and frameworks to help you solve problems, make decisions and understand systems. I’m posting the link now so we can all refer back to it frequently.
I’m not on Twitter but I liked this thread Admired Leadership shared on LinkedIn. “11 Promises from a Manager” by Matthew Rechs.
Do you know the history of twerking? If not, you’ll benefit from this excellent Ted Talk by Lizzo on “The Black History of Twerking and How It Taught Me Self Love.”
Here are “75 Insanely Fun Team Building Activities, Games, & Exercises For Work In 2022” from Snack Nation.
Faculty and staff, read this article to better serve your neurodiverse students – “10 Things Faculty Need to Understand About Autism”
Last Updated 4-13-2022
Check out this interview from The Observer Effect with Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes. I enjoyed the entire piece but especially Mike’s thoughts on encouraging new employees to break down walls and on the power of believing in people.
Two weeks ago I went to an REI virtual event on Trail Running and this was one of the links they shared. I’ve sent it to several people so I thought I should drop it here too: How to Use a Treadmill to Improve Your Power Hiking
If you want to read a great article on authenticity look no further than this one by ultrarunner Ryan Montgomery.
Interesting article on Medium – “Feeling Overwhelmed? You Need an MVD—That’s Minimum Viable Day”
Last Updated 4-6-2022
Thought worth considering from Shane Parrish:
“Unfortunately, knowing what we don’t want doesn’t get us closer to what we do want. It might keep us out of trouble—but, like treading water, just because you’re staying afloat doesn’t mean you’re getting any closer to shore.
It just means you’re avoiding drowning.”
Shane Parrish, Farnam Street
Here’s a post about 4 trends that will shape learning in the future from edX founder Anant Agarwal.
“A Career Ending Mistake” is an interesting article about something few of us consider – the tail end of our career. This is from a tech perspective but still relevant for other industries.
Here’s a beautiful and informative chart on Cognitive Biases from Wikipedia.
This short post “Hard to Work With” caught my attention when I saw this quote referenced, ” I’ve seen a staggering number of folks fail in an organization primarily because they want to hold others to a higher standard than their organization’s management is willing to enforce.” Check it out!
Susan Cain has a new book out called, “Bittersweet: How Sorrow And Longing Make Us Whole.” I always find value in her perspective and I enjoyed this Ted Talk on The Hidden Power of Sad Songs and Rainy Days. (grab a tissue if you’re prone to crying at flower commercials)
Susan Cain’s Ted Talk pairs perfectly with this video of Ukrainian cellist Denys Karachevtsev playing in the destruction Kharkiv.
Last Updated 3-30-2022
I should have posted this sooner but in case you haven’t reflected on 2021 and planned 2022 – check out The Year Compass. Set a reminder to go back to this free tool in December too.
“You Are Not Your Work” by Jeffrey Davis in Psychology Today – Interesting and important article from 2019. How many of you have made changes to this at some point during the COVID pandemic? I know I have.
Have you heard of Window Swap yet? Click the link to look out someone else’s window across the globe.
For my readers who are staff in higher education, Kathy Johnson Bowles’s blog “Just Explain It To Me” dives into Spring Break from the staff perspective. I think you’ll appreciate someone noticing…especially when it comes to turning the heat back on. 🙂
Great piece on competition and supporting women from the Ultrasignup newsletter
Last Updated 3-22-2022
Did you know that REI Co-op does free virtual events? They are 60 to 90 minutes, extremely informative, and include gear recommendations from their Virtual Outfitter team. I’ve attended Winter Camping Basics, Snowshoeing Basics, and Discover Big Bend National Park so far. (Psst! You get a discount code for attending too!) Highly recommend!
Need some new focus music? Check out this Work Flow on Spotify.
I am always looking for ideas to improve employee onboarding. I highly recommend every supervisor reads this Charter article by S. Mitra Kalita: “For onboarding hires these days, how a new job starts might be why it ends.”
Here are four steps leaders can take to value the employees who choose to stay in “With So Many People Quitting, Don’t Overlook Those Who Stay” by Debbie Cohen and Kate Roeske-Zummer
Here’s one about keeping your employees too.
How to Make Better Decisions in Life by The Daily Stoic (If you are taking a break from alcohol but miss the taste and aesthetics of beer, wine, or cocktails then check out the Influences and Favorite Things page for booze-free beverages and Near Beer options that actually taste good.)
For anyone working with transfer students, admissions, or advising, this is an incredibly important piece about no longer separating first year and transfer students into two bins. Beyond the Binary: Unpacking Transfer, Centering Students by Melanie Gottlieb, Executive Director of AACRAO.
Best Productivity Hacks of All Time by Ali Abdaal
40 One-Sentence Email Tips by Josh Spector
Julie Stephenson of Compounding Courage recently taught the concept of “pizza breathing” at a webinar. It’s a good way to teach children to take calming breaths but I thought it was a fantastic idea for adults too. Open an imaginary pizza box, pull out a fresh hot slice and before you take a bite, hold it in your hands, bring it up close and take in a long, deep inhale through your nose of all the pizza smelling goodness. Then blow on the hot pizza slice as you exhale through your mouth. Do 4 pizza breaths, feel calmer, and appreciate a new method of deep breathing.
5 Ways Higher Ed Will Be Upended – Important reading for anyone in higher education. You may need to subscribe to The Chronicle to read this for free or access the article through your campus library. The authors also recently published the book The Great Upheaval: Higher Education’s Past, Present, and Uncertain Future.
Last Updated 3-13-2022
I learned a lot about burnout over the winter holidays this year. I did an interview with NICC’s Campfire March 2022 podcast about what I learned. (The link to my February interview about endurance sports is further down this page).
A good blog post from Seth. Please, for everyone’s sake, only say yes to the things you want to work on.
“Why Community College Students Quit Despite Being Almost Finished” – This article shares 11 reasons the authors identified in their research study published in December 2021. Retaining current students and helping them graduate has always been important but especially now with enrollment declines and heightened scrutiny from external entities regarding retention and graduation rates.
Kathy Johnson Bowles, author of the Inside Higher Ed blog series “Just Explain It to Me,” does an excellent job explaining how things in higher education work (for better or worse). As a former Vice President, I thought the “What Do Senior Administrators Do in Cabinet Meetings” post was a helpful peek behind the curtain. Maybe someday I’ll write my own 10 things that May Have Happened List.
Speaking of higher ed administrators, I found this post by Seth Godin very apropos.
Anyone who has worked in academia will chuckle at this satire post from McSweeney’s: How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome in Academia When You’re Six Raccoons Living in a Fjallraven Parka.
I was featured in Northeast Iowa Community College’s February 2022 Campfire podcast on my ultra-endurance endeavors this past year and the lessons ultrarunning has lent to my work life.
The Big Here Quiz from tech writer Kevin Kelly is interesting to consider. It’s a list of questions about our physical place in relation to the world and resources. How many can you answer?
Would you take the #BluePoopChallenge? I first heard about it on Primal Kitchen Podcast episode 2 with Dr. Tim Spector. The health science company ZOE did a study using blue muffins to track gut transit time. Now they want everyone to do it! You bake extremely blue muffins using their recipe or your own using one of their recommended blue food dyes. Eat two muffins and track how long they take to come out the other end. Then plug your info into the ZOE website and they’ll share information based on their research and your gut transit time.
“Winter Running Tips for Masochists” made me laugh out loud! My primary training and race season is Labor Day to Memorial Day. I don’t do well in heat so while everyone else goes inside all winter, I hit the trails. You definitely won’t ever catch me on a “dread”mill. This year I trained through the winter for two 50k races. (Check out the Campfire podcasts posted above for more).
Pumpkin Cowboy – Funny in its ridiculousness. Laughter is good for you!
Speaking of stress relief…Thrive Global offers the Thrive Reset. These are 60 second videos that they recommend you watch to help combat Zoom fatigue and clear your head before, during or after meetings. You can install it as a Zoom app and do a reset with your team in the meeting or on your own. It can be installed organization wide or on your free personal Zoom account.
Or take a little frustration out on your vegetables (and they’ll even taste better!)
Combining the Ordinary to Become Extraordinary 