On purpose, creation, and articulation
Open Tabs 01: articles to consume rather than doomscroll
The pace of life is a little slower in France which means revisiting some of my old habits that fell off when work got busy. I finally broke my 6 month reading slump so now that my brain can tolerate more than 5 minutes of reading again, I’m putting articles and essays back on my roster.
Here are a few articles that stayed as open tabs this week and now also live in my commonplace journal.
The Nature of Meaningless Work
If your work is feeling meaningless, the key might be to identify why it feels empty. This article breaks down the feeling of “meaningless” into 5 sources, each with their own set of solutions. While jobs will always consist of both meaningful and meaningless tasks and elements, understanding the source can make the vague goal of “purposeful work” feel more achievable.
Loved how the author was able to put words to the feeling and if you’re feeling stuck with work or the idea of “purpose”, this is a great one to read.
Habits that make you sound more articulate
Having been on YouTube for so long, I’ve had many different eras where I’ve had to consider how articulate I sound. As my content shifted from daily vlogging to more sit down, educational pieces, I quickly realized the importance of learning how to speak in a way where I can explain complex ideas in a clear and easy to understand way.
This article from Milk & Cookies talks about the gap between thinking clearly and speaking clearly and how to bridge that gap. She gives great tips on how to train your brain to be able to create the understanding you need to translate your ideas into words effectively.
Create what you’ve been craving
I think about this comparison often—the idea of consumption vs creation. As someone who is (unfortunately) chronically online, I catch myself often justifying my scrolling as “inspiration gathering” since my job is largely based on social media. This article was a great reminder that while yes, gathering inspiration from other artists and creators is one way to motivate yourself, we’re forgetting about a more important source: lived experience.
When you’ve outgrown your old life, but haven’t met your new one yet
This one’s for anyone who’s in that “in between” phase. It’s easy to get caught up thinking about where you are not. When in reality, we could all spend more time enjoying the “in-between”. Whether you’re in a straight forward transition (going from one job to another), or you’re done with point A but haven’t figured out point B yet, this is a great perspective-changer read.
Our Café is nothing without the community behind it (aka, YOU!) Would love to know one article that’s been living in your head rent free this week. Send us the link in the comments <3
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Angel xo