We need a thread for gratuitous fun: Stuff that has nothing to do with marketing, business, copy, daily emails... but that is fun for fun's sake. (Even a little bit of fun is better than none.) I'd like to kick things off with the attached (and real, not AI) photo of a beaver, which I put in an email a long time ago, apropos of nothing. If you have jokes, funny pictures, memes, ideas for "disconnected infotainment," put 'em in here. On Fridays... or really on any other days.

OFFICIAL GAME BOARD WITH CORRECT GUESSES: 1. Shiny object syndrome, too many systems, books, productivity apps, etc. [@Howard Shaw] 2. Lack of consistency with any system [@Ivan Srsen] 3. Procrastination, inner resistance [@Rene Kerkdyk] 4. Not getting enough sleep, not getting to work when you're actually productive [@Ralph George] 5. Kids, life constraints, legit not enough time, particularly for focused work [ @Aneisha Velazquez] A few days ago, I ran a poll asking how you feel about productivity. The largest number of folks voted to say productivity is a priority for them right now. I then followed up with a lot of those people by DM to ask what they had tried already to be productive... and what was really the end goal with being more productive? I compiled all those answers and looked at common patterns — what sucks now, what would be a great outcome, what's stopping people from getting there. (Incidentally, if you need a marketing and business lesson then ↑↑↑↑↑↑ is a great business practice to engage in. In the words of marketer Travis Sago, "Get your market to write your marketing.") I was thinking of sharing my findings in this post. But you know what's 1000x better than sharing data? Playing a game. So let's play FAMILY FEUD. The question is, "What are the most common causes keeping people from being productive?" As in the TV version of Family Feud, you are trying to guess the 5 MOST POPULAR responses from among those I collected. You can guess as many times as you like. But each wrong response gets you a strike. Three strikes and you're out of the game. Whoever gets the most correct answers WINS A CAR. You ready? Then guess away below:

Happy New Year! I found myself at midnight on the couch of my apartment watching The Good, The Bad & The Ugly for the first time in 20 years. (Screen capture included.) Maybe foreshadowing of my coming year? How did you celebrate? And where did the New Year find you?

I heard someone smart say yesterday, "we're not in a trust crisis... we're in a fun crisis." As in, folks just aren't having enough fun. What do YOU do for fun? Think about it for a moment, and then comment below. It will be good for your emails... for your business... and for your life. I'll start: Wordle. I tried to quit it. It didn't work. Why? Because it's fun.

Today is Thanksgiving... I live in Spain, so it's not a thing here. But my friend Sam (American) is staying with me. And since I am also American (kinda) we were thinking to baste and roast a turkey (unlikely) or at least get some turkey breast at the store and make a delicious sandwich (quite likely). How are you celebrating? Or are you celebrating? Do you have a picture of your turkey that you're proud to share? Or will it be a turkey sandwich day for you too? Or are you morally opposed to this holiday for reason that you want the world to know?