East Coast Snowstorm: Don’t Get Cabin Fever

If you’re on the East Coast and about to be snowed in  (opens in a new tab), here’s a suggestion for how to spend your Saturday: Work on your penmanship.

January 23 is National Handwriting Day, an annual tradition that encourages people to work on their ability to write without the help of a computer or touch screen. The event, not surprisingly, is sponsored by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association  (opens in a new tab) (WIMA).

First established in 1977 during what we imagine was another snowy period in our country’s history, WIMA’s annual holiday to the pen and pencil is intended to encourage people to rediscover the value of writing with traditional tools. (Penmanship goes back a long way  (opens in a new tab).)

“Though computers and email play an important role in our lives, nothing will ever replace the sincerity and individualism expressed through the handwritten word,” WIMA Executive Director David H. Baker said in a news release  (opens in a new tab).

Hey, if the power goes out, you might need that pen and paper.

One Brave Association

#Associations  (opens in a new tab) cancel fly-ins left and right as #blizzard2016  (opens in a new tab) hits, but @ACGGlobal  (opens in a new tab) decides to tough it out: https://t.co/qdVoM3UifB  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab)

— CEO Update (@ceoupdate) January 22, 2016  (opens in a new tab)

The news is filled with wintry doom and gloom at the moment, but the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) is ready to hold a week of events in Washington, DC, starting on Monday.

CEO Update reports that ACG staff members are hiding out in a Georgetown hotel this weekend, planning to ride out the storm in style, with the hope that things will be clear enough to continue as the new week begins.

“If anybody’s reading this message, please send wine,” CEO Gary LaBranche joked to the publication  (opens in a new tab).

Other Links of Note

If you need other ideas for things to do this weekend besides focus on your handwriting, this list from Lifehacker should help  (opens in a new tab).

Having great references is important when it comes to that next career move. Fast Company has some tips on how to ensure your references are helping you  (opens in a new tab)—not harming you.

Struggling with negotiations at a board meeting? You might want to borrow a technique from South Africa that’s helped get some major climate-change negotiatons back on track. Author Adrian Segar explains how  (opens in a new tab).

(iStock/Thinkstock)