 | | Edmon de Haro |
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Anyone else feel like it’s been eight years since February? Er, wait, is it three weeks? Whomst can say. |
We’re all stressed, and there’s too much of everything happening, so to start off this week I want to share some of my favorite Smarter Living articles to (hopefully) delight you — and give you a positive distraction from the news — as you’re starting your week. |
These articles may not necessarily offer you direct advice about living through all of, uh, this *gestures broadly* but I’m hoping they’ll make things just a little more manageable. (Or, at least, stave off cabin fever for one more week.) |
It’s fair to say Terry Gross knows some things about talking to people. The host and co-executive producer of NPR’s “Fresh Air” has interviewed thousands of personalities over the course of her four-decade career. |
It all started in the early 1970s, when, floundering a bit in her post-college life, she landed a gig at WBFO, a radio station in Buffalo. There she would call subjects and interview them for the program she hosted, “This Is Radio.” And now, well, she’s Terry Gross. |
Don’t confuse loneliness with time by yourself. Yes, even during a pandemic, it’s important to find time alone. |
Choosing to spend time doing things by yourself can have mental, emotional and social benefits, but the key to reaping those positive rewards comes from choosing to spend time alone. In a culture where we often confuse being alone for loneliness, the ability to appreciate time by ourselves prevents us from processing the experience as a negative thing. In fact, getting better at identifying moments when we need solitude to recharge and reflect can help us better handle negative emotions and experiences, like stress and burnout. |
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It’s understandable to want to help when we see people struggling or in pain. It feels good to give direction. In fact, studies have shown that giving advice increases one’s sense of personal power. |
Think of the parents you see in the drop-off line at school. Your favorite bartender. The other dog owners at the park. (OK, well, in precoronavirus times, anyway.) |
The sociologist Mark Granovetter calls these low-stakes relationships “weak ties.” Not only can these connections affect our job prospects, but they also can have a positive impact on our well-being by helping us feel more connected to other social groups, according to Dr. Granovetter’s research. Other studies have shown weak ties can offer recommendations (for example, I found my accountant via a weak tie) and empower us to be more empathetic. We’re likely to feel less lonely, too, research shows. |
Something else you can do with all of that free time? Learn a couple of magic tricks! It’ll help you pass the time, and once we all re-emerge back into society, you’ll have a cool new party trick to show off. |
By agonizing over tiny improvements in our work — if they even are improvements — we prevent ourselves from achieving the actual goal of, you know, doing the work. It’s a tough lesson to learn, but once you learn, it makes it so much easier to avoid getting bogged down in endless — and counterproductive — revisions for any given project. |
In your quest for a balanced life, have you neglected your hobbies? Children are experts at finding hobbies. They play sports, take dance and music lessons, collect action figures and spend their days learning everything from languages to woodworking. But somewhere on the path to adulthood, we stop trying new things, and spend less time on our non-career interests. It’s not too late. Use this guide to get inspired, spark your interests and follow your passion toward a new hobby. |
From our friends at Wirecutter |
Wirecutter is a New York Times company that reviews and recommends products |
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