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Sparking Connections
Sparking Connections
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Sparking Connections

Staying in touch with good friends can be much easier with a simple practice
Stephen Simon
Imagine for a moment that you open your eyes and find yourself on a warm beach at nighttime. Your favorite food and drinks are in abundance, comfortable seating is available at every turn, and around a bonfire you see the flickering faces of all of your closest friends, laughing as they either meet for the first time or reconnect after time apart.
Who would you want to see around that bonfire?
How many of those people have you talked to in the last 6 months?
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Friendships share a lot in common with campfires. Starting one from scratch can take a bit of work, and people sometimes believe that once the flames have died out, the fire has died as well. But reviving a fire from a gray bed of coals to a radiant flame is surprisingly easy with a little bit of practice and focused attention.
You’ve likely been surprised at least once by the warmth of a fire that’s sprung back to life... don’t discount the impact that reconnecting with an old friend can have on both of you. It’s one thing to run into somebody in a grocery store aisle, and quite another to have someone call unprompted, telling you that they have been thinking about you and wanting to catch up.
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I believe you can regularly cultivate these moments of warmth and appreciation by doing two things:
Realize that you don’t need a reason to reach out to someone. The mere fact that you want to connect is enough to start a conversation. And once you make a practice of doing it, it feels good.
Make it easier on yourself by being a bit organized, and prioritize so you can take it in small bites.

Where to start (expand for detail)

Step One: Make the list!

Create a card below for each of the people who matter to you, where you want to intentionally reach out.

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Step Two: Start small and “set and forget” reminders for the rest.

Putting people in the categories below should help you ensure no-one is forgotten, while making it easy to start with a short list. (just drag and drop the cards between categories)
Click this snooze
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on any card to completely hide it until a later date (they’ll show back up in the
🔔 Remind me
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category after 1 month, and you can snooze them further out)
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Step Three: Reach out!

Revisit your list and pick up the phone.
Use this button
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to quickly record when you’ve connected! (the date will be saved, and they’ll move to
🎉 All good
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).

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Bonus Info / How to Tailor this Doc to YOU

You can go to the
Behind the Curtain
⁠
page of this doc to:
Set a small goal for how many connections you want to “spark” each month (and watch your progress bar light up below!)
Adjust how long your 💤 Snooze button lasts.
Rename the card categories, but just know that if you actually add/delete categories the buttons and formatting may break in the card view below.
You can easily find hidden cards that you 💤 Snoozed by typing their name in the search bar below.
Click this button
Delete Example Cards
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to delete the example cards below for a fresh start. (and then delete this bullet since you’ll only do this once!)


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Search:
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Add new card
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Sparks 🔥 ✨
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Connections
1
⭐ I want to catch up
Savannah Gingold
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Last connected 28 months ago
🥰 They reached out
Jack Smith
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Last connected 22 months ago
Vince Randall
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🎉 All good
Phil Parker
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Charlie S.
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Genna Sanders
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Last connected 19 months ago
🔔 Remind me
Uncle Will
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Reminder on: 7/17/2022
Jamie Law
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Reminder on: 10/6/2022
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