I thought about doing this closer to the actual end of the year, i.e. 12/30 or something, but decided to just pull the trigger on a dreary Monday morning before the holidays really get going. Just for the record up front, this is simply based on page views, which is a flawed metric in many respects. I don’t think these are my best posts of the year, no. And some of them weren’t even written in 2017. Finally: some reflect the general notion that I write about lots of different stuff. All those caveats in place, and here we go.
This is about more effective decision-making in the context of what’s “busy” vs. “important.” This is important because 82 percent of managers aren’t good at their jobs. At some (multiple) points, you’ll have a manager who throws no-context project after project at you, all deemed “I needed this yesterday.” In those moments, which are probably more normative than you’d like to admit, you absolutely need a system like the Eisenhower Matrix. Is it going to win you WW2? No. But it will get you to happy hour faster, more productively, and feeling good about what you do.
No. 2: A bunch of your sexual history will be transactional
Kind of a different deal for me here. It’s basically about how we attach all these feelings and emotions to sex, and that’s logical from brain and biochemistry. But if you really stop and think about it, the vast majority of sex you’ll have is probably going to be transactional and serving some type of short-term purpose. That’s going to be the SIGNIFICANT chunk of your experience there, whether or not you’re in love with the person on the receiving end at the time.
So maybe there’s something to be said for embracing that attitude, being freer with our emotions and physicality, and remaining safe with our protection?
Wrote that years ago, and it’s still popular. She is a big name, I ‘spose.
No. 4: 10 Things To Know Before Moving To Minneapolis
I wrote this years ago — I lived in Minneapolis 2012 to 2014 — and it’s been popular for a while. It’s also the only thing I’ve ever really written in the BuzzFeed-style “10 things you must know…” format.
No. 5: Can we ever solve the Tara Grinstead case?
I used to write more true crime (and now I almost never do), and some of these still do well. I think the Grinstead case is going to be on 48 Hours this year, as a side note.
No. 6: Isn’t it time we were more open about sex?
Ha, another sex one. Insane statistics in here:
Women are 8-10x more likely to Google around whether their husband is gay (esp. in the American Deep South) than whether he’s an alcoholic or depressed. I could say a lot here because I’m pretty sure I know women who have thought I was 1 of the 3 (if not all 3), but let me leave it at this: if you think a guy is gay, look a bit more closely at the other two potential searches. It’s more likely that. Most studies show that 90-98% of “my husband is closeted gay” cases end up with the male being heterosexual and having a slew of other problems. I know the drill.
Anal sex is going to surpass vaginal sex as the norm in porn within three years per data modeling. Talk about “taboo” aspects of sexuality coming to the fore in the privacy of our laptop screens.
No. 7: Can we teach empathy, especially to adults?
I personally think this is one of the better-researched blogs I’ve ever done — and given everything that’s happening in America/the world right now, wouldn’t increased empathy be a good thing?
No. 8: RIP Nicky Joe “Squid” Quinonez
One of my best friends died in late September, and this was my attempt to explain him/tribute to him. After his funeral, I also wrote this.
No. 9: Sharing ideas is the only way work actually “works”
I was surprised this was popular, but it’s basically about how organizations can more effectively funnel ideas around to different people/departments, i.e.:
- Open spaces with food/games so people will congregate
- Events designed to share knowledge (which will also cut down on some loneliness issues)
- Some type of shared doc/site to collect ideas and have people comment, up-vote, etc.
- A process for vetting which ideas will go forward, get funding, etc.
- Incentive structures for those who combine cross-silo on a legit business model idea
- Group field trips
- Smash the cubicle walls with a sledgehammer
No. 10: Why don’t bad management styles evolve out?
This is one of my favorite ones I’ve written. It seems like a logical Q, too: if we know what makes a bad manager, why can’t we evolve that out of future managers? The short answer is human psychology and workplace incentive structures.
Alright, that’s it — none of these have massive, massive page views or anything. I’m not like that. But it’s a snapshot of some of my stuff that people read, at least through the 17th of December.
I’m sure I’ve got a few more 2017 recap-type deals in me, so come on back.
That’s a wide variety of posts! Keep on writing! I enjoy following your blog.