My key take away from last week was that we all need to be even more open, communicate more with each other and talk about the things that really matter.
Instead of talking about politics, lets keep listening, keep questioning, keep educating each other and opening each others eyes. Whatever your personal views on politics are, lets agree on the following: Hate, bullying, racism & sexism have absolutely no right to exist in our world. And it doesn't matter what side you and me stand on.
I remember when I moved from Germany to Austria in the late 90's. The following years I got bullied a lot in school, everyone kept calling me a "Nazi" or a "Piefke" and that I should go back where I came from. (For context: We moved into a tiny village on the country side in Austria, very conservative)
Besides the irony of this whole thing, it did took a toll on me. Only after I started learning the Austrian dialect and made an effort to hide my German accent, things cooled down a bit more for me. I also figured that kids are just mean, especially when they don't know what they even talk about.
And I'm saying this as a privileged white male, these things hurt & definitely influenced my childhood. And trust me, I can't and don't even want to compare my experiences with someone else in todays world. But my experiences help me relate. We all should make an effort to minimize hate speech, bullying, racism or sexism.
And the best way to do this is to speak up to those who do it. The signs may seem harmless and small sometimes, but it's our responsibility to educate the people closest to us. Arguing with extreme racist people on Twitter is one thing (and somewhat pointless) but taking care of the people that surround us everyday is where we can make a difference.
Oftentimes signs of racism or sexism are creeping up without us even noticing first. It's our responsibility to notice the signs early and talk to our friends and family about it.
And with that, let's get into this weekly email. I just had to get this off my chest (:
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1. TIME MACHINE: Be Lazy
A piece I wrote exactly one year ago re-surfaced in my stream this week. It's about the fact that being lazy can actually be a good thing when used in the right way. Being lazy can be one of the best attributes of a good productive worker.
As you might know, last week I shared an article with you about Being Busy, and today I share one with you about Being Lazy.
The article is a quick read, but trust me, these two things work pretty well together.
→ Why Being Lazy is the Ultimate Productivity Hack
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2. The 4 Basic Steps for Online Privacy & Security
Looking at the recent happenings around the world, I think there is no better time than now to up your online privacy & security game.
I've talked to many designers friends in real life and was surprised how few of them take their online privacy & security seriously. I know it's a nerdy topic, so I wanted to publish an article that is simple and to the point to get you up to speed when it comes to online privacy.
→ Read the full article right here
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3. Trading Design for Something Else Than Money
Ana and Tiago, a young designer couple recently drove across Europe on a mission to share good design with the world.
The idea was simple. Ana & Tiago (originally from Portugal) travel the world and offer their design skills in return for other services and goods, instead of money.
When I heard about this idea, I immediately feel in love with it. This isn't just about traveling and seeing the world, but also about setting your own priorities. It's looking at Design from a different angle and asking questions such as: Can we offer our design skills for something else than money? What if money wouldn't exist?
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4. More recommendations
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5. Top Tweets of this week
To keep this section of the email alive, my top tweets for you in case you aren't on Twitter. I'm not judging you :p
#1 - Just a designer setting up a 12 column grid.
#2 - I made a new sticker for every designer out there.
#3 - There is a crack in everything, thats how the light gets in.
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I hope you enjoyed this weeks email & as always, please DO let me know via Twitter if you have feedback, questions or just want to send a fist bump. (insults are welcome too, but only on Mondays)
Have a wonderful week,
Tobias
© 2021 House of van Schneider LLC
All rights reserved.
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