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Thank you for the Dear Data link, Sophie -- what a fabulous project! I was reminded of a collaboration I was involved in back in 2010, snail-mailing a pair of notebooks back and forth with an artist I'd never met: she would draw an image, I would write a poem in response, and vice versa. There was a magical kind of energy to the whole encounter; see https://www.stoneflowerpath.com/metonymy/index.html. (I think I feel a future newsletter post coming on!)

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Oct 27, 2023Liked by Helen Sword

Great plan this, simple and effective. The process is a good focus but the result is really pleasing.

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I love this data viz, Helen! So good to see it in all its beautiful detail. Yes, you even made email a kind of WRITING WITH PLEASURE. 💜✨⚡Do you know about the Dear Data project and book? One of my favorite books ever: http://www.dear-data.com/theproject

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Thank you for sharing this book! Currently on sabbatical and leaving a lot of space in my calendar to afford without guilt the luxury of adding to my TBR pile.

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I hope you enjoy the book and your sabbatical, Susana. 🌞

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Oct 26, 2023·edited Oct 26, 2023

Wow--this is so uniquely you, Helen. And what a brilliant idea. I'm so awful at email because I often find it overwhelming. I'm tempted to try out your method. Also: this is one of the most beautiful notebooks I've seen. I love it.

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High praise indeed from the Notebook Queen -- thank you Jillian!

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I really enjoyed this, Helen. It's a unique blend of being organised, creative and reflective at the same time. I'm thinking of doing something similar for my non-work emails which seem to eat my time and my peace of mind only too effectively. Combined with reading Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism, this is informing my approach to digital clutter. An email trail project could give me the data I need to make decisions about what input I want to keep in my life and which to weed out to be more aligned with my values! Thank you!

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Good luck, Paulina, I’d love to hear how it goes!

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When creativity, ingenuity, and analysis all come together into something almost meditative, something contemplative and playful, you discover deeper things, deeper truths, beyond what you could have seen any other way.

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