The Power of an Annual Review: Reflect on the Past to Reimagine your Future

As the end of the year rolls around, it’s tempting to hit pause on everything. Between holiday preparations, end-of-year deadlines, and social commitments, the thought of adding one more task to your plate might seem overwhelming. The last thing you want to do is sit down and think about the past year… You’d rather curl … Read More

Rethinking Goals: the Science of Nonlinear Goal Setting

In 2008, Spotify set the ambitious vision to create a legal music streaming service that could compete with piracy. Their initial strategy was clear-cut: secure licensing deals with major record labels, build a robust platform, and acquire users. But the path that led to their current 626 million active users was anything but straight. They … Read More

The Art of Wintering: How to Find Strength in Slowing Down

As the end of the year settles in, you might notice a distinct downshift in energy, both in yourself and the world around you. Messages flood in about “finishing strong”, yet everything feels like it’s naturally winding down. It’s not just your imagination: large-scale industry surveys suggest that by mid-December, over half of workers report … Read More

25 Reasons to Write Online and How to Start a Newsletter in 2025

Today marks the 250th edition of the Ness Labs newsletter. Thousands of hours, hundreds of thousands of words… When I started this project as a tiny experiment, I didn’t expect to keep going for so long. And I didn’t expect that it would change my life. In an age of video reels and generative AI, … Read More

The Five Pillars of Creative Flow

Have you ever been so deeply immersed in a creative activity—writing, designing, coding, or even brainstorming—that time seemed to disappear, and the world around you faded away? This state is known as being in the zone or getting in the flow. Those expressions are often used about athletes performing at their peak, with all their … Read More

Beyond Overpreparation: How to Start Before You Feel Ready

Back in 2018, I spent weeks learning everything about rare teas to start a new business; I studied every resource I could find, saved them in a folder, took copious notes, and then… Nothing. When it was time to take the first real step, I hesitated. The hesitation turned into procrastination, endlessly tweaking and perfecting … Read More