OG Tuesday Issue #225

The Assist Newsletter
January 13, 2025
A bright yellow sun graphic on a teal background with text reading, "I walk into every room like I belong there — because I do." A colorful wave design is on the bottom right.

Today’s Checklist: 

  • Be more intentionally productive
  • Tap into your creative side
  • Lisa shares why you shouldn’t stop at “no”

🤔 Riddle me this: I am shaped by the wind, but I’m not alive. I can stand tall or stretch wide. People marvel at me but cannot take me inside. What am I? (Find the answer on the bottom).

QUICK LINKS

🌍 See what the World Economic Forum has to say about the future of jobs.

🏢 Does remote-first work mean zero office culture? HR experts weigh in.

✨ A new year is the perfect time to redefine your idea of career success.

🔎 Fresh job-search strategies for a fresh new year.

PRODUCTIVITY

An illustration of a woman sitting at a desk, deep in thought, with speech bubbles around her showing different emotions like love, confusion, anger, and stress. The background is pink.

Life-Changing Check-Ins

 

We love a good productivity hack, but sometimes, what we really need, if we want to get more (quality) sh*t done, is simply more clarity and intention. Author and creative powerhouse Amber Rae has two easy weekly check-ins that will help you cultivate exactly that.

Her start-the-week check-in prompts:

  • My #1 priority this week is __________.
  • I want to do less __________.
  • I want to do more __________.
  • This week, I want to feel __________.
  • To feel this way, I will __________.
  • If I get stuck, I’ll remember __________.

👉 Grab the graphic on Pinterest >

Her end-the-week check-in prompts:

  • I feel __________.
  • I need __________.
  • I forgive __________.
  • I celebrate __________.
  • I release __________.
  • I trust __________.

👉 Grab the graphic on Pinterest>

RECRUITING TOOL

A screenshot of a text conversation discussing the benefits of using the Greenhouse software for hiring. The replies highlight improved hiring processes, collaborative features, and customizable tools, with responses like "super" and "amazing" emphasizing satisfaction.

My BFF Swears by Greenhouse for Recruiting

 

Recruiting the right talent is one of the biggest challenges for any company. Between posting jobs, sorting resumes, and scheduling interviews, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed—especially when it comes to managing feedback across hiring managers. Building a strong team should start with an efficient, collaborative, and data-driven recruitment process.

When I asked my best friend (who’s been in recruiting for years) about Greenhouse, she wouldn’t shut up about how awesome it was—the text pictured above was part 1 of many gray bubble responses.

She told me Greenhouse makes hiring way more collaborative—giving managers access to the platform so everyone’s on the same page for scheduling and feedback. Plus, the customizable scorecards for interviews make gathering actionable feedback super easy.

And if you’re into optimizing (who isn’t?), the data you get from the platform is a game-changer. You can see the types of applicants coming in and tweak your search strategy in real-time.

TL;DR: If you’re looking to cut down your hiring time, improve collaboration with managers, and get deeper insights into your talent pool, Greenhouse is a must-have.

circle image of Joanna, Co-Founder of TA

Joanna (TA Co-Founder)

CREATIVITY

A vibrant abstract illustration with purple, yellow, and black shapes, featuring light bulbs, squiggles, and dots that symbolize creativity and ideas.

Court the Muse

 

While there’s no single process for being creative, there are certain thinking patterns and tendencies that show up repeatedly when people are engaged in creative work. Some believe these patterns indicate universal creative thinking styles. Others have criticized the idea of thinking styles and encouraged techniques for creative exploration instead.

Just as there’s no single process for being creative, there’s also no “right” or “wrong” when it comes to being creative. The only “right” is what works for you.

Prompts:

  • Review all the information below
  • Which thinking style/technique appeals most to you and why?
  • Try using a different style/technique and see what happens

Creative Thinking Styles:

🤔 Aesthetic Thinking

This type of thinking is what you exercise when you look at a painting. What are its strengths? Weaknesses? What stands out about it? Did the painter do something to highlight that aspect?

This style may be best exercised visually, but it can be applied to anything.

  • Example: Providing feedback on a co-worker’s presentation by talking about how well what they did worked and not what they could have done differently.

🤔 Divergent Thinking

You might be looking for only one good idea, but sometimes, you get the best single idea by coming up with as many ideas as possible. This process nudges your mind away from the path of least resistance, which might keep you stuck in a creative rut.

  • Example: Thinking of ten different places you might have your retreat other than the same location you used last year.

🤔 Convergent Thinking

This thinking style is the manifestation of keeping things simple. You clearly define the problem or goal and use logic to rule out all but the most straightforward option.

  • Example: Deciding that saving money is a priority and narrowing down office upgrade ideas based on cost.

🤔 Inspirational Thinking

This thinking style involves mining ideas and solutions you love to find what you can use.

  • Example: Thinking about how you can adapt what you admire in someone else’s work for your own.

Creative Exploration Techniques:

🖼️ Reframing

The same photograph can look wildly different depending on what kind of frame you put it in. This technique involves imagining all the different ways you can look at one thing and seeing where that blue-sky process takes you.

  • Tip: Direct your brainstorm with statements starting with, “what if…”

🧠 Mind Mapping

This associative thinking technique involves quickly writing all the words and ideas that come into your mind as you’re approaching a problem or project. After all the ideas are on the page, you review everything and look for connections and patterns that tie seemingly unrelated ideas together. Usable ideas often emerge in this part of the process.

🪴 Insight Chasing

This technique is a little like gardening. Following all the steps and rules might not make your seeds grow or grow well, but it certainly helps.

  • Step 1: Research. Gather all the information you can.
  • Step 2: Dedicated brainstorming.
  • Step 3: Break to allow unconscious thinking.

Ideally, insight arrives during the unconscious thinking step, hitting you suddenly while you’re in the shower. After that, you develop that core insight into a usable strategy.

HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS

Image showing The Human Needs Assessment™ results, listing categories: Belonging, Flexibility, Purpose, Self-Esteem, and Security. The text reads, 'Empower You & Your Team to Thrive in 2025' with a button labeled 'Grab Your Free Code ->' in gold.

Unlock the Secret to Thriving Teams in 2025—Starting with One Powerful Tool

 

Want 2025 to be the year of greater well-being, connection, and retention for you and your team? We’ve got just the tool for that. The research-backed Motives Met Human Needs Assessment™ helps leaders figure out what truly drives their employees to be well and perform well at work.

But it’s more than just an assessment—it’s a whole toolkit. From meaningful resources to workshops and (yes) team-building ideas that people will actually love, it’s a roadmap for thriving at work. It empowers everyone to communicate and elevate the 28 human needs that fuel happy, healthy, high-performing teams.

The best part? It creates the space to connect in the human way we crave and shows your team you genuinely care about their mental health and fulfillment.

Snag your free code to check out the assessment today.

SUBSCRIBER SPOTLIGHT

Turn ‘No’ Into an Opportunity for Insight

 

“If you don’t understand why someone said no, your job isn’t done yet. Your next step should be to ask, ‘Can you share why you made that decision?’”

— Lisa (HR Director)

⭐️ Share your best career advice here so we can share it in a future newsletter.

STAFF PICKS

Stuff We’re Loving This Week

 

🌟 Your goals are unique—start your free weight-loss assessment with Hers and get a personalized plan tailored to your life.

📖 Haruki Murakami’s The City and Its Uncertain Walls takes you on a surreal adventure exploring memory, identity, and imagination.

💧 With the Stanley Quencher, hydration meets style—perfect for your desk or on-the-go moments.

💻 Stay organized and stress-free with Wrike—the project management tool that works as hard as you do.

JUST FOR FUN

A person wearing a suit entirely made of yellow sticky notes stands with a serious expression. The text above reads, "Just me and my to-do list, ready for action.”

SPILL THE TEA

Take Our Poll

TA Poll

🚨 Open Jobs: Visit our job board here.

⭐️ Answer to the riddle.

P.S. Want more inspiration and positivity to kick off your week? Sign up for our Motivational Monday texts (U.S. only).

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