“Can you simply be with yourself where you are?” 💞 ~Kandice N. Cole
do what feels doable (#357)
Some weeks, you work 13-hour days and knock 20 things off your to-do list. Others, you give yourself grace and focus on the glimmers.
Glimmers (the opposite of triggers): “those moments in your day that make you feel joy, happiness, peace, or gratitude.”
These were my glimmers this week:
Getting back to dance class after a 2-week break, and we did
”Pump up the 80s” - so think Madonna, Janet, and Whitney energy. 💃🏽🕺🏾
Participating in Chicago’s Restaurant Week for the first time ever and had a lovely dinner at a steakhouse and a fun time catching up with friends. Porkchop. Potatoes. I even had a salad!
Also, why did no one tell me about the yumminess that is Butter Cake? It’s. So. Good.
Grabbing a fun cocktail (Fleur de Champagne) while I waited on a to-go order at a restaurant, cause why not?
Re-discovering some chocolate chip cookies I loved as a kid (Matt’s Cookies) and eating one whenever I felt like it.
My coworker sharing this 47-second game show short featuring the B-52’s Fred Schneider. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. More of this in 2024, please.
Juggling a business and a job can be extremely awesome and rewarding, but it also comes with its share of challenges.
Both things can be true.
On the weeks that feel a bit harder, do the things that feel doable and look out for those tiny joys.
You’re doing great.
On to the picks!
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#ease 🫶🏾
In this section, I plan to provide things/tips/resources that are helping me with caregiving, biz, self-care, and juggling in general. In the hopes that it’ll inspire you as well.
I am one of those people who actually loves self-checkout. I can scan my groceries myself and pack the bag the want that I want to and can probably get it all done with my headphones in without talking to anyone.
Well, my main Target recently changed their self-checkout rules to:
only 10 items
no carts
First of all, rude.
Second of all, I often buy a few heavy things at a time, so who wants to carry all that around in a basket? So, I continued shopping with my cart and then transferred everything to a basket when I was ready to check out.
One day, another shopper walked past me, and he was pushing a cart with a basket in it!!!!!
It blew my mind! You mean to tell me, I could put a basket in my cart, add things to the basket, and then just take the basket out of the cart once I was done?? 🤯
You might be thinking, “Jess, really”? Cause, of course, now that I’m writing about it, it seems like something that should have been such an obvious solution. But it wasn’t - until I saw someone else doing it.
I realized I was essentially adding things twice (once to the cart, once to the basket) and creating more work for myself. And now it’s easier.
💡 Sometimes, I think we can unintentionally make things much harder on ourselves just because we are not aware of a better way. Or because that’s the way we’ve always done it. Is there something that is currently frustrating you or taking a lot of your time? Can you ask someone else how they approach it? You might get some insights to save you some time and maybe some heavy lifting as well. 😉
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If you have found ways to make your life easier, please share, and I’d love to feature them here as well. Also, I’d love to hear any thoughts/questions/suggestions about this new section.
#loves 😍
📚. Tool: SaneBox. You might love this tool if you find it hard to manage your email. I’ve been using it for over 3 years, and it helps me focus more on my inbox and have newsletters go to a separate folder so that I can batch-read them as I have time. Give it a try and see how you like it, and you can get $5 off here.
📚. Reading: Ask for Andrea. I love a good thriller (and a Lifetime movie, for that matter!) These three women are telling the story, and they were all killed by the same dude. The thought is that they will stop him somehow, even though they are ghosts. I'm only a few chapters in, but it's really intriguing so far.
#reads
You’re Doing a Great Job (YDAGJ)
“YDAGJ became our inside joke. Whenever one of us was having a rough day for any reason—big or small—we’d look each other in the eyes and fervently declare: “YOU’RE DOING A GREAT JOB!” It became a catchphrase, like a secret password, reminding us to calm down, to breathe, to stop being so perfectionistic and relentlessly hard on ourselves, and to celebrate all the wins in life—especially the tiny wins that often go unnoticed and unacknowledged.”
—
4 Questions Smart People Ask About Side Gigs (So They Don’t Lose Their Jobs)
Before starting your side hustle, figuring out where your company stands on the issue is essential. So here are some questions you can ask before you start:
Are side hustles allowed?
Could it be a conflict of interest?
Do I have to tell my boss? Or HR?
How can I put my manager’s mind at ease?
I have always preferred to be super transparent with my employer, even though that has caused problems for me in the past. I really appreciate companies that support their employees’ lives outside of work.
#icymi
😍. Last issue’s top pick: 27 Life-Changing Micro Habits That Require Only A Few Minutes
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