You're in for a treat! 🍬👻
No. 001
Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022
Hi new friends! Eeek…it’s happening!
I’ve always thought it would be neat to have a newsletter. Or, really, it would be neat to be one of those people who have enough cool things to say to fill up a newsletter. I’m still not that interesting, but I decided ahhh heck, might as well do it anyway. 🤷♀️
I’ll pop over each Wednesday morning for a midweek pick-me-up, hair in a bun and coffee in hand, ready to dish about whatever’s on my mind. My scattered brain likes to give things order, so right now, the plan is to include a few highlights:
Weekly Essay. The first look at my weekly essay, which will be on my website right after the newsletter.
Latest Thing About Which I am Learning. A few thoughts, links, rambles, etc. about anything I find particularly interesting during my writing research. (If you noticed the Pilbasian-ism, you’re my new BFF.)
Tweet of the Week. 🐦 Pretty self-explanatory.
Weird Words. Language is weird. I love to collect fun, old, or unusual words, and now you will too. 😆
And memes.
But, of course, I can’t promise I won’t change my mind or just simply forget and start doing some other random thing. 😬
This week, I’ve got all of the above, plus a few spooooky additions in honor of Halloween. 👻 Got any big plans or making an awesome costume? I’d love to hear about it! I’m scrambling last minute 🙄 to find fairy princess wings and kitty ears… and candy. Oops 🫣
Happy Wednesday, fellow goldfishes. And Happy Halloween!
👋 Erin xo
Weekly Essay
This week’s essay is the first to go live on my revamped website! I avoided things took some time to re-do my entire website, and I’m much happier with it now.
This essay was inspired by the workshop I’m currently taking with a group of awesome people. I wasn’t sure if I could handle the workload of this cohort of David Perrell’s Write of Passage, and definitely knew I couldn’t afford the fee, but I knew it was time to make it happen when I was graciously awarded a scholarship.
The course is at the halfway point, and it’s definitely proven challenging. Not so much in the writing aspect — I can literally write all day — but in the time commitment and the vulnerability. The big picture of this workshop is infusing yourself, your story, and your emotions into your writing. And that brings up a lot of things for me. (This is the topic of a future essay I’m working on, so keep an eye out. 😉)
It took me three weeks of nitpicking and fussing to finally say FINE I’LL BE DONE THEN and call this one finished (not at all like this very newsletter, nope). So, rather than doing the same now, here ya go:
… The tug-of-war was born slowly, like my firstborn's 36-hour journey into the world. My husband’s contract-based work had kept him away for long chunks since the pandemic began. A few months here, a few months there. Six months in Guam, a month in Ohio, and six more in Arizona. It went on and on. I'd been on my own for a long time, and it wasn't the first time. It triggered the trauma of my high school sweetheart's death when our son was an infant and I had just become a mother. …
The Latest Thing About Which I am Learning
I’ve been studying all things note-taking for several months now for two clients, and I’m fascinated. I’ve learned oodles about the history of taking notes, the psychology of the note-taking process and how it helps learning and memory, and various methods of taking notes available. I can’t seem to get bored with it, especially the history and psychology.
Of note:
Interestingly, both drawing and writing promote neuronal oscillation patterns that enhance learning. So scribble in the margins and doodle those stars — they help you learn! (Take that, middle school teachers! Long live the hearts and ME+U4EVA ❤︎)
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Other than the outline method everyone knows, the Cornell Note-taking System is the most popular method of taking notes. Yes, it was developed at Cornell, and tons of studies have been conducted on its usefulness. Here’s a template that explains the format.
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I’m currently down the personal knowledge management system rabbit hole. The idea of gradually and naturally building your own personal database of everything you find interesting and noteworthy is incredible.
You may have heard of modern productivity methods like Tiago Forte’s Building a Second Brain and new tools like Roam and Obsidian. I’m partial to Sönke Ahrens’ Smart Notes method, based on his book, “How to Take Smart Notes” (here’s my article about it!). He modernized the gold standard created by German sociologist Niklas Luhmann, the inventor of the “slip box” (or zettelkasten in German).
Luhmann took notes about everything he found interesting. He wrote on index cards or whatever he had around (the “slips”) and filed them away inside wooden boxes (the “box”). He had an elaborate numbering system for cataloging everything and wrote literally thousands of cards in his lifetime. I would love to see those cards (pictured below1) and wish I had the dedication to do that.
If you’re interested, this introduction explains the Zettelkasten, how the Zettel (cards) work, and offers ways to use software to start now. You can also check out Ahrens’ site for info on his book and his own tips for using the system.
Tweet of the Week
I feel seen. Thanks, @kat_boogard 😭
Weird Word
I had to start off with this well because, well… This week’s weird word is:
erinaceous
[ er-uh-ney-shuhs ]
adjective Zoology.
of the hedgehog kind or family.
That’s all, folks! I hope you enjoyed this first edition of Messy to Mindful. It’s messy, but it’ll get there.
I’ll leave you with this gem to enjoy in honor of Halloween week! 🎃👻
If you haven’t yet, hit that subscribe button. I’d be super stoked to visit with you each week! And if you have any questions or comments, shout ‘em out! You can leave a comment here, visit my website or socials, or send me an email.