Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Staying Current



Some days I really want someone to come up to me and say "Dang girl, dang!".  Like in a really good way.  These are the days that I feel like I'm living right.  These are the days I'm way too pleased with myself (because no one else is volunteering).

So my first tip of the day is to tell yourself, "Dang girl, dang!" and be proud.  (If you're of the masculine variety, feel free to switch that up to "Dang man, dang!".  I'm here to support all kinds.)

Need something to feel good about to inspire the above phrase? (I refuse to type it again, lest it get annoying)  Knowing what's up with the world.

I'm kind of busy.  I bet you're busy too.  We're totally out there killing it.  I want my news to be brief, informative and mildly entertaining.

In order to know what's going on with the world each day, I turn to two sources:

The Daily Show - How many of you just rolled your eyes?  Sorry... but not really.  Is there ridiculousness on The Daily Show? Yes.  But there is also great insight into the big stories.  I am also a fan of his interviews with authors and documentary producers.  I've been introduced to a lot of great pieces from this show.

The Skimm - This is my newest way to stay current and I am in love.  Witty and very insightful.  These girls stay up all night to ensure that at 6am you are delivered the most up to date news from the day before.  I hope they never go away.

If you have more time, another great source of news is salon.com.  I tried to keep up with this for a while, but found scrolling through the things that I found unimportant was tedious, and reading each article took too much time.  If you crave more, I definitely suggest this site.


My absolute favorite ways to stay current are by learning about new discoveries and ideas.  My favorite way to do that is to watch TED talks.  I typically watch 2 per week and have found that is a good balance of what works with my time schedule and the rate of the site's uploading of content I'm interested in.

Staying current is also about checking in on other people's lives.  We get so caught up in our life, and our problems and our successes that sometimes the lives of others seem very foreign.  I love gaining a new perspective like that, and the This American Life podcast is an amazing place to start.  I have a 45 minute commute to work, and I love listening to this in the mornings on my way.

I also like to stay technologically savvy.  I often check out the stories on Lifehacker.  Technology isn't the only theme covered (I'm also a huge fan of the DIY stuff) so be sure to take a look around!

Most importantly, change up the ways you stay current!  Gain a new perspective.  Help me do this by telling me the ways you stay current!  Let's make this a group effort.