Tag Archives: guide

Monday’s Link Roundup.

For graphic designers, this Monday’s Link Roundup has two gems, The Art of the Book Cover Explained at TED and 5 (Mostly) Vintage Children’s Books by Iconic Graphic Designers.  If you’re interested in ethical wills, be sure to take a look at Things to worry about. It’s a letter by F. Scott Fitzgerald to his 11-year-old daughter. While it’s short, it’s nevertheless a wonderful example of an ethical will of sorts.

  • Aging Survivors Can’t Forget. [Podcast] “Many of the estimated 200,000 living Holocaust survivors face a new trauma in their final years, as they are overwhelmed by terrible memories they’ve successfully contained for 70 years…Reporter Karen Brown introduces us to survivors and their family members .., as well as social workers and specialists working with them, to find out more about this painful last chapter in a survivor’s life, and about what can be done to help them.” [ Thanks to Stephen Albert of Lifetime Memoirs for alerting me to this item.]
  • Five Reasons Why Your Life Will Improve By Writing Memoir. “Sue William Silverman is an award-winning memoir author, a writing teacher in the MFA Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and the author of Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir. In today’s post, Silverman presents five reasons why writing a memoir will improve our lives! Enjoy!”
  • Crazy Talk: The Do-What-You-Love Guide. “I am not someone who likes to give career advice, or teach people to be online entrepreneurs. So I’m not going to do that here. I’ll just tell you this: it’s possible. Yes, it absolutely is possible. And I’ll share what I’ve learned, in small snippets of goodness, about doing what you love.”
  • Determining if a sentimental item is clutter or a treasure. “If you’re storing sentimental items in cardboard boxes in your basement or attic or garage, it’s a pretty good sign the items are clutter and not treasures…Plus, you can’t see your items or appreciate them through the walls of a box in a corner of a room beneath boxes of holiday decorations…As you’re sorting through your sentimental items to determine what is a treasure and what is clutter, ask yourself:”
  • The Art of the Book Cover Explained at TED. [Video] “Give this one a minute to get going, to get beyond the schtick. And then you’ll enter the world of Chip Kidd, associate art director at Knopf, who has designed covers for many famous books. As he will tell you, his job comes down to asking: What do stories look like, and how can he give them a face, if not write a short visual haiku for them?”
  • Things to worry about. “In 1933, renowned author F. Scott Fitzgerald ended a letter to his 11-year-old daughter, Scottie, with a list of things to worry about, not worry about, and simply think about. It read as follows.”
  • 5 (Mostly) Vintage Children’s Books by Iconic Graphic Designers. “As a lover of children’s books, I have a particularly soft spot for little-known gems by well-known creators. After two rounds of excavating obscure children’s books by famous authors of literature for grown-ups and icons of the art world, here are five wonderful vintage children’s books by some of history’s most celebrated graphic designers.”

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Encore! The Introvert’s Survival Guide to Conferences.

The Introvert's Survival Guide to Conferences. I love people, but I must admit I can’t be around them continually. It drains me. Hello, my name is Dan and I’m an introvert. I previously wrote  “Attention Introverts! You Can Market Successfully.”  Now I’d like to turn my attention to another challenge for introverts – conferences. If the thought of spending days  submerged in a sea of people is daunting, don’t despair. This article is for you… Read More


The Introvert’s Survival Guide to Conferences.

I love people, but I must admit I can’t be around them continually. It drains me. Hello, my name is Dan and I’m an introvert.

I previously wrote  Attention Introverts! You Can Market Successfully.  Now I’d like to turn my attention to another challenge for introverts – conferences. If the thought of spending days  submerged in a sea of people is daunting, don’t despair. This article is for you.

  • Make space for downtime. By all means, attend all the workshops and keynote events that look interesting. But don’t fill your day with wall-to-wall events. Escape to your hotel room for an hour to read, nap, or just stare into space. I find going for a walk outside helps recharge my batteries.
  • Avoid a hotel roommate. The last thing you need is to have the stress of dealing with a roommate when you just want to relax. If you’re budget minded and plan to share, here’s my advice. Make every effort to find a fellow introvert. Or failing that, at least someone you know who can respect your need for quiet.
  • Exit conversations gracefully. It might be at a coffee break, meal, or in the hallway,  but there’ll be times you need to escape from yet another conversation. Make sure you have a few handy exit lines to draw on such as “I’m sorry, but I need some time to freshen up before the next workshop.” “I’m sorry, but I have a call I need to make.” “I promised to meet up with someone and I need to find them. You’ll have to excuse me.”
  • Make meaningful connections. I find I’m at my best one-on-one.  I make it a point to prepare a list of a few key people I want to see at a conference. Then I set up appointments with those individuals to meet over a coffee or drinks.
  • Have a conference “extrovert” buddy. This can be a friend, colleague, or someone you meet at the conference. Extroverts love meeting new people and can be the perfect partner at mixers and parties. They’ll introduce you to all kinds of people. No need to stand in the shadows!
  • Consider an “off site” spot or room service for a meal. I’m not one to enjoy my breakfast with a cast of hundreds. When I can, I look for a nearby cheap and cheerful café to get away from the crowds. Treat yourself to the occasional meal out or room service. It’ll do wonders for your soul.

Photo by Luke Stearns

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