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Good-bye 2021, hello 2022! Opting in – opting out

17. Dezember 2021

Chasing butterflies – this is what I set out to do in 2021. Not the easiest thing to accomplish during a global pandemic… And I wouldn’t even dare to say I’m half way there, but the intent really matters and in hindsight I’m glad this was the mantra I set for myself this year. It has become a constant reminder that what I am really looking for is a life filled with joy and moments when I’m deeply connected to myself, the world and the people I care about. A reminder to spot opportunities to rejoice and to not take life too seriously all the time. Serendipity is something an open mind can encounter – even in a year like this one. Here are my biggest...

Ready to die

26. November 2021

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My parents are ready to die. And I truly appreciate it. Don't get me wrong: They are in good health, and I am looking forward to spending decades with them. But they took care of everything - and as much as I hate to think about the day they are going to leave this world, at least they will not leave us with bank accounts we can't access, passwords we need to guess, storage rooms packed with piles of crap or - most importantly - doubts on how they would like things to be handled when the time has come. I can't thank them enough for being so thoughtful and proactive about everything that needs to be taken care of - I know for a...

Part-time

19. November 2021

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As many of you might know, I am capping my work load for Product Academy at 40%. I work two mornings and one full day per week and grant myself an extra 15 minutes on the other days for urgent voice messages in order to unblock people I am working with. That's it. Whatever I get done in those roughly 18 hours per week determines what happens at my company and how fast it is growing. Allowing myself to work part-time has been a liberation. Not just, because I get to spend more time with my kids (which, to be honest, can also be exhausting at times...

Not ready to talk

15. Oktober 2021

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After five years of changing multiple diapers a day for the kids, I just needed to take a moment to celebrate: both kids are now diaper-free (at least during the day ;-) So let me take this opportunity to tell you a little diaper story:When I used to ask my little son Matteo whether he needed a new diaper, he often replied "I don't wanna tell you" ("Will ich nicht sagen") with this sweet stubborn look on his face. More often than not this meant he really needed one. Sometimes it did not. What it always meant: He did not want to tell me. He was busy. Embarrassed. Annoyed. Or not sure yet. "Will ich nicht sagen."For my friend Judith and me this has become a running joke - and a...

Paradox

17. September 2021

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I'm a voice message enthusiast, but answering machines freak me out. I'm repelled by the polished Linkedin world, yet I'm a part of it.I'm a passionate host who needs the house to herself. I'm a philantropist hiding from people. An introvert seeking the stage. A courageous coward. A wonderful mess. Life's intriguingly complicated, filled with contradictory force fields. Which paradoxes are you trying to make sense of in your life?Lots of love,Tanja ...

Fast-Forward

27. August 2021

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As a kid I used to read the last pages of a book before starting the first chapter. I just had to know how it all ended. As a teenager I dreamed of a magic remote control. One that would teleport me to better times. In fact, two very distinct moments in time: I immediately wanted to turn 18 ...

Work

16. August 2021

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The other day, I found my husband reading a railway newspaper (yes, they do exist) on our couch. Surrounded by sofa cushions thrown all over the place by our lovely kids, the floor covered in bread crumbs from the last meal, dishes piling up in the sink. It was one of the rare moments the kids happened to play by themselves without killing each other. One of those precious moments...

Fun

29. Juli 2021

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In the past couple of months, we have digested some deep and sometimes dark topics here. So I felt like it was time for a very different story. And since the majority voted for it in the last newsletter, let's talk about FUN 🙂 13 years ago I broke up with my high-school boyfriend whom I had been living with for a couple of years. "When we'll have kids, I am going to be the fun dad and you are going to be the serious mom.", he said one day. It was meant as a joke, but at the same time it wasn't. It was the most condensed mental model of how he perceived our roles, even without being parents back then. Me doing the dishes,...

Labels

16. Juli 2021

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A few weeks ago, my former student Antonia reflected on Linkedin about her habit of outing herself in new groups as pet lover and nerd - even in a professional context. So she was asking herself: "Where’s your line between personal and work life? How much of yourself do you show your colleagues? Has it ever backfired? Or have you ever benefited from it?" Unconsciously, this was the starting point of today's post, but it didn't bubble up until after I had published my last "Butterflies" about FILTERS talking about highly sensitive people. Writing it brought back a recent episode where I was asked to fill out an application form for Maya's kindergarden. I reached the comment section where we were supposed to mention any additional...

Filters

25. Juni 2021

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Back in 2013, I stumbled across a website called Paper.li that invited you to create your personalized topic-based digital newspaper. It would then feature a couple of articles and tweets on the subjects you selected and provide a nice daily morning read. This is an example of curated content, a phenomenon that has been on the rise for more than a decade now. It can take many forms, ranging from "a single room with a single book" (a tiny bookstore in Ginza that sells only one book per week, hand-picked by its owner) to The Browser, a newsletter featuring five outstanding stories per day from thousends of articles. With individual voices trumping established brands more and more in the war for attention, even big social media players like...

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Good-bye 2021, hello 2022! Opting in – opting out

Ready to die

Part-time

Not ready to talk

Paradox

Fast-Forward

Work

Fun

Labels

Filters

Tanja’s Butterflies

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