Best Articles Of 2014: A Year Of Riskology By The Numbers
Hello friends, readers, and Riskologists.
Here we are approaching 2015 at breakneck speed. Another year is gone and, hopefully, you’re a better, stronger, and smarter person than you were this time last year.
In 2013, I published our first annual community report, and I thought it would be fun to do it again this year. Twice is practically a tradition, right? Let’s get started.
Top 5 Articles By Number Of Comments
Here are the articles I wrote this year that generated the most discussion. For one reason or another, these are the pieces you were compelled to talk about.
1. Want Better Habits? Stop Making This Very Common Mistake
This was a real eye-opening piece for me because researching it showed some of the silly ways I make decisions in my life. A few examples show pretty dramatically how we use the same information to both avoid creating good habits and reinforce bad ones. Humans… we’re so silly.
2. How Would You Live Today If You Could See Yourself In 20 Years?
That’s a question you should ask each day, but how often do you? That’s probably why this one generated so much discussion. Science has proven it: the more you think about the future, the better you’ll live today.
3. The Psychology of Dressing Well (And Why You Must To Get Anywhere In Life)
I really enjoyed writing this one because it was an opportunity to tell off mty younger, more naive self. You may have the greatest ideas in the world, but it will be hard to get anyone to pay attention if you don’t present them well. The rule? Look sharp, be sharp. The way you dress really does change what people hear you say.
4. Tough Decision Looming? Jelly Bean Research Says: “Don’t Think It Over”
Could thinking too hard be the culprit behind the bad decisions you make? Would you be happier and more accomplished if you stopped deliberating in your head so damn much? Everyone loves to discuss counterintuitive ideas, and that’s probably why you loved discussing this one.
5. How To Guarantee You Complete Your Dreams (Even If You Suffer From Last-Minute Anxieties)
This one is all about what to do when you’ve made a plan to do something great, but the fear of failure stops you in your tracks just before you get started. Who hasn’t experienced that before? I wrote this one the day before leaving for Antarctica to finish my quest to run a marathon on every continent, and it outlines the plan I used to keep from sabotaging myself.
Top 5 Articles By Traffic
Of course, there are lots of ways to measure “top articles,” and another great way is to look at how many people actually came to read them. These are the pieces that were read the most this year.
1. Lazy Expert Syndrome: What Brought Down Al Capone Can Keep You On Top Of Your Game
I published this story about the dumb mistakes seasoned experts make that bring them down back in November. Then, a few days ago, it went viral on Hacker News, bringing tens of thousands of new people to the site. That push is what made it the most read article of 2014. I’m glad it got that push, too, because I’m proud of how it turned out.
2. The Psychology of Dressing Well (And Why You Must To Get Anywhere In Life)
It was #3 for “most commented posts” above and #2 for most read. It’s not surprising to see an overlap, but it’s only one of two that made both lists this year. That’s probably a good indication you should check it out.
3. This Harvard Study Can Predict When You’ll Make Bad Decisions (And When You’ll Make Good Ones)
This one is about a phenomenal study produced by Harvard that attempted (and succeeded) to figure out when you’ll make smart or dumb money choices. What they learned is the more stress you were exposed to, the worse your decisions will be. The research hinted at ways to make smarter decisions every day, and I suspect that’s why this article was so popular.
4. How Would You Live Today If You Could See Yourself In 20 Years?
In addition to being one of the most commented posts of 2014, this article was also one of the most widely read. That’s probably because the lesson—take time to visualize the future to enjoy the best life—isn’t just accessible. It’s also proven by research.
5. A Nurse For The Dying Uncovered Their Biggest Regrets. Here’s How To Avoid Them
When I was kid, I read a book called Everyone Poops—something we all have in common but no one wants to talk about. It took another 2+ decades, but someone finally wrote an equally important book about dying. This piece follows the story of a palliative nurse who collected the regrets of many dying people and compiled them into a book the world can finally point to as the definitive resource for “how to grow old and be happy.” This information was a long time coming, and that’s why I think it was so popular.
And Now Some Fun Stats From The Riskologist Community
Since Riskology is so much more than a collection of essays, it’s fun to give an update about where we’ve been and where we’re going as a community. These are the numbers that explain who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going.
### 98 ###
The number of posts published this year. Even after taking December off, this is still up 21% over last year. I’m happy to have spent the whole year publishing every Monday and Thursday. Taking December off from writing to plan for other big things for our community has been great, though, and I plan to continue the tradition and maybe even expand it so we can do more big things here in 2015.
### 222 ###
The number of countries Riskologists around the world have visited from to learn about mastering their psychology. That’s up 5% from last year and 29 countries more than The United Nations counts as member states. I have no idea how that math works out, but we’ve basically taken over the world. Unless some more countries are created in 2015, I don’t know how this number could improve!
### 399 ###
That’s how many members have joined us in The Riskology Lab since opening the doors in September. It’s a small group compared to all of us, but wow have they been productive, creating 107,988 words discussing hundreds of topics and participating in our monthly challenges. In less than 4 months, that’s 20% of all the content published on Riskology in the last 4.5 years!
If you haven’t already, you should join right now!
### 894 ###
The number of comments written by readers this year. I was initially discouraged by this number; it’s 37% lower than last year, and I worried I was doing something wrong that was making you not want to share here.
But when you consider that a) I only respond to a handful of comments anymore instead of each one, b) our articles have shifted to longer, more impactful pieces that don’t always lend themselves to comments and c) that the amount of discussion happening in The Riskology Lab already eclipses how active our commenting community has ever been, it’s clear you all are actually more active here than ever before!
### 8,543 ###
That’s how many email subscribers we added to our community this year. That absolutely blew me away because it’s 733% higher than last year. Whoa! And, today, our email-based community is 12,695 (and growing by the minute). That’s more than double where we were last year.
I attribute this growth to a few things. First, the redesign of the site in late 2013 did a better job of conveying the value of Riskology and made more people want to join. Second, I made a big jump in article quality this year (in my opinion…) by narrowing my focus a bit and doing a better job of showing the proof and real science behind the advice. Third, magic.
### 207,649 ###
The total number of words published on Riskology in 2014. Only 139,505 of those are mine (which is still up a pleasing 22%), so you all have been busy in The Lab. I look forward to that ratio growing smaller and smaller each year as you guys really start to take control of this place and make it yours.
### 429,949 ###
That’s how many unique and beautiful people came to visit Riskology this year. Even after changing the name of the site—that can hurt traffic for a long time—it’s still 8% higher than last year. Can’t complain about that.
### 757,321 ###
The number of times a Riskology article or Lab post was read this year. That’s an eye-popping 14% increase over last year. I attribute a huge chunk of this to how awesome all our new Lab members have been over the last few months. We’re inching closer and closer to 1 million!
It’s Been An Amazing Year!
It’s been an amazing year in the land of Riskology and, once again, it’s all thanks to you. We’ve learned and grown so much together. I hope 2014 has been a great year for you.
As one year ends, though, a new one begins, and I’m more excited than ever to see the places we can go in 2015. See you on January 1 to start this crazy ride all over again.
In the mean time, check out last year’s best of piece or browse the archive for more life-changing articles.