tanja(at)tanjalau.com

+41 (0)32 511 20 09

Bern, Switzerland

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Personal Blog Posts

Being a solopreneur can feel quite lonely. So can being a mother, a product person, a highly-sensitive individual… I made it my mission to bridge the gap between my professional and my private life to show up as authentically and whole-heartedly as I can, inviting others to connect with me from human to human. In this section you can check out extracts from my personal newsletter «Tanja’s Butterflies».

To follow my product-related writing, I recommend subscribing to my Substack blog Learning Organisation. Some of my articles can also be found in the section Publications & Templates.

Getting Sh** Done

“All of my favorite underpants are gone!” my son exclaimed in frustration last week. And rightly so—they were indeed all missing. Confession time: I’m a squirrel. (Some of you might remember my newsletter about packing strategies…). I start gathering items weeks before any trip, stashing my family members’ favorite socks, t-shirts, and trousers right from the laundry, and piling up games and equipment in different stacks. At times, various upcoming trips simultaneously occupy different corners of our house… “Why on earth would you do that?”, you might ask. It’s simple. I’m a precrastinator. We all know procrastinators: They wait until the last minute to submit their taxes, buy a gift, book vacations, hand in their reports at work—you name it. For some, it works out quite well...

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freedom

"Sometimes, a person reaches a point in their life when it becomes absolutely essential to get the fuck out of the city." (A Psalm for the Wild Built)I had reached that point last week. I was so fed up with everything lately that at first I thought I needed at least six months to break free. That's how long it takes to walk the Pacific Crest Trail. And some day I might - but not right now. Then I thought, I needed at least four weeks to do some meaningful pro-bono work down in Africa to reconnect to a purpose. And one day I might - but not yet. I was convinced I needed 11 days in silence to help me recharge. Turns out all...

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the stories we tell

In my last newsletter I wrote about unaltered truths, parts of us that never change and that form the core of our essence. But you know what else shapes us profoundly? The narratives woven by others about who we are, often repeated until they become ingrained in our identities:“You’re so funny, your jokes are hilarious.”“You’re such a sweet girl.”“You’re so good with words.”"You never talk about your feelings."“You are so responsible.”"You're not the romantic type."“You are just not able to be in a steady relationship.”“You always overspend.““You’re the type of girls guys like to hang out with, you’re just not girlfriend material.” Some of these affirmations can be empowering, boosting our confidence. But others, if we let them sink in and take root, can be constraining. And...

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(un)altered

Today’s my birthday, and birthdays are a great moment to reflect on life. (Last year I shared a bunch of deep learnings with you, remember?) I usually take some time to think about what has changed in the past year, what I want more or less of in my life. However, this year I somehow put more emphasis on thinking about all the things that have not changed. All the ways in which - deep down - I have always been the same person. Sometimes we deviate from our core believes for a while (I sure did when working in a somewhat shady startup…), we manage to mask our true colors and take on layers of learned behavior or multiple identities. But the most nurturing connections in life are...

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Beginner’s Mind

Shall I tell you about one of the greatest fears in my life? It's to feel boxed in and get bored. To stop growing and to run out of firsts – in my job, in my marriage, in my life.  Luckily, in the last couple of months, I have been busy with a lot of “firsts”:  I took a salsa class with Tobias. Actually, I have done a lot of salsa dancing back in the days, but dancing for the first time with your partner who is just taking his first salsa steps forces you to let go of your expectations and embrace this new beginning. It was a really interesting challenge to let him take the lead, and the course definitely felt a bit like couples...

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