A weekly newsletter with science-based insights on creativity, mindful productivity, better thinking and lifelong learning.
Maker Mind: Interview with the co-founder of Notion ✅
A special interview...
Hello friends!
As you know, I'm a big fan of tools for thought—apps, systems, and mental models that help you think better, be more productive, and more creative.
In a previous article about note-taking apps, I explored how some of us are architects, others are gardeners, and yet others are librarians. For the architects out there, I have a treat for you: an exclusive interview with Ivan Zhao, the co-founder of Notion!
To say that Notion is a popular tool would be an understatement: last year, they reached more than 4 million users. Some use Notion with their teams, others as solo players. Scroll down to read the interview.
This week, I also want to talk about mental health. Many of you told me they were currently battling with burnout. In such an anxiety-inducing context, it's nothing surprising.
To help you identify areas where you could make some positive changes, I put together a short list of mindful productivity questions you can use in your next self-reflection session.
Finally, I published a new video about a creative burnout, a particular type of burnout around creative work. It includes signs to watch out for and some tips you can use to get better. Enjoy!
p.s. loving the love :)
Brain food
Building the world’s most customizable workspace with Ivan Zhao, co-founder of Notion (8 min)
Ivan Zhao is on a mission to help anyone build their own tools to solve any problem. We talked about the early days of building Notion and creating a community of passionate users, how he uses Notion in his personal life, the influence of Alan Kay and Douglas Engelbart on Notion’s design, and much more.
The mindful productivity audit: 10 questions to improve your well-being at workhttps://nesslabs.com/mindful-productivity-audit (14 min)
How can you achieve more and not burn out in the process? The mindful productivity audit covers crucial areas of mindful productivity, such as time management, metacognition, and mental energy. It’s purposely short so you can regularly take it and notice the impact of your decisions.
10 signs you are experiencing creative burnout (6 min)
Creativity is fragile. Despite all our care, sometimes, it seems to be gone: the creativity tap has run dry. We experience the dreaded creative burnout. Let's learn how to identify its symptoms and how to get unstuck!
Brain candy
Emojis meet hieroglyphs (NYT)
“An exhibition explores the complicated relationship between the hieroglyphs of antiquity and emoji, the lingua franca of the digital age.”
Einstein's journey (Twitter)
“Albert Einstein was born on March 14th, 1879. Here is his immigration form.”
Meta bias (Twitter)
“I've learned far too much about the sunk cost fallacy to stop now.”
Brain trust
Don't miss out—join the community to support the newsletter, expand your mind, and connect with like-minded people!
Here's a sneak peek of what's currently going on in the community:
- Make progress on your projects. Not one, but two co-working sessions today! One will start in about an hour for members in Americas and Europe, and the other one a bit later for people in Asia and Oceania! Join for an hour or two of focused work and make progress on your projects.
- Take care of your mind. Tomorrow we will have a mindfulness session, a creative hour, some playtime and even improv, covering all timezones!
- Learn about existential psychotherapy. Join a session about our relationship to meaninglessness on Sunday this week.
- Grow your newsletter. We'll welcome the talented investor and entrepreneur Sari Azout for a special Q&A for members running newsletters (or members who want to start one).
- Next week. We'll talk about mindful parenting, our relationship with coffee, financial literacy for founders, career branding, how to prime your ideas to grow, and more. There will also be two creative writing sessions. If you're not a member yet, you can see all March events here.
- And more. The membership also includes access to the online community, with recordings of past sessions, support groups, ebooks, and generally the most interesting bunch of people you'll get to connect with online. I'd love to see you there :)
Brain waves
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Until next week, take care!
Anne-Laure.
Ness Labs by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
A weekly newsletter with science-based insights on creativity, mindful productivity, better thinking and lifelong learning.
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