Ahh. Let the fresh new year air in. Image source: Glassette

Hello and happy new year !

I guess setting new year's goals is suddenly a little taboo these days, but as a "new year, new planner" kinda gal, I personally love writing them down. Last year, many of my goals were about setting boundaries: spending less time on social media, cutting back on my workload, and being less online. This year, it's more about an approach and a mindset. My phrase of the year is "loosening my grip" (on...everything) and trying to go with the flow.

Tell me: how are you thinking about your goals (or okay, fine, intentions/mood/manifestation) for the new year? Maybe you have a word for the year? A bucket list? Perhaps you're eschewing setting goals altogether?

Shoot us a note here about how you’re thinking about 2023. We'd love to share back your best tips in an upcoming newsletter.

Happy goalsetting (or not),
Alisha, Founder at GNI

P.S. A big hello to all our new subscribers! To dive right in, here’s a look at our most popular newsletters from 2022, and a giant spreadsheet of over 1,000 cozy winter recommendations our readers sent in. ❤️

• Putting some fun into planning: Why not buy a bunch of silly stickers to add some pizzazz and fun to the otherwise Very Serious Notebook we recommended last week?
• A new book on our radar (and a bunch of ‘best of’ lists): Vice by Deepti Kapoor. The book is described as an “equal parts crime thriller and family saga, transporting readers from the dusty villages of Uttar Pradesh to the urban energy of New Delhi.”
• A few book recs along the lines of “inspiration for work and life.” aka self-help-y books we actually like:
  1. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. The ultimate anti-productivity book, anchored in existentialism and philosophy. Not as dreary as it sounds. Liberating, even!
  2. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. A more woo-woo read, but good to dust off each year.
  3. Designing Your New Work Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Great if you’re feeling “stuck” at work and need a fresh perspective.
  4. The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities Into Soulful Practices by Casper Ter Kuile. Perfect for those seeking more intention, awe, and presence.
  5. Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey, founder of The Nap Ministry. A book about “connecting to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice.” 
• A few podcast recs that just feel right for the new year:
  1. So Money with Farnoosh Torabi. Actionable and approachable tips on personal finance — including basics like how to invest and more complex topics like what the heck a backdoor Roth IRA is. 
  2. Offline with Jon Favreau. A podcast about how being extremely online can intersect with…everything else in our lives. Don’t miss this ep on social media.
  3. Hurry, Slowly with Jocelyn Glei. A soothing listen on how to pace yourself and become more resilient in the process. Particularly great if you work in the creative field.
  4. NPR Life Kit. An evergreen favorite that's got loads of episodes on how to make your life just a little bit better like how to declutter your home or how to make a better to-do list. And don't miss their handy resolutions planner.

A series where people we like recommend things they think are worth trying.

Jordan Santos is a Filipino-American social media strategist and content creator based in Los Angeles. She is also the founder of Seen Library, a community for readers, and the co-founder of How to be a Woman on the Internet, a newsletter focused on modern internet culture. 

A thing that can bring joy: personal projects

At the end of last year, I realized that I wanted to step back on work projects to pursue personal projects that would fulfill me more. I took a pay cut, but what I gained instead is, to me, so much more valuable. I started Seen Library with no goal or vision in mind but took it day by day. Through Seen, I've hosted book exchanges and book drives which have helped me to connect with the women in my community as well as give back.
 

Something worth reflecting on: social media

Lately, I've been reflecting on my personal social media use. As someone who has been a woman on the internet since the days of AIM and working in the industry for the past 10 years, mainly on Instagram, social media has been a big part of my life. My friend and I came up with 21 questions to ask about your life on the internet and I plan on sitting with these questions to be more intentional with how I approach social media. I take pride in the boundaries I do set already — not having notifications on my phone, muting or unfollowing accounts that make me feel insecure or angry, and posting what I enjoy rather than what does well according to the algorithm — but I know I have a long way to go to make social media a healthier place for me.
 

Worth trying out for slowing down: write it out

Take the time to actually sit down with yourself to ask what is really important in life and write those things down. Maybe it's because I've been working hard for quite some time and feel satisfied with where I'm at, but I’ve found that work and career accomplishments aren't what makes me happy at the moment. What makes me happy is personal freedom, spending time with loved ones, and the luxury of a slower life that allows me to stop and notice the little things around me. It's what I do and who I am outside of work that I value more.
 

You can find Jordan at @jordanrisa on all, @seenlibrary, @howtobeawomanontheinternet.

1. The secret of the 8-minute phone call (NYT) — “A study of 240 adults in 2021 found that when participants received brief phone calls a few times a week, their levels of depression, loneliness and anxiety were ‘rapidly reduced’ compared with people who didn't receive a call.”
2. The Murky Path To Becoming a 'New York Times' Best Seller (Esquire)
3. Go Ahead—Quit the Books and Shows You're Not That Into (SELF)
4. The Year in Quiet Quitting (The New Yorker) — This topic's been over-discussed at this point, but this article was an incisive take on why Gen Z felt "quiet quitting" to be so profound vs. millennials.