The 10 Best Lists List

(Presented as a list, of course)

As someone who crafts and curates user experiences for a living, I read a lot. Probably not a lot for an author or journalist, but it’s a lot compared to my pre-pandemic normal. My stat comparison: Pre-pandemic = 1 book per 1–2 months and 2–3 articles read or skimmed per day. During quarantine = 1–2 books per week and 3–4 articles read and 8–10 articles skimmed per day.

This increased consumption has made the obvious much more apparent: People (myself included) love lists. To celebrate, here are the 10 best (IMHO) lists that I have read recently in numerical — not preferential — order.

This list lists lists that help improve productivity, design, understanding users and happiness. A well-rounded guide to experiencing life.

Enjoy…

10

Talking to strangers gives good advice on how everyone at every level can talk to their customers to get a better perspective:

10 tips on: How to talk to strangers, and why you should

9

Things you should do when you wake up is a list with quick enough tasks to take advantage of how you start the day. Truth be told, I have only been able to implement a couple of them:

9 Things You Should Do When You Wake Up — Mind Cafe

8

I love the Kaizen approach. It breaks things up in a way that is easily digestible for me. It really is worth reading these. I recently read Essentialism by Greg Mckeown which had similar epiphanies about removing things to their essence. (I highly recommend that read as well):

8 Things You Can Learn in 10 Minutes That Will 10x Your Productivity

7

There is an overarching theme in all the lists that I gravitate to in this time of uncertainty… If we are going to change, change for self-improvement. This one broke it down nicely and gave great resources for each:

What are the Core Ideas of Self-Improvement? | Scott H Young

6

Marie Kondo would be proud of how organization has taken hold in every area of life. I do find that a more organized space calms my mind. I wouldn’t have thought of organizing relationships or health to have the same benefits:

6 Things You Must Organize To Be Healthy, Wealthy, And Happy

5

Time to switch it up for some practical application on communication. My biggest take away from this article was that developers aren’t often brought into the early ideation sessions (which isn’t great in and of itself) but that I can help bridge this gap by going the extra step to translate this knowledge as opposed to just assuming that they will execute the instructions. I don’t like it when people do that to me, so why would anyone else:

5 principles for better designer and developer relationships

4

The last paragraph sums it up nicely if you don’t want to read this whole article. Either way it is good advice for personal growth:

4 Things Emotionally Intelligent People Don’t Do

3

I will be bummed when I have less time to read as much as I do now. This article has links to MIT and Yale course that are virtual and free… an infinite pool of infinite learning:

3 Things You Can Pursue To Enhance Your Intellectual Capacity

2

With so many articles on happiness, one would think the world is massively depressed. What was interesting about this take was the very practical ways to let go of the 2 things. It also helped me craft this exercise to help with that transition:

The 2 Things We Have To Let Go Of To Be Happy

1

Genuine positivity helps improve happiness and relationships. The article gives interesting reasons and good examples of why this is. I feel like this is a good one to end with:

Want a Happier, More Fulfilling Life? 75-Year Harvard Study Says Focus on This 1 Thing