Happy Valentina's Day

And a very personal giveaway because you deserve it

Welcome to RemoteThatWorks, a weekly-ish newsletter hand-typed by Valentina Thörner, the Empress of Remote. Usually I talk about product leadership, process design, and people (and their relationships). Proudly non-AI, and proudly all-opinions-my-own.

Today is a bit different though. Because today is my birthday.

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Seriously, this Valentina was born on Valentine’s day.

I have a complicated relationship with the day. My partnered (monogamous) friends are usually not available for the evening. Going out for dinner doesn’t make sense with most places offering overpriced “romantic menu” options for two. And while I love receiving flowers any other day of the year, I’d rather not have anyone pay the V-day surcharge.

So here’s my alternative plan if you decide to work on your relationship reality - independent of how many or how few partners you have, or (and) simply want to become a better friend.

Sit down with pen and paper (or at your computer) and create your own personal relationship manual.

Terms & Conditions apply ;)

In a work environment you may have heard about user manuals or read.me files. Those documents include information about how you work best, what motivates you, your pet peeves, how you prefer to receive feedback.

The relationship manual is something similar, focussing on how you relate to people outside of work. Here’s an introduction.

Where the work user manual is written for your colleagues, a relationship manual is first and foremost for yourself. It helps you to remember what’s important for you, what you value in relationships (platonic or otherwise), and how you show up as your best self. Whether you share it with anyone is another story.

It’s a place for you to reflect on your priorities, your availabilities, your energy levels, your commitments, your aspirations, your communication style, and how you respond when life gets messy. This is about acknowledging reality and its impact on those around you.

So here’s my gift for you on my birthday: Get better at relationships

The first 42 people can create their relationship manual for free. Use `Bday2024` at checkout for 100% discount.

After that you get 50% off until the end of this day (in all time zones) using `Vday2024` at checkout.

You can find the courses here: https://polyadvisor.com/courses ( available in English, Spanish or Dutch)

You may just realize that self-awareness doesn’t just improve personal relationships. It helps with all relationships, even professional ones.

Happy Valentina’s day ;)