🥁 21 Rules for Good Parties, a Two-Fish Theory, and the Ivy Lee Method for Productivity

I’m Allison Stadd, drummer turned CMO, and I write for people who want to put the crackle back in their careers ⚡

This issue’s soundtrack:

Happy Sunday,

Here are 11 things to top up your creative cup this week:

🎶 A six-minute short that transforms musical notes into living characters: Incredible animation work by Chuck Jones in 1960; it’s called High Note. It was released as part of the Looney Tunes series. (Shout out to Lynn for this one!)

📋 A list of 16 very doable daily habits that have an enormous collective impact: Ryan Holiday shares his set of ordinary habits and practices that, repeated again and again, he says has led to his success in career and as a human. Some are what you’d probably expect (wake up early, sleep with your phone in another room) but some are refreshingly distinct (think about death every day, don’t set goals).

🪰 A reflection on if you’re annoying, and how knowing which one of the Four Tendencies you embody can help: Spoiler alert: everyone’s annoying sometimes. I liked this piece from Gretchen Rubin on building self-awareness around how you personally may be annoying and what to understand, and do, about it.

❓ A set of 3 questions to ask before saying yes to any work (full-time or freelance): I adore Ellen Scott‘s work and this piece was no exception. She shares a simple set of questions to reflect on when you’re considering new work. She writes, “I believe that working on purpose means regularly and frequently grappling with these questions, and negotiating how you work in line with how ‘worth it’ work is feeling.”

📓 A case for getting over yourself and taking a lesson: Outdoor industry journalist and gear tester Joe Jackson explores why adults don’t take lessons, and what happens when they do. The head of a mountain bike program told him, “I think it takes somebody to drop their ego and say, ‘I want to get better at something.’”

😌 Six exercises for cultivating your purpose in life: Getting clear on your purpose is a lifelong pursuit. But I like these six exercises from The Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley for clearing some of the haze away. My favorite: the “Best Possible Self” prompt. Imagine yourself at some future age, like 10 or 20 years down the road, and think about what your life would be like if everything went as well as possible. Ask yourself: What are you doing? What’s important to you? What do you really care about, and why?

🪢 A 10-step protocol from JOIN 101 for transforming your city’s civic health: There’s a social and institutional trust crisis in America; fewer and fewer people are participating in clubs and organizations, volunteering, attending religious services, even just getting together with neighbors. This piece has a great set of 10 very accessible interventions for deepening your city’s local civic culture.

🎉 21 rules for throwing good parties: My favorites:

• “Put the food in one part of the room and the drinks in another, or spread the food and drinks out around the space, so that people have lots of excuses to move around the room.”

• “Co-host parties with someone you like a lot but who isn't in your exact social circle, so that your two friend-sets can intermingle.”

• “Make peace with gatekeeping because if you don't exclude a small % of people you will ultimately lose everyone else.”

👷‍♀️ A reminder not to mistake the act of making for the actual thing you’re making: Great little piece from 37signals co-founder and CEO Jason Fried on not confusing the kitchen for the meal or the blueprint for the building. He writes, “The speed at which a product is developed doesn't inherently make the product better or worse. The number of people or agents working on it doesn't make it better or worse. The number of hours you’re pouring into it doesn’t make it better or worse. Working on a weekend, or late into the evening, doesn’t make it better or worse.” None of those things are about whether or not the product is actually good. Don’t obsess over the wrong metrics.

🐟 A two-fish theory from Anu: Life is good when you get to be one fish in two ponds. A big fish in a small pond (feeling valued) and a small fish in a big pond (chasing ambition).

📝 The Ivy Lee method for productivity: It’s not revolutionary and it’s only 5 steps. But I like how Daphne Mavroudi-Chocholi articulates why it’s so specifically helpful. Favorite one-liner from the piece: “With control comes calmness.”

You’ve got this,

Allison

P.S. Want more creative inspiration? Come join me at my first in-person event: The Creativity of Workshop: Create Your 2027 Career Vision, Friday 10/2, 9-10AM in Philly. It’s a one-hour, small-group session for getting frank about what you actually want professionally, and setting up 2027 to go get it. We’ll use music as a tool to spark fresh thinking (no musical experience required). Limited to 20 seats. Get your ticket here.

Folks across 42 U.S. states and 73 countries from companies like LVMH, Unilever, Salesforce, The Atlantic, and The Home Depot are reading along. You in?

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