Tag: New York Times


Resolve to build your social connections

Resolve to build your social connections

How can you prioritize making and maintaining friendships? Is there something you’re doing that you could ditch to make room for friendships, or could you make better use of downtime? Can you combine socializing with something else that’s already on your calendar?

Decluttering is next to Godliness?

Decluttering is next to Godliness?

Marie Kondo is the author of the cultishly popular book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” which has sold nearly 6 million copies and seems to have taken on an even larger cultural footprint. I’ve asked friends to share their perspectives on clutter in their lives.

What have you learned in your time on Earth so far?

What have you learned in your time on Earth so far?

I am far from having all of life’s answers — in fact, as I get older, I think my list of questions keeps growing — but I do think there’s value in acknowledging what life experience has taught me. Shortly after I turned 40, I kicked off a blog series here called “Things I Have Learned.” I started with 40 things I…

Vacation isn't just a treat — it's good for you

Vacation isn't just a treat — it's good for you

If your workplace doesn’t have a culture of truly letting people leave their cares behind when they take vacation — or if it’s frowned upon to even take vacation — maybe you can tell your boss that you need some task-negative time in order to tap into your best problem-solving insights?

Marketing Monday: Be authentic, which doesn't mean phony authentic or with disregard for details

Marketing Monday: Be authentic, which doesn't mean phony authentic or with disregard for details

I recently returned from South by Southwest Interactive, a massive technology conference that takes over seemingly every square inch of Austin with growing numbers each year. While the marketing spending seems more pervasive — both Oreos and Game of Thrones sponsored pedicabs, as one small example — there’s still plenty of good content, ranging from 3D printing to the relationship…

What makes a marriage meaningful?

What makes a marriage meaningful?

The New York Times recently ran an interesting article headlined The Happy Marriage Is the ‘Me’ Marriage. Tara Parker-Pope wrote about not what makes a marriage last but what makes it meaningful, including the ways your partner makes your life better: Dr. Aron and Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., a professor at Monmouth University in New Jersey, have studied how individuals…

Guy Laliberté driving Cirque du Soleil to $1 billion empire

Guy Laliberté driving Cirque du Soleil to $1 billion empire

Timed to Cirque du Soleil bringing its new show, Zarkana, to New York this summer, the New York Times offers up a lengthy profile of its creative force, who is described as a “very nice bulldozer.” With the caveat “analyzing his character is challenging since he has few close friends, and even his longtime associates say they hardly know him,”…

How should we gauge happiness?

How should we gauge happiness?

Lately I’ve read a number of articles that discuss the difference between happiness and life satisfaction. In my market research role, I often discussed with people the importance of words in survey questions — asking someone if they are satisfied with a product is different from asking if they’re happy with it, for example. I’m satisfied with my light bulbs…

Newvine Growing book club: Food Matters by Mark Bittman

Newvine Growing book club: Food Matters by Mark Bittman

Food writer Mark Bittman recently ended his long-running Minimalist column in the New York Times to shift into a new role as an opinion writer for the Times. This change of perspective, that food is about so much more than filling our bellies, is apparent in his book “Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating.” Bittman wrote in the announcement…

I am grateful for: Bugs Bunny

I am grateful for: Bugs Bunny

When I was a kid, Saturday mornings meant cartoons and cartoons meant Bugs Bunny. Looney Tunes anchored Saturday viewing, with a whole wonderful cast of characters including Daffy Duck, Roadrunner, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian … but the star was Bugs. Bugs taught me about pop culture, including gangster movies and hillbilly music, and of course, about opera. It was…

I am grateful for: changing seasons

I am grateful for: changing seasons

Typically I love summer. I love going to the beach and eating at outdoor cafes and wearing little sundresses. This summer was rough on me, though. It was so stinkin’ hot for so long that I felt like I was melting. But even if this summer hadn’t served up week after week of sweltering heat, there’s something cozy about fall’s…

I am a trend setter — NY Times on couples sleeping apart

I am a trend setter — NY Times on couples sleeping apart

In my fantasy world, someone from the New York Times read my blog post about the challenges some couples face trying to share a bed and thought, “That’s brilliant! We should write about that!” It could have happened.* My friend Lisa Gauchey pointed out a recent Times story headlined Married, but Sleeping Alone. The marital bed, once the symbol of…

Does social media change the ways we're social?

Does social media change the ways we're social?

My coworker, Ted, recently posted a link on Facebook. It was a New York Times article about social interactions in real life and online. That Ted and I work in the same building but converse more electronically than face to face is probably relevant here somehow. Charles Blow wrote in his op-ed for the Times: A report issued Wednesday by…