Yuki Tanaka-Chen
Writer at Smartonic
Yuki writes about purpose and meaning. Her work leans on primary sources and avoids the self-help shortcut.
Writes about
- Purpose
- Work
- Meaning
Articles by Yuki
- Ikigai
Ikigai for people with no passion: three paths without a calling
6 min read · Published 2026-09-22
- Ikigai
Ikigai vs raison d'etre: two different kinds of question
7 min read · Published 2026-09-21
- Ikigai
Signs You Have Lost Your Ikigai (Or What Actually Signals It)
7 min read · Published 2026-09-21
- Big swings
How to recover after a misogi: the three layers most people miss
6 min read · Published 2026-09-18
- Big swings
How to prepare mentally for a misogi: three windows, three practices
5 min read · Published 2026-09-17
- Ikigai
How to find your ikigai when you don't know what you love
5 min read · Published 2026-09-14
- Ikigai
Can you have more than one ikigai? The Japanese answer is plural
6 min read · Published 2026-09-11
- Hobbies & Leisure
Cheap Hobbies for Adults: What Free, $30, and $100 Actually Buy
6 min read · Published 2026-09-09
- Ikigai
The ikigai morning routine, in three moves (not fifteen)
5 min read · Published 2026-09-09
- Ikigai
Ikigai for parents: what changes when the hours belong to a child
6 min read · Published 2026-09-08
- Hobbies & Leisure
Hobbies to Do Alone at Home: A Cleaner Way to Sort the Options
7 min read · Published 2026-09-04
- Big swings
Cold Plunge Misogi: When It Counts and When It Doesn't
6 min read · Published 2026-09-02
- Hobbies & Leisure
How to Make Time for Hobbies With a Full-Time Job
6 min read · Published 2026-08-31
- Hobbies & Leisure
How to Find a Hobby as an Adult When Nothing Sounds Fun
6 min read · Published 2026-08-28
- Hobbies & Leisure
Why You Stopped Having Hobbies (And When It Started)
9 min read · Published 2026-08-26
- Hobbies & Leisure
Hobbies for Adults: Why We Lose Them and How to Get One Back
13 min read · Published 2026-08-24
- Ikigai
Ikigai when your job is fine but boring: what to do next
7 min read · Published 2026-08-20
- Big swings
Misogi vs goal setting: why the frames don't mix
6 min read · Published 2026-08-20
- Ikigai
How to know if you have ikigai: 4 markers that show up together
6 min read · Published 2026-08-17
- Big swings
Misogi with a partner or solo: which one fits your challenge
6 min read · Published 2026-08-17
- Big swings
How to train for a misogi: the 26-week block for full-time jobs
5 min read · Published 2026-08-14
- Big swings
Misogi for desk workers: what fits a knowledge-worker week
6 min read · Published 2026-08-12
- Ikigai
Ikigai vs hygge: two words doing different jobs
7 min read · Published 2026-08-11
- Big swings
How Often Should You Do a Misogi? The Once-a-Year Rule
4 min read · Published 2026-08-07
- Ikigai
Ikigai for career choice: why the diagram cannot pick your job
7 min read · Published 2026-08-06
- Big swings
Why do hard things: the case for chosen difficulty
6 min read · Published 2026-08-03
- Ikigai
The ikigai book: what it gets right (and where it's incomplete)
6 min read · Published 2026-07-31
- Big swings
Type 2 fun explained: the outdoor world's three-tier scale
7 min read · Published 2026-07-07
- Ikigai
Hedonic vs eudaimonic well-being: the difference, in plain examples
6 min read · Published 2026-07-02
- Ikigai
The PERMA model — Seligman's five elements of wellbeing
6 min read · Published 2026-07-01
- Ikigai
Ikigai and flow state: where the two concepts actually diverge
6 min read · Published 2026-06-24
- Big swings
Misogi vs bucket list: what each one is actually for
6 min read · Published 2026-06-24
- Ikigai
How ikigai changes with age (the pattern across decades)
7 min read · Published 2026-06-19
- Big swings
What counts as a misogi: the five-criterion test
4 min read · Published 2026-06-18
- Big swings
Misogi examples: a filtered list that clears the 50 percent bar
6 min read · Published 2026-06-16
- Ikigai
The ikigai worksheet: a worked example (and where it stops working)
5 min read · Published 2026-06-11
- Ikigai
Ikigai examples: real-life cases and filled-out templates
7 min read · Published 2026-06-09
- Big swings
How to scope a misogi to your actual fitness baseline
5 min read · Published 2026-06-09
- Ikigai
Ikigai in retirement: what Okinawan retirees actually do
5 min read · Published 2026-06-04
- Big swings
Is misogi a Japanese tradition? Two meanings, one word
4 min read · Published 2026-06-03
- Ikigai
Ikigai vs Purpose vs Why: Three Frames, Three Different Questions
6 min read · Published 2026-06-01
- Big swings
Big Swings in Mid Life: 12 Examples and What They Share
7 min read · Published 2026-05-28
- Ikigai
What does ikigai mean in Japanese? The literal translation and the everyday usage
4 min read · Published 2026-05-27
- Big swings
Misogi vs New Year's resolution: which one fits this year
5 min read · Published 2026-05-25
- Ikigai
Ikigai-9 self-assessment: the only peer-reviewed ikigai test
6 min read · Published 2026-05-21
- Big swings
How to choose your misogi: the three filters and the tiebreaker
7 min read · Published 2026-05-20
- Ikigai
Daily ikigai vs vocational ikigai: which one are you after?
10 min read · Published 2026-05-18
- Ikigai
How to find your ikigai — the daily practice, not the four-circle quiz
8 min read · Published 2026-05-14
- Big swings
What is misogi: the once-a-year challenge
15 min read · Published 2026-05-14
- Ikigai
The ikigai test (and why the Venn diagram is only half the story)
15 min read · Published 2026-05-10