04/02/2025
Hello, Woman Today readers!
How long did your New Year’s resolutions last? Does anyone still have them going?
If not, don’t despair. Most resolutions don’t last past the cleanup time after a New Year’s party. The research varies, but most experts agree that New Year’s resolutions are lucky to last a few weeks, let alone make it to February.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t establish some realistic goals for February and beyond.
One goal I’m working on daily is reducing the number of times I pick up my cellphone. According to research conducted by Reviews.org, Americans check their cellphones an average of 205 times a day, or 8.54 times an hour.
That’s a larger number than I ever could have imagined.
Admit it. Whenever your phone dings, vibrates or lights up, you immediately pick it up to check what you’re missing. Ivan Pavlov would see similarities between our cellphone behavior and the dogs from his famous experiments in the late 1890s.
It doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing. When they alert us to a call, text, app notification or something else, we grab our cellphones and check it out.
First thing in the morning when we wake up.
While eating dinner at a restaurant.
Or watching a movie.
During a meeting at work.
When there’s a timeout during the basketball game (sometimes even during the action).
Maybe even during a church service.
Just before going to sleep.
But not responding to our phone’s beck and call right away just feels so wrong!
Pavlov’s dogs became so conditioned by the sound of the bell that they salivated whenever they heard it. Let’s hope our cellphone addictions don’t come to that!
A good way to ignore your cellphone for a while is to read The Woman Today.
Here are some of the stories we’re excited to share with you in this issue:
You’ll meet Cloquet’s Carla Londgren and hear her amazing story of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Learn some tips on how to keep your heart healthy. February is American Heart Month.
Learn about super superintendent Amy Starzecki, who was named Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year for her outstanding work with the School District of Superior.
Learn about Duluth’s beloved educator Laura MacArthur in The Woman Yesterday.
Make a fun Valentine’s Day craft for your loved ones.
Thanks for spending some of your valuable time reading The Woman Today. Your readership is greatly appreciated!
Rick Lubbers
Executive editor, Duluth Media Group
