✅ Today's checklist: 

• Start being a mental modeler
• Ward off digital work doldrums through connection
• TA reader Danielle reminds us to take charge

🤔 Riddle me this: What grows up while growing down? (Find the answer on the bottom).

🗓️ Upcoming Event: Want to learn how to handle tough convos with confidence? Check out our upcoming free workshop, "Courageous Conversations" with the team at NextArrow on Thursday 9/19.

🌈 EDI: Bias interrupter positions in workplaces bring new job opportunities and new hope.

💼 Advancement: Professional development programs too often neglect the needs and concerns of women of color.

🎓 Career: Most students need to have jobs during college to pay for college. Is this reality hindering their career growth?

🔀 Crossroads: Worried about your employer's future? Advice for answering the age-old question: Should I stay or should I go?

 

Q: What are mental models?

A: The experts at Ness Labs define mental models as follows:

"Mental models are frameworks that give people a representation of how the world works."

"To put it simply, mental models are a set of beliefs and ideas that we consciously or unconsciously form based on our experiences," they elaborate. "They guide our thoughts and behaviors and help us understand life. They're basically thinking tools—shortcuts for reasoning."

For example:

The dominant societal perception of what environmentalism means is a mental model—one a psychologist discussed shifting in a release for MarketingWeek.

"This is simply what has been conditioned in us," she said. "The whole mental model of sustainability has been built in our minds as something expensive and something for the privileged."

Q: How can they help you realize your full potential?

A: You know how things almost never proceed according to your best-laid plans?

Reflecting on mental models while you plan can reveal several real-life contingencies, and ultimately, make your plans and strategies more resilient.

Q: How can I start using mental models?

A: You start by simply becoming more familiar with established mental models and their core principles.

Focus on a select few at first. (Ness Labs has a video primer on 30 core mental models to start off with.)

"There are actually many mental models which you should work hard to avoid," explain Ness Labs' experts. "For example, having an 'illusion of control' can be particularly dangerous in some situations."

"In order to grow as a human being, you need to be able to identify mental models, whether you are using them, or the person you are talking to is. Ideally, you need to make it a conscious choice to use them or not, instead of falling prey to the automatic thinking our brain loves so dearly."

When you're ready, feel free to proceed to actively using mental models with help from these step-by-step instructions from Ness Labs:

• Be aware of your thinking by asking yourself provoking questions
• Gather information to challenge your thinking with actual facts
• Inquire into other people's thinking and challenge their views
• Resist jumping to conclusions and suspend your assumptions
• Look for recurring thought patterns and unlearn them

 

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One TA Subscriber wants to maintain connections at work: My biggest challenge is creating a connected work culture in the virtual world.

Emerging technology is rapidly shifting modern work processes, styles, norms, and cultures.

Nearly every worker has access to readily available, sometimes free, and often highly advanced solutions. Many of them go beyond simply making work more efficient. Some novel resources create opportunities for radically altering the ways we work on a day-to-day basis.

The idea of rapidly altering so many habitual and familiar processes can be exciting—but also overwhelming—for the humans managing and executing those processes.

All this is to say that it's perfectly okay and natural to feel overwhelmed by the changing work landscape. It's also perfectly okay and expected that human workers will need time and patience to best adjust.

The changes we're all involved with are significant. It was already challenging to maintain optimal human-to-human interaction and collaboration, and now we're bringing AI and other advanced technologies into the fold.

Here's our simple, two-pronged advice:

• Invest time in learning about emerging tech and reflecting on whether it deserves a place in your newly evolved strategy for staying connected.
• Invite the colleagues you hope to stay connected with to join your cause. You'll set the foundation for staying connected in a digital world by first coming together to figure out how. (Talk about a bonding experience.)

Remember that while the mass quantity of options may be overwhelming, it also means you can be as picky and selective as you've ever wanted to be. (There's almost no opportunity cost for opting out of adopting any particular tool as you'll have no trouble finding alternative options.)

Curious to learn more about the future of workplace tech? Read A Look at the Future of Workplace Technology and Efficiency, from Boss Magazine.

Still managing HR with spreadsheets? We get it. But let's be real—spreadsheets mean more errors, lost data, and way too much time spent on manual tasks. You've got bigger things to focus on.

That's where HR Partner comes in. It's a cost-effective HRIS, purpose-built for small to mid-sized businesses (20-500+ employees). It helps you manage everything—from onboarding to performance reviews—all in one place, so nothing important gets missed.

Whether you're working with a remote team or growing quickly, HR Partner keeps your processes organized and efficient. Plus, their expert team (all with real HR experience) is there to help you every step of the way.

Book a demo and free up your HR time.

"Never stop learning and growing in this profession. Don't wait for your employer to get on board. Take charge of your career."

— Danielle B., School Nurse Secretary

⭐️ Want to be featured? Share your best career advice here.

🍷 Be more mindful of your drinking habits with Less.

🔑 1Password is the only password manager you'll ever need. Seriously.

🧩 Piece together iconic literature with the 50 Classic Books Puzzle.

📝 Upgrade your meeting game with Fellow—the app that makes agendas, notes, and follow-ups a breeze.

How do you maintain a sense of connection with your colleagues in a virtual work environment?

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⭐️ Answer to the riddle.

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