THE WEEKLY PAGE 📝 No. 187
How to start your day + this week's picks for work, wellness, and wonder.
There’s a common saying in the productivity world that you should start your day with the most important task. Or the hardest task. Or the thing you’re dreading.
Just get it out of the way, you know?
I call bullshit on that.
Starting your day with the hardest or most important task can feel overwhelming, and can easily make you procrastinate simply because you’re not looking forward to it!
I prefer a method called “Three Easy Wins”.
“Three Easy Wins” are simple tasks that you enjoy and that can EACH be completed within a few minutes. They shouldn’t require a ton of focus or energy. Some examples might be:
Responding to one specific email
Cleaning off your desk
Publishing a post
Reviewing your schedule
Proofreading a report
Making an appointment or reservation
Creating a to-do list
Completing three low-pressure tasks can help you ease into work, and give your brain a little sense of accomplishment that you can ride into some of those harder, more demanding tasks.
Give it a try and lemme know how it goes.
📺 WATCH: Air filtration is an important part of preventing the spread of COVID, given that the virus is airborne and spreads through aerosols. An affordable way to filter air is by building your own Corsi Rosenthal Box, which is created with simple air filters and a box fan. “In a 700-square-foot classroom with nine-foot ceilings, a Corsi-Rosenthal Box on the highest fan setting can add the equivalent of about seven-and-a-half to eight air changes per hour. If we started at two air changes per hour and we added eight air changes per hour, we’re roughly getting about an 80% reduction in inhalation dose with that single Corsi-Rosenthal Box. That’s a huge reduction. That’s like everybody wearing pretty decent masks in the classroom.” These can be really helpful in your own home, but also anywhere you gather with people (book clubs, classrooms, nursing homes, the office, etc). Here’s an interview with the creator and here’s a simple video tutorial that shows you how to make your own for under $100.
🥗 ENJOY: Had to share this recipe while the tomatoes and corn are still in season! It’s a Summer Shrimp Scampi with Tomatoes and Corn and it’s so delicious served with thinly sliced garlic bread. Grab the recipe here.
📚 READ: I absolutely devoured this book, and burned through it in about 3 days during our late-August trip to Bornholm. I’ve been describing it as Harry Potter, but college-age kids at a dragon-riding academy. If you loved the HP series or A Court of Thorns and Roses you will L-O-V-E this book! The next book in the series comes out in November, so dive in now! Check it out on Bookshop.
📚 READ: Two-thirds of American women wear a size 14 or above, and yet the fashion industry continues to cater to a very thin minority. If curvy, larger bodies are the overwhelming majority — why is it still so hard to find clothes that fit?! In this brilliant opinion piece for The New York Times, Elizabeth Endicott chronicles the struggle women face when trying to find clothes, and why mass production has led to clothes that fit barely anyone properly. It’s really interesting and I found myself thinking a lot about how this struggle negatively impacts our body image and leads to yo-yo dieting and disordered eating. Read it here: Your Clothes Were Never Meant to Fit You.
💬 Comment & chat below! Anything in this week’s newsletter spark your curiosity? What did you try/read/listen to?! Have questions? Got a recommendation of your own? Pop ‘em below.
I finally got the hold from my library for A Court of Thorns and Roses, I cannot wait. I am going into it totally cold and have oddly kept away from spoilers or anything about the content so I'm so excited. I loved 4th Wing and hit the preorder button so fast on the next book.