Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Latest Episodes:

[Planet-Friendly Shopping]: One Question to Ask Before You Buy New Clothes, Ep. 777 Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

Ever get home from a shopping trip and feel like you got swept up in the moment and you’re not really going to wear what you bought? Or opened a drawer or your closet and saw stuff in there still with tags on it, and felt guilty about wasting money? I’ve got a question to ask yourself that can help change that.

It’s part of a week of episodes on planet-friendly shopping. After all, it’s back-to-school season, and even if you aren’t headed back to the halls of learning (or are responsible for a child who is), the urge to buy new dungarees, notebooks, and backpacks is STRONG. Let’s consume consciously. Whaddyasay?

The EPA’s stats on textile use

Marge Piercy poem: “To Be of Use”

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[Mid-year Check-in]: Re-Connect with a Pre-Pandemic Friend, Ep. 776 Aug 19, 2022

Show notes

Is there someone in particular, or maybe even a group of people you’ve lost touch with in the last couple years? If yes, it makes sense–a global pandemic can really put a damper on your social activities!

This week I’m talking about taking stock of where you’re at in general at this point in the pandemic and in the year. And a cool way to do that is to reach out to someone that you’ve lost touch with since the world shut down in early 2020. When the two of you catch up, it’s a great chance to verbally process what you experienced and what you learned from it.

Send me your better person questions! Email: kate@beabetterpersonpodcast.com

This episode sponsored by:

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[Mid-year Check-in]: A Fun Way to Think About Your Journey, Ep. 775 Aug 18, 2022

Show notes

How often do you think about how your life has been going up to this point? Not very often, right? I’ve got an exercise for you today that can help you get a little objectivity and clarity on who you are and what you’ve done that’s also just a fun thought experiment, and that is to think about what the title of your memoir would be.

Those prompts again are:

A specific incident or place that has shaped you

Finish the phrase This is the Story of ____ or A Year of _____

A phrase you heard a lot or say a lot

The most provocative thing you believe

The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr

This episode sponsored by:

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[Mid-Year Check-in]: Trick Yourself into Doing the Things You Avoid, Ep. 774 Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

So maybe there’s something on your goal list for 2022 that you haven’t been doing–something like exercise, or saving more, or marketing your business or even posting on social media. You’re just not doing it.

Today I’m sharing something that helps me tremendously, and it’s really kinda silly. But hey, so be it. It’s turning the thing you don’t want to do into a game. Specifically, into a game of bingo.

Couple of examples:

Home yoga practice summertime bingo

Summer reading bingo from The Novel Neighbor in Missouri

This episode sponsored by:

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[Mid-year Check-in]: Normalize Longer Response Times, Ep. 773 Aug 16, 2022

Show notes

As we ponder what we want to do differently in the months to come, I’ve got a suggestion that will help us all take our stress levels down. Can we all just be cool with our electronic communications taking a little longer? This is my prayer (and it should help us dial back that screen use that spiraled out of control out of lockdown and, let’s be honest, hasn’t really come back down.)

Is there a way to create a little more space around our digital communications that I forgot? Let me know! kate@beabetterpersonpodcast.com.

BBC article on increase in texting during pandemic

This episode sponsored by:

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[Mid-year Check-in]: How to Do a Mid-Year Review, Ep. 772 Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

Now that we’re three years into the pandemic–and in the last stages of summer when you can feel fall getting ready to come swinging in like Miley Cyrus on her wrecking ball–we’re in a collective contemplative moment. In today’s episode I’ll talk you through how to check in on your yearly goals, as well as a bigger picture check-in on how you’re doing in general at this particular juncture in time.

Goals review:

What goals have I achieved?

What haven’t I completed but have made progress on?

What haven’t I done because I’m no longer interested?

Is there anything new I want to add,

Taking stock in general:

What’s going well?

What isn’t going as well as I’d like?

Where is my energy being drawn?

What things am I feeling repelled by?

What do I need more of?

What could I stand less of?

Relevant blog post:

27 Ways to Take Stock for Evaluate Your Life Day

This episode sponsored by:

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[pod swap]: Bob Ross to the Rescue, from Julie Merica, Ep. 771 Aug 12, 2022

Show notes

We all need inspiration in this life and one place I get mine is from my podcast crush–Make Your Damn Bed, a short daily podcast from Chicago-based comedian Julie Merica.

Today I’m sharing one of my all-time favorite Make Your Damn Bed episodes, about the healing powers of watching Bob Ross (the groovy 70s artist who had a painting show on PBS for decades). Get ready to feel soothed, inspired, and ready to find a way to work with any jacked up stuff that lands smack dab in the middle of your day.

If you are digging Julie, go subscribe to Make Your Damn Bed! She’s also a great follow on Instagram.

Send me your better person Qs and I’ll answer them on a future episode! kate@beabetterpersonpodcast.com

This episode sponsored by:

Zapier.com

Nutrafol.com (use the promo code BETTER)

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[pod swap]: Mise en Place Your Life, from Julie Merica, Ep. 770 Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

I’ve got a podcast crush–a show that I love that I think you will too. It’s Make Your Damn Bed, from Chicago-based comedian Julie Merica, who is just a peach of a human–plus, funny!--and who also offers short daily episodes to help you look for the good and bring your best.

Today and tomorrow I’m running one of Julie’s episodes in my feed. Today’s is all about creating that wonderful feeling of having your shit together by using a technique from the cooking world–”mise en place,” which is a French phrase that means “putting in place” or “gather.” Down South, where I went to high school, you might call it “fixin’ to get ready,” and it can give you a stable platform for the rest of your day–heck, even your life. Julie explains.

If you are digging Julie, go subscribe to Make Your Damn Bed! She’s also a great follow on Instagram.

Send me your better person Qs and I’ll answer them on a future episode! kate@beabetterpersonpodcast.com

This episode sponsored by:

Zapier.com

Nutrafol.com (use the promo code BETTER)

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[Community]: Finding a Sense of Belonging, Ep. 769 Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

Having a sense of community and a feeling of belonging to where you live is so important–both to a life well lived and your overall wellbeing. Yet, at this stage in the pandemic, so many people are at least considering how and even where they want to live after the pandemic.

Today I’m talking with Melody Warnick, a journalist who has written two great books on the importance of place–This Is Where You Belong and her brand new book If You Could Live Anywhere. Melody can help you figure out where you’re going to feel at home, and then how to up your sense of belonging once you’re there (even if you’ve lived there a long time).

Melody Warnick’s website

Melody’s books

Send me your better person Qs and I’ll answer them on a future episode! kate@beabetterpersonpodcast.com

This episode is sponsored by:

Zapier.com

Nutrafol.com (use the promo code BETTER)

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[Community]: Is Your Light Trespassing on Others?, Ep. 768 Aug 09, 2022

Show notes

There’s something you might be doing every night without even thinking about it that could be negatively impacting your neighbors, your community, and the environment. It’s flicking a switch and turning an outside light on. Which doesn’t seem like that big a deal, right? But it can have a lot of repercussions that you’ll learn about today.

A link to the New York Times article on light trespassing

Send me your better person Qs and I’ll answer them on a future episode! kate@beabetterpersonpodcast.com

This episode sponsored by:

Zapier.com

Nutrafol.com (use the promo code BETTER)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices