Hi friends,
As winter settles in, the spirit of Christmas begins to fill the air. We can feel it in the crisp morning frost that clings to our eyelashes and in the light of the moon that glimmers through the newly fallen snow. It's the day before Christmas Eve, and we've experienced our first snow storms here in Canada. The ground is now covered, and it’s a white Christmas indeed!
No one is ever quite ready for winter, but we are certainly ready for Christmas.
I’ve been planning for the upcoming year in the past month with the help of YearCompass. A friend recommended it, and it’s such a great guide for reflecting on the past year and planning for the next year. If you’re interested in doing the same exercise, give YearCompass a try!
🖋️ Quote of the week
"Deconstruct the cool things you see.
If you'd like to become a better musician and you see an amazing performance, start paying attention to how they do it. How did they promote the event? What happens in the first ten seconds of each song? How frequently are they engaging directly with the audience? Is there a progression of energy throughout the show?
When something fascinates you, pay attention to the details. The person who thinks, "That was cool" is a consumer. The person who thinks, "How did they make something that cool?" is on the path to being a creator.
Don't just taste the recipe, look for the ingredients."
- James Clear
🚀 Published work
Since the push for remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital transformation has become the top priority for companies. US companies spent $521 per employee on SaaS subscriptions in 2021, and it’s continuing to grow. On average, one employee uses eight SaaS applications, and companies with 1K+ employees have over 200 applications.
In 2022, the budget for endless SaaS applications shifted as companies face an economic downturn. Budget freezes aren’t yet widespread, but the pace of new SaaS purchases has slowed. As companies tighten their belts, they’re evaluating what tools provide the most value for their employees and teams.
Notion has become a top-rated productivity app over the last few years, with each Notion template acting as a SaaS product of its own, helping users reach high productivity and collaboration. Users’ ability to manage multiple processes in Notion enables them to be seen as a critical tool in enabling worker productivity and remote collaboration.
Here’s the full memo: https://research.contrary.com/reports/notion
👩🏾💻 What I learned
I’m 1000% convinced that ChatGPT will be disrupting everything under the sun. Think about it—search, therapy, coaching, copywriting, education, and even your best friend will be disrupted as this tool is used to input a text prompt and the user receives coherent and informative responses.
This week, I learned some students are starting to use it for their assignments or any tasks they consider “busywork.” If you’re a teacher, maybe it’s time to rethink the “why” of assignments and adjust the “how.” Everyone will need to learn how to work with AI and not avoid it. Don’t punish its use, but encourage AI collaboration.
🖼️ AI-Generated Image(s) of the week
Text description: “Santa Claus having an epic battle against another Santa”
AI system used: DALL·E 2 by OpenAI
🤔 My question for you
As the year comes to an end, now is a time of reflection. We take a look back at our lives, our accomplishments, and the challenges we have endured. The time between now and New Year's is a time for taking stock of our lives and assessing what we would like to change in the coming year. It is also an opportunity to express gratitude for all that has been bestowed upon us this past year, whether good or bad.
What was the greatest, most memorable, and/or most joyful moments from the last year?
👋🏽 That's all for now
I’d love to hear from you, whether it’s feedback on what you enjoyed about this week’s newsletter, what needs work, and what you want to hear more about. Just hit reply.
Till next time!
Cheers,
Neilda
I love how cozy your intro to this newsletter is and I'm trying out YearCompass!
So much to delve through here. But my gem: "Don't just taste the recipe, look for the ingredients."
Stay safe, cozy, and warm. It's a white-stuff covered ice-rink out there.