Career

Discover articles, resources and recommendations on career development, work-life-balance and success on the job. Follow along on Refind to get the most relevant new links picked for you.
9 Best Articles in 2021
Farnam Street
How to Remember What You ReadFarnam Street
~15 min read · Aug 16th · The benefits of reading are negated if you forget remember what you read. This article discusses a tested system to increase retention. Learn how to use active reading to remember more from books.
career
books
brain
Most highlighted
A lot of success in reading boils down to preparation. What you do before you read matters way more than you think.
Focus on some combination of books that: 1) stand the test of time; 2) pique your interest; or 3) challenge you.
The investment we make in reading should have a positive, lasting impact on our lives.
Tim Urban
How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You)Tim Urban
From 2018 · Our career path is how we spend our time, how we support our lifestyles, how we make our impact, and even sometimes how we define our identity. Let’s make sure we’re on the right track.
career
life
personality
Most highlighted
But before you can even address your general uselessness, there’s an even bigger issue—your pre-set path ended.
a person’s career quadruples as the person’s primary identity. Which is kind of a big thing.
Then there’s your ego, who’s a similar character but even more needy. Your ego doesn’t just want to be accepted
BuzzFeed News
How Millennials Became The Burnout GenerationBuzzFeed News
20+ min read · From 2019 ·  Some claim millennials are lazy and entitled – unable to do basic tasks that older adults have just gotten on with for years. Anne Helen Petersen, senior culture writer for Buzzfeed News, rejects those labels. Milllennials like herself, she argues, are merely trying their best to navigate trends like skyrocketing student loans and an underpaying, perk-free gig economy. Millennials will likely not be the only ones who feel that her insights and observations are almost painfully on the nose. 
mental health
society
work
Fast Company
Personal branding for people who hate personal brandingFast Company
5 min read · From 2019 · Self-promotion might not come naturally for some, but less outgoing people can use their natural strengths to create an authentic online presence.
career
marketing
self
Aeon+Psyche
How to gain more from your readingAeon+Psyche
~17 min read · Jul 7th · There’s more to words than meets the eye. Deepen your appreciation of literature through the art of slow, attentive reading
books
career
productivity
Most highlighted
From reading deeply, you gain experience as well as knowledge: you gain from reading literary works in all their unique particularity.
You probably already enjoy the ways that literary works entertain you, instruct you, move you. Recognising and understanding how they accomplish these things will enable you to deepen your appreciation still further and gain even more reward.
There’s more to words than meets the eye. Deepen your appreciation of literature through the art of slow, attentive reading
The Atlantic
The Best Time-Management Advice Is Depressing But LiberatingThe Atlantic
5 min read · Aug 11th · You can make time for things that matter, or you can make time for more email.
productivity
career
leadership
Most highlighted
Several years ago, the journalist and author Oliver Burkeman asked some of his friends to guess, off the top of their head, how many weeks make up a typical human lifetime.
we will die not having done a tremendous number of things we care about
A life spent chasing the mythical state of being able to do everything is less meaningful than a life of focusing on a few things that count.
The New York Times
Welcome to the YOLO EconomyThe New York Times
7 min read · Apr 21st · Burned out and flush with savings, some workers are quitting stable jobs in search of postpandemic adventure.
economy
career
Most highlighted
for a growing number of people with financial cushions and in-demand skills, the dread and anxiety of the past year are giving way to a new kind of professional fearlessness.
If “languishing” is 2021’s dominant emotion, YOLOing may be the year’s defining work force trend.
have this renewed creative sense about what my life could look like, and how fulfilling it can be
The Guardian
The joys of being an absolute beginnerThe Guardian
~16 min read · Jan 7th · The long read: The phrase ‘adult beginner’ can sound patronising. It implies you are learning something you should have mastered as a child. But learning is not just for the young
better living
career
brain
TED Talks
Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at workTED Talks
From 2016 · Jason Fried has a radical theory of working: that the office isn't a good place to do it. He calls out the two main offenders (call them the M&Ms) and offers three suggestions to make the workplace actually work.
work
jason fried
work life
New this week
5 Reasons Not to Quit Your Job (Yet)
Harvard Business Review
Women Do More to Fight Burnout — and It’s Burning Them Out
Harvard Business Review
Who benefits most from company mentorship programs?
Quartz
How to identify narcissists at work—and when to avoid them
Fast Company
They quit. Now they want their jobs back
WIRED UK
The ‘third shift’ matters—and women do more of it
Fast Company
Forget the ladder. Here’s a better framework for your professional journey
Zapier
The 'Great Resignation' Is Finally Getting Companies to Take Burnout Seriously
TIME
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Guardian Books
The big idea: should we work less?Guardian Books
5 min read · Oct 11th · A shorter working week could benefit society, the environment - even the economy. Is it time to reassess our relationship with our jobs?
future of work
career
economy
Most highlighted
As Amelia Horgan notes in her book Lost in Work, “We, almost always, need a job more than a job needs us. Our entrance into work is unfree, and while we’re there, our time is not our own.”
The way we work, produce and consume has set the planet on fire, but the good news is that a shorter work week can be part of the solution.
Perhaps the most important reason to consider working less is that the looming climate catastrophe makes the Covid crisis look manageable by comparison.
Harvard Business Review
If Your Boss Could Do Your Job, You’re More Likely to Be Happy at WorkHarvard Business Review
3 min read · From 2017 · Technical competence matters for managers.
career
management
leadership
TIME
The 'Great Resignation' Is Finally Getting Companies to Take Burnout SeriouslyTIME
7 min read · Oct 14th
company culture
business
career
Most highlighted
It’s safe to say it’s here. Every month from April to August 2021, at least 2.5% of the American workforce quit their jobs.
“Just keeping people from quitting is not necessarily a good business strategy,” Klotz says. Increasingly, businesses are trying something more ambitious: actually making their workers happy.
“Why not use the leverage you have,” he says, “to turn the job you have into the job you want?”
TED Talks
Are you suffering from collaboration overload? 9 beliefs and fears that help drive itTED Talks
7 min read · Oct 6th · Take a look and see how many you identify with — and then get advice on how to fix them, from collaboration researcher and professor Rob Cross PhD.
career
Most highlighted
Develop an awareness of why people beat a path to your door. Is it because you represent the route of least resistance? If so, learn to be comfortable saying no. Remember: It helps others become self-reliant. Shift your perspective from deriving satisfaction from helping to teaching people how to solve their problems.  TRIGGER #2: TH
The most efficient collaborators don’t try to get their sense of purpose and worth from demonstrating their accomplishments or status. Instead, they get it from developing others.
NPR
You Aren't Lazy. You Just Need To Slow DownNPR
6 min read · Sep 27th · Instead of viewing laziness as something we need to fix or overcome with caffeine or longer work hours, social psychologist Devon Price says to think of laziness as a sign you probably need a break.
productivity
career
The Atlantic
Say Goodbye to Your ManagerThe Atlantic
8 min read · Sep 17th · The pandemic has exposed a fundamental weakness in the system.
career
Harvard Business Review
Women Do More to Fight Burnout — and It’s Burning Them OutHarvard Business Review
3 min read · Oct 22nd · Three strategies to help companies break this vicious cycle.
company culture
equity
career
Most highlighted
Women are caught in a Catch-22 when it comes to burnout at work: They suffer it more and also do more to combat it.
Zapier
Forget the ladder. Here’s a better framework for your professional journeyZapier
5 min read · Oct 16th · ‘I started telling students to consider their careers, not as a linear progression straight up or ahead, but as a river delta—a fertile area to explore that flows toward an ultimate objective.’
career
Harvard Business Review
To Retain Employees, Give Them a Sense of Purpose and CommunityHarvard Business Review
8 min read · Oct 11th · Three strategies to help people feel like their work matters.
business
company culture
career
MIT Sloan Management Review
The Digital Superpowers You Need to ThriveMIT Sloan Management Review
~13 min read · Sep 28th · An environment of continuous disruption requires the development of digital innovation capabilities.
career
innovation
Career

9 Best Articles in 2021

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