'how are you?' is the most boring question and still we continue asking it every time we see someone

building checkr.social | writing tomu.xyz | nf.td/tomu

Was literally chatting with a colleague about this yesterday - I have started using "How have you been?" (can't remember where the recommendation came from) - and it has made a significant difference.  instead of putting people on the spot for an instant analysis - it allows them to easily reflect on what has happened in the recent past - makes entry into the conversation much "easier" :-)