52 things I learned in 2022

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Inspired by Tom Whitwell’s annual collection of things learned, here are my ’52 things I learned in 2022′.

The list is usually presented under the comment that ‘no explanation or context of what it is about the article I learned, just a title and link of something that was important to me personally or professionally in [year]’, but this year is different. As I started the list we were heading back into lockdown/extra restrictions mentality, 2021 was ending on a series of political blunders (and yet he was still in power) and we had a new, even more transmissable Covid variant,

2022 should have been the year to reset and restart after such a dismal 2020 and 2021. What was it going to be like? How will we fare and what will 2023 bring on the back of it …?

As it turned out, I had an unplanned break from blogging for nearly 5 months. it was more ‘can’t be bothered’ than unplanned, to be honest. With the UK and the world in constant disarray, the environment and politics taking all the fun out of social media and being online. I am still struggling with writing, and still considering stopping all together, so 2023 will be a different year. Personally and professionally.

  1. ‘It’s Time to Embrace Slow Productivity’ [Cal Newport]
  2. ‘What Really Happens When Workers Are Given a Flexible Hybrid Schedule?’ [Arrianne Cohen]
  3. ‘How a 195-year-old discovery could build the future of energy’ [Jan-Hendrik Pöhls]
  4. ‘Five ways the internet era has changed British English’ [Vaclav Brezina]
  5. ‘Why ‘pruning’ friends has been so common during the pandemic’ [Sophie Black]
  6. ‘6 Ways to Delete Yourself From the Internet’ [Matt Burgess]
  7. ‘We are at our most creative just before we fall asleep, scientists say’ [Victoria Masterton]
  8. ‘Doomscrolling: How can we manage the growing addiction to negative news?’ [WEF]
  9. ‘How to Turn Bad Anxiety Into Good Anxiety’ [Kira Newman]
  10. ‘How ‘Gamification’ of Everything Is Manipulating You (and How to Recognize It)’ [Stephen Johnson]
  11. ‘How to be useless’ [Helen De Cruz & Pauline Lee]
  12. ‘The metaverse is a new word for an old idea’ [Genevieve Bell]
  13. ‘The Stoic Antidote to Frustration’ [Maria Popova]
  14. ‘The Paradox of Happiness: Why Desiring More Makes Us Miserable’ [Darius Foroux]
  15. ‘It’s confirmed: meetings are a waste of time’ [Will Dunn]
  16. ‘‘I Don’t Know How to Say ‘No’ at Work’ [Alison Green]
  17. ‘How 15 minutes of mental health hygiene can change your whole day’ [Madeline Holcombe]
  18. ‘Critical Thinking Is About Asking Better Questions’ [John Coleman]
  19. ‘We need to stop managing and start leading’ [Tiffany Danko and Susan Vroman]
  20. ‘How GDPR Is Failing’ [Matt Burgess]
  21. ‘The case for fewer friends’ [Allie Volpe]
  22. ‘Why a company is not a family — and how companies can bond with their employees instead’ [David Burkus]
  23. ‘How email became work’ [Ann Helen Petersen]
  24. ‘Why Social Media Makes People Unhappy—And Simple Ways to Fix It’ [Daisy Uhas]
  25. ‘Building a culture of learning at work’ [Adam Grant]
  26. ‘Independent Labels Make Some of the Best Record Stores’ [Davey Ferchow]
  27. ‘UK skills crisis: Why university is not the best option’ [Raf Uzar]
  28. ‘Introverts Don’t Like Talking Just for the Sake of Talking — And That’s OK’ [Kevin Martz]
  29. ‘Why digital trust truly matters’ [Jim Boehm, Liz Grennan, Alex Singla, and Kate Smaje]
  30. ‘Prompt 13: Listen’ [Darren Rowse]
  31. ‘Apple’s Killing the Password. Here’s Everything You Need to Know’ [Matt Burgess]
  32. ‘Why do I always feel so rubbish after a nap?’ [Alice Gregory]
  33. ‘Why it’s good to be bad at something’ [Jennifer Ryan]
  34. ‘Firms in four-day week trial will make it permanent’ [BBC News]
  35. ‘Design-conscious co-working spaces around the world’ [Wallpaper]
  36. ‘Fracking won’t work in UK says founder of fracking company Cuadrilla’ [Fiona Harvey]
  37. ‘5 Cultural Traits That Employers Must Implement In the Organization’ [Upasana Raina]
  38. ‘Stop Doing Your Team’s Work for Them’ [Martin G Moore]
  39. ‘Unselfing Social’ [Maria Popova]
  40. ‘The big idea: should we drop the distinction between mental and physical health?’ [Edward Bullmore]
  41. ‘How to Find Small Moments of Joy in Dark Times’ [Angela Haupt]
  42. ‘Managers are struggling. How can employers help them adapt and survive?’ [Valérie Beaulieu-James]
  43. ‘Will the pandemic transform education policy?’ [Adrian Zancajo, Antoni Verger, Pedro Bolea]
  44. ‘The Key to Health and Happiness at Work’ [Kevin Delaney]
  45. ‘What Is Going to Happen With Twitter?’ [Kelly Conaboy]
  46. ‘The courage to say ‘I don’t know” [Leah Hager Cohen]
  47. ‘Why Do We Love the Music We Love?’ [Isaac Schultz]
  48. ‘‘Extinction is on the table’: Jaron Lanier warns of tech’s existential threat to humanity’ [Edward Helmore]
  49. ‘Tech world goes crazy for new chatbot’ [LinkedIn]
  50. ‘How Much Alone Time Do Kids Need?’ [Faith Hill]
  51. ‘Why most men don’t have enough close friends’ [Madeline Holcombe]
  52. ‘ChatGPT’s Fluent BS Is Compelling Because Everything Is Fluent BS’ [Amit Katwala]
  53. BONUS ‘Is the global decline in democracy linked to social media? We combed through the evidence to find out’ [Stephen Lewandowsky et al]
  54. BONUS ‘How Democracies Spy on Their Citizens’ [Ronan Farrow]

Photo by Chaz McGregor on Unsplash