This is Johanna Rothman’s September 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Do you like uncertainty? I don’t, and I’m not alone. That’s because uncertainty feels as if it’s an unmanageable risk. We even have sayings such as, “Don’t rock the boat,” to explain why we […]
How Would You Act if You Optimized for Uncertainty to Gain More Resilience? Read More »
I recently learned about three kinds of fun on a scale: Type 1 Fun, where the thing you do, this current experience, is fun right now. Type 2 Fun, where you thought this thing would be fun, but you get frustrated and possibly miserable as you go through it. Only in retrospect, when you see
How Can More Type 2 Fun Offer You More Resilience? Read More »
Mark and I just returned from a week-long trip to Switzerland and Germany to explore some of my family’s origins. We had a great—and exhausting—time. I learned a ton, not just about my family’s past, but about designing for the entire experience, and how my perseverance interacts with my learning. Design for the Entire Experience
How Can You Integrate What You Learned from Traveling to a New Place? Read More »
I practice my writing by writing a lot. (I also read a lot about writing, but no one becomes a better writer by reading. Writers become better by writing.) In addition, I take classes to stretch my skills. That means I’m not going to “succeed” or write something “perfect” all the time. But I do
When Do You Choose Between Getting Something “Perfect” vs. Finishing It? Read More »
I was working on visualizations of cycle time for my other blog (how long each item of work takes over time). That’s when I realized I needed to create a conditional formula in my spreadsheet. Conditional formulas are if statements. With my software background, I think in if statements. (If then, else other.) So, I
What Makes You Feel Smart and What Makes You Feel Less Smart? Read More »
Many people tell me they want to write more often, But they have trouble building and maintaining a consistent writing habit. One person said, “I want some of your magic dust.” A consistent writing habit does not require magic dust. However, it does require a writing habit, and possibly a streak. Too few people know
How Can We Make it Easy to Maintain Our Streaks or Habits? Read More »
I finished a book a couple of weeks ago. Except, it was only close, not completely done. A couple of days later, I thought I nailed it! Again, I was close but not quite done. Another day or so later, this time I really nailed it. Yes, you know the punch line! Almost—but there were
How Many “Once I…” Experiences Do You Need to Be Satisfied? Read More »
I’ve been taking a ton of fiction writing classes, some in-person and most online. Two weeks ago, I was at a thriller fantasy class (yes, a mashup of two genres). I successfully wrote three stories. Not one of them was a thriller. Not one. (At one point, I said, “Genre, shmenre” in the class.) I
How Can We Make the Chaos of Learning Feel Better? Read More »
Because I was traveling last week, I had a long list of plans for this week, mostly involving writing. Sure, I need to maintain my workouts and other personal deliverables, but I had big, big plans. Several things derailed my plans: My return flight to Boston arrived at 3:30 on Saturday morning, not 8 pm
How Do You Manage When All Your Beautiful Plans Go Poof? Read More »
If you’re like me, you have plenty of improvement goals. I have personal, professional, and office-cleanup goals. (Since my office appears to be a perennial mess, I count that as a separate and very subsidiary goal.) I often use the compounding effect to make those improvements. The compounding effect works very well for money. Put
How Can You Use the Compounding Effect to Achieve What You Want? Read More »