Thread by @susannehusebo

Because I’m ill at home, I’m going to dispense some wisdom. Don’t worry, it’ll be very wise.

100 things I’ve learned! 💯

I have no broadband, so there’s no risk of being distracted.

1. Whatever you do, try to do it with joy and purpose.

Don’t spend any energy from what you’re doing worrying about the other thing you chose not to do.

2. Tell people things you’re not going to do.

It makes it easier for them to plan and stop worrying. And yes, that means no “maybe” on invitations you know you won’t go to. Sometimes no is the nicest thing to say.

3. The goal is not necessarily to be liked by everyone. Rather fight for things you believe in.

4. Don’t enter into discussions where you’re not willing to change your mind. If you expect that you could change the mind of others, you *have* to stay open to reciprocate.

5. Do the most important thing first, or you’ll end up staying late after you finish all the urgent things.

6. Riemann P20 50+ SPF is probably the best sunblock out there. @P20SunscreenIRL

(Hey, I have to do 100 of these, they can’t all be meaningful)

7. Interrailing is not just for 19 year olds. Best trip you’ll take all year! @Interrail

8. Choose when to let it look like others win, if it helps you get to your goals.

Know when to be strategic rather than tactical.

9. If you put your phone in a bowl or glass, it can amplify the volume.

10. Twitter thinks I’m in Islington, but I’m actually in Hackney. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

11. When you’re learning something, it’s not the teacher’s job to make sure you learn. You need to ask questions and take responsibility for what you’re absorbing. Take breaks, clarify, ask to repeat things back to them.

12. If you notice something missing from an event or gathering (organization, an attendee, environmental issues), that’s probably your queue to do something about it.

13. You are a work in progress. You can and should change as you learn what’s working and what’s not. Come up with a system that lets you do that. Don’t assume it’ll just happen.

14. Sometimes people need things that sound ridiculous to you to feel ok. Just go with it.

15. Read more books by people from other places/times/backgrounds.

16. Pause your podcast as you’re walking occasionally to reflect on what you’re hearing.

17. Practice whatever small amount you speak of a foreign language. And be patient when others want to practice with you.

18. When people complain to you, be explicit and ask them if they just want you to listen, to offer them advice or to otherwise act on what they’re saying.

19. When you’re reading a business-book, it can be useful to take notes only with the context of how it relates to your current work.

20. Watch movies from the 80s and 90s for all the cool references. I carried a watermelon. I’m in the dark here. You’ve never seen me very upset.

21. Measure what you like to do by how you feel after, rather than how you feel before that activity.

Fear/awkwardness is not necessarily a bad thing. It doesn’t mean you like fondue and hate going to a dance class alone. It could be the opposite.

22. You can try on an opinion by saying it out loud. Doesn’t mean you have to keep it forever.

23. Imagine talking to your younger self. Have a conversation! They’ll probably be very forgiving of you, and you might find you like them more than you thought you did.

24. If my nose is completely blocked, I like to use Otrivin. It’s a lifesaver.

25. If you don’t like going to the gym, find another exercise that works for you. Look at all these emoji! 💃🏾🚶🏽‍♀️🏃🏼‍♂️🏋🏾‍♀️🤼‍♀️🤺⛹🏿‍♀️🤸🏻‍♂️🤾🏾‍♀️⛹🏼‍♀️🤺🏇🏾🧘🏾‍♂️🏄🏻‍♀️🤽🏾‍♂️🚣🏾‍♀️

26. Learn languages through imitation, stories, games and curiosity. If you stick to it long enough, you can learn grammar when you see how it can help you be more targeted in your communication. In the meantime, just have fun sounding silly.

27. Don’t wait for the outspoken person in the room to voice your opinion. It’s also emotional labour.

28. If you look back at work you did 5 years ago and go “what was I even thinking???”, that means you’re making progress. Be more worried about the opposite.

29. Read the favourite books of people you want to understand better.

30. Your recommendations are just that. Don’t get upset if someone doesn’t take them. Same goes for directions (it hurts though, like how even dare they)

31. You can be an atheist and still wish people merry christmas. Nobody ever had any issue with that. It’s like reading poetry out loud - doesn’t mean you have to share the sentiment.

32. Use the most accurate, simplest word to express what you want.

33. When you’re explaining something to someone, check in with them. It’s like going BANK in the weakest link.

34. You can be proud of and embarrassed by things about your country. It doesn’t necessarily mean you hate or love it. Having conflicting opinions is OK.

35. If you’re watching a movie and you don’t like it, just leave the cinema. Nobody is giving you any awards for finishing. Unless they are, in which case, soldier on.

36. Don’t just praise people for working late or going above and beyond what their job actually requires. It creates a culture where success means sacrifice.

Praise consistency, praise finishing on time because of good prioritisation, praise clear communication.

37. You can like things that don’t fit your “personal brand” 🤢.

My favourite thing to watch on a plane is Teen Mom. @TeenMomGossip

We’re all complex individuals with complicated tastes.

38. Know the generic names of medications you might need, especially when you travel. Advil means nothing, but every pharmacist in the world knows ibuprofen.

39. If you want to watch Frasier, these are the best episodes:

🔹The seal who came to dinner
🔹Travels with martin
🔹The innkeepers
🔹Ham radio
🔹Merry christmas mrs Moscovitz

40. If you’re given feedback, try not to find what’s wrong with what was said. Try to hone in on what it’s about. (Avoid getting stuck in “always” and “never” traps)

41. Go to a job interview for practice.

BRB. Even Sun Tzu had a lunch break.

Done! I’m guessing Sun Tzu didn’t have this amazing smoked Scottish trout from @Ocado though.

42. It’s possible to like something without necessarily wanting to know everything about it. Expertise does not always equal appreciation.

43. Be happy you didn’t grow up at a time when everything was documented on instagram.

44. Don’t mistake mementos for memories. If you lose the photo album or that old ring, the memories won’t be worth any less.

45. Implement as few rules as possible to keep the thing running. Rules, like documentation of all kinds, need to be maintained. The fewer you have, the less time you spend upkeeping them.

46. Technical debt is not just for code. I have technical debt piling up in my sink as we speak.

47. Don’t worry about whether or not you understand modern art. Thinking about it is usually all anybody ever wants you to do. Even if that thought is about what you don’t get. If thoughts inspire action, bonus points!

48. Test your riskiest assumptions first.

Your plan hinges on a lot of things. What’s the biggest assumption that, if wrong, threatens the whole thing. Without that nobody gives a shit what it looks like.

49. Decide what you want from the day/the meeting/the project/the event. Consider telling others up front.

50. If you want to know what’s important to you, try a day/week/month without it.

This is also really useful for testing with others. Remove some part of your “service”, and see if it provokes feedback.

Woop woop 🙌 we’re halfway through, and I’m not even running out of ideas.

51. When you run out of obvious ideas, that’s when things get interesting. This applies to both improv and Twitter lists. 🤞

52. When you hear or learn something, tie it down with everything else you know. Don’t rely on a serially wired memory. That shit needs a web!

53. Don’t over-plan your holidays. You can positively visualize how awesome it’s going to be without necessarily booking hotels, trains and tours up front.

54. Stop complaining about tourists where you travel: you’re one of them. If you don’t want other tourists, stop checking Tripadvisor, and just go somewhere others don’t go.

I hear Nizhny Novgorod is great in summer.

55. If you’re looking to get into audiobooks with @audible_com, I recommend The Goldfinch as a good start. Good value for money too, at 32 hours of entertainment.

56. Stop telling people you’re not good at things you’re perfectly good at just so you can get praise. You’re not 13. Unless you’re 13, in which case: it gets better.

57. Never offer help unless you’re willing to give it. In fact, suggest something you might help with rather than just saying “do you need any help?” to be polite.

58. Don’t wait for people to guess what they’re supposed to ask you. Volunteer information you think might be relevant.

I’m often on the receiving end of the “oh, well, you didn’t ask”, after half an hour of trying to figure out what I needed to ask to unlock the thing.

59. The first few times you try an activity, borrow the equipment from someone rather than buying a low quality cheap version to test on. It’s wasteful, and might give you a wrong impression of what [activity] is like.

60. Set an ambitious aspirational goal, then split it up into small pieces you can accomplish.

61. Also: don’t feel obliged to set goals if you feel like they prevent you from taking opportunities.

62. Are you going to remember these days in the distant future? What would you have to do to make them more memorable?

Rage, rage against the blurring of the years.

63. Actively do things you’re not great at. It’s the only way to get better, and you become pretty boring if you’re only ever doing things you’re already good at.

64. You should know how to some basic things like
🔹 sew a button
🔹 have dinner at a restaurant by yourself
🔹 order a cheque/bill in a way that’s efficient but not rude
🔹 tell a joke
🔹 tell a story

65. If the idea of doing something sounds cool to you, just do it for the story if nothing else

Like include the word “do” where it belongs 🤔

66. Use the placebo effect to your advantage!

67. Tell people when you’re shutting down and are unlikely to take on any more feedback or input.

68. Nobody knows what it was supposed to look like!

Present what you’ve got like it was exactly what you intended.

69. Admit mistakes, take the burden off others who get blamed too easily, especially if you have the social capital to do so.

70. Confessing to things is sexy. Right?

71. Coffee frames the situation beautifully. Have some coffee.

72. Spend some of that amazing honeymoon phase optimism on visualising how you’re going to deal with things when they go wrong.

73. Here’s a book recommendation for some perspective on history that doesn’t focus on war.

The Swerve: How the world became modern

74. Paying for an app to remove ads feels wrong: why put them in there in the first place? If it feels worth the £2-3 it usually costs to upgrade to premium, just do it anyway.

75. Learn to remember how many days there are per month using the knuckle method.

76. Try try try to accept that people making stupid or irrational decisions and plans for you are probably trying to do their best.

If you’re able to internalise this one, I appreciate some tips back as to how. I have remarkable little patience for this stuff.

77. Expiry dates are approximate and don’t apply to eggs. Learn to smell, see and taste food for expiry instead. Unless it’s fish.

78. There’s a right way to peel post-its off the pad.

79. Don’t ask to use other people’s fountain pens.

80. You don’t need a suitcase to travel. You’re packing too much.

81. You’re the most important person in the world. To you.

To others you can expect at best to be interesting. So don’t let your own doubts about yourself prevent you from being as interesting as you can be.

82. Most interesting problems are big problems. Start literally *anywhere*, just do something. Starting to unravel it will help you understand a problem more than any amount of planning. Especially because planning often leads to a fear of starting.

83. Try to be more thankful.

84. Get a foam roller. If it hurts, it means it’s working. And there are few things as satisfying as the small cracking of a loosening upper spine.

85. Watch youtube videos of people who are really good at things you want to get good at

86. Get involved in whatever the thing is where you are. Don’t be a sideline person.

87. What are the best qualities in someone you admire? As soon as you’ve told them, try imitating some of them.

88. Don’t be ashamed of having to look things up on knowyourmeme.com

89. Work hard, and enjoy it

90. Learn to tell people what you need. But don’t demand it from them.

91. When you’re working in a team and presenting something, say “we did…” instead of “I did…”

It shows the other team members that you stand by each other for successes and failures. Less fear of retribution means people will do a better job.

92. If you want to improve KPIs (or any metric), try to understand what affects those KPIs, rather than just sharing the KPIs themselves

93. Assume your colleagues are not out to scam the system. Design for trust and freedom. Don’t solve problems that haven’t happened and never may happen, if that means jumping through hoops for people today.

94. Try to find a way to turn any task into a game or puzzle. If you can’t, just get it done with as little faffing as possible.

95. Learn what works for you with regard to notifications and being available. Experiment and communicate those experiments to others. Trust me: there’s a way that will help you be more productive, you just need to find it.

96. Learn the lost art of introducing people to each other.

As a kid in Spain, we would get formally introduced to other kids, by kids, all the time. In Norway no such activity took place. Just try it out.

97. If you don’t have one, get a password manager. I use @LastPass and a @Yubico key. Stay protected!

98. Learn to distinguish between feedback and evaluation.

If the person asking for “feedback” is not the person it’s about, chances are they’re looking for an evaluation.

99. Treat every interaction like a minimum viable relationship. I.e. skip the weather smalltalk bullshit, and get to the part where this conversation diverges from all the others and adds value. Alternatively: try to get away.

💯. Being able to have critical opinions about something doesn’t make you better than the thing you’re criticising. Don’t use it to mean that.

That’s it: 3 hours, 100 pieces of advice.

And I still don’t have broadband.

Bonus!

101. Don’t assume advice on the internet is applicable to you. These are things I’m learning, and very willing to change if I see evidence to the contrary. Except on the Frasiers. Those are definitely the best episodes.