THE WEEKLY PAGE 📝 No. 177
Understanding digital overwhelm + this week's picks for work, wellness, and wonder!
I talk to people every day that are struggling with digital overwhelm. You might very well be one of 'em.
We're constantly bombarded with information day in and day out — perhaps this week you even ventured bravely onto Threads (Facebook’s ‘replacement’ for Twitter, which launched on Wednesday) and found yourself once again lost in the abyss of information overload (😐😐😐).
In the early days of the internet, the general consensus from experts was that this “overwhelm” was just temporary. Sure, we were being flooded with info — but eventually, the internet would provide us with cute little tools to help organize the vast amounts of information. “Filters” would make it easier to find what we were looking for, and tah-dah! We'd no longer be overwhelmed.
Are you laughing OUT loud right now? We both know that's pretty much the opposite of what happened.
The filters got too damn good…and instead of great information being a needle in the internet haystack…we've ended up with literal PILES OF NEEDLES.
Not only do we know how to find exactly what interests us — but the internet knows exactly how to serve it to us. Often with push notifications, alerts, and live streams that demand our immediate attention.
We know what excites us. What fires us up. We know exactly the type of people we want to follow and engage with. And we don't just follow five of them, we follow 874 of them😈
We cannot get enough.
And we find ourselves sitting in a giant pile of needles…errr, information…with a finite amount of time to consume, enjoy, or —ya know— actually apply it.
Of course, there are various ways to tackle that pile of needles, and a lot of the work I do is helping you establish systems to do just that. But this week I just wanted to help you understand that we aren't searching for a needle in a haystack — we're all drowning in needles.
Sometimes just that perspective shift is enough to offer some relief.
🍽 EAT: One thing I really, truly, deeply admire about Europeans is their commitment to putting pasta in their salads. Not only is it delicious, it makes sense from a nutritional standpoint — adding nutrient-dense carbs like whole-wheat penne to a salad is a great way to make it a bit more dense and filling — which will help you feel full and focus longer. I cooked the core ingredients (bacon, chicken, pasta) in advance so I could make it throughout the week. I also used the ingredients for Caesar Chicken Wraps. I made this short Instagram Reel showing you how I did it, but you can find the full recipe from Salt and Lavender right here.
🥗 EAT: As more fresh summer veggies start hitting the shelves (or your local produce stand) a simple Steak Bowl like these can be a great way to enjoy them — bonus points if you toss the steak on the grill! This recipe includes directions for making an Herbed-Yogurt Dressing that is such a great addition to this dish. Click here for the recipe from Real Food Dieticians.
📚 READ: I know I mentioned this book when I began reading it a couple of weeks ago, but it's getting a second shout-out because I freakin' loved it. I know a lot of people will be hesitant to read it because of the guilt they feel about their own involvement in MLMs (I myself had a cute little stint with one circa 2012). But this is such an important book, especially if you ever have been or currently are involved with an MLM company (BeautyCounter, YoungLiving, ItWorks, Beach Body, Scentsy, Rodan & Fields, etc). Grab a copy + support independent bookstores.
📺 WATCH: Did you know that 33% of all kids in the United States will undergo a child protection investigation before their 18th Birthday?! For Black children, that percentage is even higher – as racism fuels the unfair attention Black families often get from agencies such as CPS. There's a fine line between protecting children and over-policing parents in a way that ends up doing more harm than good. Take Care of Maya is a new documentary from Netflix that shares the story of one family seeking medical care for their daughter, who got wrapped up in this system. Watch the Trailer here.