Super8: Eight intriguing articles from January.

The clock strikes twelve. A percussive symphony erupts as bottles pop and glasses clink in celebration. Fireworks light up the night sky. Clouds of confetti descend from the heavens to cover friends exchanging hugs and high fives as we usher in the New Year. And then, you check your watch, and it’s February.

January’s often gone before you know it. And New Year’s resolutions can disappear just as quickly. If that’s a familiar scenario, never fear. These  Super8 selections have got you covered: from increasing your productivity through exercise, to embracing agile methodologies. Get your new New Year’s resolutions on track with Super8 in January.

1. Personal OKRs: your New Year’s resolutions are now numbers.

• Read the full article here.
• Written by Mariusz Ciesla.  
• Contributor: Mark Davis. 

‘This year, I’m getting into shape’ — almost everyone, almost every year. If this sounds like you, then first up: congratulations. Identifying a goal is the first step towards a new and improved ‘you’. But what do you do next? What’s the best way to stay accountable for your own goals?

Take a business approach to your personal life and get acquainted with the idea of ‘Objectives and Key Results’ (OKRs). In this piece, Mariusz introduces the techniques, used by Fortune 500 companies like LinkedIn and Google, and outlines how effective they can be in sticking to a goal.

2. How to increase your productivity by 21% with exercise.

• Read the full article here.
• Written by Stephen Roe.  
• Contributor: Vivi Chau. 

If you were tossing up between ‘be more productive at work’ and ‘increase your fitness’ as potential resolutions, you’re in luck. With this piece, Stephen Roe helps you kill two birds with one stone. So you’re already being more productive, right off the bat. Boom.

There’s some astonishing research around the correlative relationship between physical exercise and productivity. Here, Stephen outlines the forms of exercise that are most effective, how often you should perform them for maximum benefit, and more.

3. Things you were taught at school that are wrong.

• Read the full article here.
• Written by Misty Adoniou. 
• Contributor: Elliott Grigg. 

Kick off 2017 the ‘write’ way, with improved grammar and phrasing. And when I say ‘improved’, I really mean ‘evolved’. Because starting a sentence with ‘And’ — which I just did then — isn’t traditionally grammatically correct.

Grammar, like the way we communicate, should evolve to reflect the way we actually interact.

Language isn’t static. As technology transforms our communication trends and tendencies, do we drag antiquated 18^th century grammar conventions kicking and screaming into modern times, or do we embrace evolving language? IDK lol, but Misty Adoniou has her thoughts.

4. The value of doing things that scare you.

• Read the full article here.
• Written by Emily Triplett Lentz.  
• Contributor: Daniel Banik. 

Honouring a New Year’s resolution typically requires some kind of significant change. Regardless of your goal — whether it’s hitting the gym more often or going out less — there’ll likely be change involved.

Change can be frightening, but it can be empowering too. The more you listen to your fears, the more power you give them; conversely, the more you face your fears, the more control you have. Take control. Face your fears. Embrace change. Here’s how.

5. The three killer mistakes marketers make with agile.

• Read the full article here.
• Written by Jack Skeels.  
• Contributor: David Baddock.  

If you work in an agency, or with any kind of team, you may be interested in boosting your productivity this year by implementing agile methodologies. However, be warned: there are three common mistakes to avoid.

Don’t wear hockey skates to play basketball; don’t force flat techniques on an established hierarchy; don’t imagine the process is anything like changing your socks. Make sense? Didn’t think so. Luckily, Jack Skeels is on hand to clear it all up.

6. Design for internationalization.

• Read the full article here.
• Written by John Saito.  
• Contributor: Kurt Smith.

Let’s say you plan to travel more in 2017. You fulfil your resolution, you nail it. You see the world. You experience different cultures, languages and people. You meet a friend named Pierre while travelling through Paris. You share a common bond — Pierre works in design and development too. Everything’s awesome. Until you ask for his thoughts on a prototype.

Pierre takes a look and he hates it. The headings are misaligned. The CTA text doesn’t fit inside the button. It’s terrible. That’s because the French word for ‘new’ (three characters) is nouveau (seven characters). This is an issue of design internationalization. Learn how to avoid global design mishaps.

7. A designer’s guide to tech in 2017.

• Read the full article here.
• Written by Meg Miller. 
• Contributor: John Broadfoot.

New year, new you…-ser interfaces. If this article is anything to go by, 2017 may see a rise in experimental and convergent interfaces.

Imagine interacting with an image displayed onto any wall surface via a projector.

Imagine using haptic feedback to engage with a projected dashboard display; you could touch an image on a surface and feel a little push back, just as you would pushing a physical button on a physical dashboard. But it’s not all about interfaces.

Check out some leading designers’ thoughts on technology development in 2017, with 3D scanning, projected interactivity, and more.

8. Marcus Aurelius on how to motivate yourself to get out of bed in the morning and go to work.

• Read the full article here.
• Written by Maria Popova.
• Contributor: Mike McCusker.

Getting out of bed in the morning can be tough. We’ve all been there; even the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius. And he did it the hard way. I’m guessing he got up and ran the ancient Roman Empire without the added impetus of a latte every morning, so it’s worth heeding his advice.

In this piece, Maria Popova analyses what his musings mean today. What defines and motivates us as humans? How does work facilitate self-love? Why should I get out of bed in the morning? Arm yourself with the answers to these questions and never hit ‘snooze’ again.