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Hello, and welcome to this week’s WEN-zine nuggets.

It’s that time of year when any number of Goal Planning and Resolutions Setting articles appear on websites and in emails and magazines. My plans for 2024 pretty much continue those already begun in 2023 ... with this exception: I’m working more on developing systems to facilitate the process and ensure success. Which goes hand-in-hand with Sean’s advice ...

1. Unique way to look at planning

Long-time trainer and coach Sean Mize says that over the years, he’s “never planned a new year with a fresh concept and idea . . . and then just implemented it and it all took off.”

What this means: “Your success in 2024 Is going to be an iteration of your work in 2023.”

So if you start something brand new, all from scratch ... your odds of success are very low. But if you take the past year as a starting point and ...

• Evaluate what didn’t work last year, and

• Evaluate what DID work last year, and

• DROP the stuff that didn’t work last year, and

• then 5x the stuff that DID work ...

          THIS is the path that can lead to the highest level of success.

(Watch him explain it on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3NEtiTm)

2. Reading print improves comprehension far more than looking at digital text

Trying to learn complicated new software? Or know a family member who’s studying for a test? It may be time to print out the critical digital pages.

Researchers at the University of Valencia analyzed more than two dozen studies on reading comprehension published between 2000 and 2022, which assessed nearly 470,000 participants. Their findings suggest that print reading over a long period of time could boost comprehension skills by six to eight times more than digital reading does.

A study co-author said that the “reading mindset” for digital texts also tends to be more shallow than that for printed materials, with scanning being more common. This can mean the reader “doesn’t fully get immersed in the narration, or doesn’t fully capture the complex relations in an informative text.”

Source: The Guardian; https://bit.ly/3GYUJDQ

3. FYI items

▪ Recommended word game: WordMaster Classic

WEN Member Bobbi Graham (https://simonteakettle.com/) plays it several times a day; it’s free and records your score. Available on:

 iPhone: https://apple.co/3NGGyaq

Android: https://bit.ly/48xG6TS

Windows: https://bit.ly/47j6rns (If you install Google Play Games beta)

▪ Wonder Tools: 20 Favorites in 2023

Jeremy Caplan shares 20 apps, podcasts, Substacks and books he counted on in 2023 for reflection, rejuvenation and respite.

https://wondertools.substack.com/p/favorites2023

▪ Brainsounds — A small collection of sounds to play as background during focused work sessions, with categories including ambient, white nose, nature, and zen.

https://brainsounds.app/ (Source: Techproductivity.co)

Enjoy!

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To Your Writing Success in 2024,

Dana K Cassell

Editor

(Dana Cassell is founder of Writers-Editors Network, and has been freelancing/creating full-time for 47 years. In addition to writing, editing, and fact-checking for numerous business clients, she has published more than 2,000 articles and has ghosted or authored more than a dozen books.)

Not a Network member? Join now: https://freelancekeys.com/join-now/ WEN-zine discount codes:

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