Work Anniversary?

I gather from my LinkedIn inbox that I "celebrated" a work anniversary in the last couple of days. While I am most appreciative of the well-wishes and many happy returns I have received, it's not clear why a "work anniversary" is something to celebrate or mark.

Perhaps I have become a little too cynical (ya' think?), but this "anniversary" is not one that really puts me in a great mood. Not because I don't enjoy where I work, but because it doesn't scream achievement or accomplishment to me. Put another way: I didn't choose to commemorate this. Plus, like birthdays, this work anniversary is a double-edged sword: (e.g. "Wow, you're getting old!" and "Wow, you're still working there?").

But I get why we see it. It is a very simple data point to measure and manage. And it presumably is one every single person here shares.

But is that enough? That we all "celebrate" the lowest common denominator hanging fruit (awful mixed metaphor)? Perhaps LinkedIn would do well to allow its members (is that what these teeming masses are?) to choose their own milestones of significance. Then we'd all really be celebrating.

Who Chose This Medium?

How Email Took Over The World, with Anne Helen Petersen (You're Wrong About Podcast). How quickly all of this happened. One minute you're listening to Tom Selleck espouse the virtues of sending a fax from the beach, and the next you realize you never leave your inbox.

Who Chose This Way To Work?

The Importance of Habits and Curiosity, Part I: Valuing Attention. Yes, I wrote this. I probably posted it here before. I know it's where we work, but don't kid yourself into thinking it's a completely neutral platform. Attention matters, or at least I vaguely remember that it once did . . .

Not Everything Scales Like Email

The Power of Small Gestures (Economist). It's so alluring to believe that a good message is made better or more effective by just doing more of it. And why not use the same tool that's always in your hand? Maybe not all the time.

The Medium is NOT the Message

The Technologist's Classic Blunder (CIO). So many times the focus shifts from the problem we're trying to solve or the process we want to improve . . .

The Way You Move Matters

Gardening Shouldn’t Be Painful. Here’s How to Avoid Common Injuries (NYT). I am all about working in the yard. And getting aware of the way you lean (to dig and pull and carry), twist (same), get up and down (to lift and carry and week), and reach (to prune, saw) goes a very long way toward preventing the aches and pains and worse.

Something to Celebrate

I saw Bonnie Raitt last night. Do yourself a favor, and tap into her energy live if you can. She played the below, and remembered John Prine in doing so. I actually bought an extra ticket and had an empty seat for Prine. (Ok, so actually I wasn't able to find a someone to use that 4th ticket, but my version is a better story).