Wonderbringers Newsletter with Monica Parker
View this email in your browser
Hello Wonderseekers!
I have finally rid myself of all the boxes from moving house. I find it hard to believe that I had an entire box full of just user manuals! Everything from my new smart TV to an ageing sweater depiller—manuals stretching back decades! I was lamenting just how useless user manuals are in this Google/Perplexity world, until I saw a piece from Daniel Pink about a new way of looking at user manuals.
These days, every gadget, from the complex to the banal, comes with a user manual. Supposedly there to help us operate and troubleshoot, but often just a source of consternation. Pink asks, what if we had user manuals for the most complex ‘device’ of all—ourselves?
Misunderstandings and miscommunications are common in both our personal and professional lives, especially when digital communications kill nuance. Often, these stem from unspoken expectations, different working styles, or simply assuming everyone thinks like we do. Pink suggests that creating a personal user guide can bridge these gaps, leading to better relationships and fewer communication issues.
A personal user manual could include how you work best, what motivates you, your communication preferences, your wonderbringers or your pet peeves. Pink suggests that sharing this with colleagues or loved ones can set clear expectations and foster a culture of openness and empathy.
How to create a Personal User Manual? Ask yourself these five questions and write down the answers:
Values: What principles guide your decisions? Honesty? Openness? Wonder? This is foundational to your personal user manual.
Communication Style: Do you prefer directness or diplomacy? Written updates or face-to-face conversations? Be clear and honest.
Work style: Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do you need quiet to focus, or do you thrive in collaborative spaces? Think of your habits and what feels ‘comfy’ to you. How does this change based on the project or your stress levels?
Feedback: How do you like to receive constructive criticism? How do you set a boundary? Be empathetic to yourself and consider how others may perceive you, too.
Preferences and quirks: What environments or situations drain your energy or cause frustration? What brings you wonder and joy? These are the pebbles that fill in the spaces between the foundation stones of bigger ideas like values.
After you develop your user manual, share it and invite others to create their own.
Revisit and revise your guide over time—just like software updates! A personal user manual isn’t about making demands or rigid rules. It’s a tool for candour, communication, self-awareness, and building stronger connections.
As Daniel Pink puts it, ‘Clear is kind.’
What do you think? Anyone you wish you could give a user manual to? Anyone you wish you could get a user manual from??
Some wonderbringers for me this week:
And the winner of this year’s ‘Dance Your Ph.D.’ contest is…: Helsinki chemist’s food-themed frolic wins.
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? Maybe not as we’ve known them.
The axolotl is endangered in the wild: A discovery offers hope.
With wonder,
Follow Me
Why am I getting this email?
Good question!
You’re getting this email because you are on HATCH Analytics’s or Monica Parker’s mailing list.
If you don’t want to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at the bottom.
(We do hope you stick around, though.)
Copyright ©*|CURRENT_YEAR|* Monica C. Parker. All rights reserved.
Want to unsubscribe? That’s ok! We’re sad to see you go, but you’ll still be a part of our Wonderbringer community in spirit.
Mailing address:
10 Colosseum Terrace
London, UK NW1 4EB