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- Enjoy Dead Week!
Unless you work in retail or service, you are probably reading this while resting away from work. The period between Christmas and New Year’s is what Helena Fitzgerald calls “Dead Week“ - a time when we can all take a breath of fresh air as the business world pauses.
At this time, I was happy enough to unwind and spend time with family, which led to a surprising revelation about my creativity - and impacted the way I plan to spend the coming year. Read more below.
I wish you all a happy start to the new year! See you in 2025!
💡 The best lesson of the holiday season 🎄
In the past week, along with all the cooking, eating, and watching Home Alone, I started a few new writing projects, developed a wacky business idea, and filled my notebooks with ideas and lists of things I want to focus on in the new year. I felt an invigorating wave of energy and creativity - even without overconsuming as much coffee as I usually do.
Then it hit me.
It is the peace and quiet that caused this magical unblocking of my creativity pipes and led to the childlike wonder of writing and creating. No creativity hacks, no productivity tools, no guru courses, no following the morning routines of ancient philosophers. Just the pure joy of creation that hides in every one of us.
This was a fantastic revelation, which leads me to an important lesson for 2025: take the time to rest! Spend time on the things you love. Don’t stress about being productive all the time.
Being rested and enjoying what you like is the real secret to creativity.
📚 Shelf Shocks 💥
1. What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice by Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman
In our turbulent world, where the news and doomscrolling are warning us of the apocalypse lurking behind every corner, raising a child feels like an uncertain investment.
Wiseman investigates the topic from many points of view, exploring the beliefs and realities behind the choices couples make. Children represent hope for the future - and when so many people decide against having children, what does that say about our world?
🚛 Order to Bulgaria
2. Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Hannah Ritchie
Let’s start the year with a pinch of optimism: today, poverty is declining, deforestation is past its peak, and more smart people than ever are working to solve our problems.
Hannah Ritchie is a prominent data scientist who highlights humanity’s potential for building a sustainable world. Of course, the social and environmental challenges we face are daunting, but we can all benefit from a positive perspective from time to time.
🚛 Order to Bulgaria
3. First Platoon: A Story of Modern War in the Age of Identity Dominance by Annie Jacobsen
The book starts as a typical war story of American soldiers in Afghanistan. Then, we learn about their mission: to collect biometric data of Afghan citizens. This is revealed to be part of the US government’s dark plan to build the largest biometric database.
This work of investigative journalism reveals more of the nefarious schemes of the US government and the tightening noose around our privacy and freedoms, raising important questions about modern warfare, the information wars and our civil liberties.
🚛 Order to Bulgaria
Fun Links ⏰ ❗️
I’m sure you’ve all used ChatGPT extensively in the past year, but have you noticed an inconspicuous button on the left side that says “Explore GPTs“? It allows access to specialised AI models that can help you with a specific task. They are so useful I am surprised they aren’t advertised more prominently!
Some of my favourites include Data Analyst (which analyses a document), Creative Writing Coach, and Consensus (for summarising academic articles). Go explore them!
You've reached the end of my newsletter. Hooray! If you’d like to see more of my work, you can GET MY BOOK Write Better: A Simple Guide to Better Business Writing or connect with me on LinkedIn for more fun and educational content.
If you have any comments or would like to share what you enjoyed the most, feel free to get in touch! See you in two weeks!
(📚 За всичките ми български читатели - здравейте! Ако харесвате съдържанието ми, може да се запишете за коя книжен бюлетин БУК Клуб.)