My flight leaves in three hours
Oh, hi friends!
I’m flying back to California in a few hours for my friend Selina’s bachelorette party. Yay! (Haven’t packed yet, whoops.)
I just ran a bunch of errands (finally getting my winter boots fixed so I don’t permanently damage my heels yayyyy!) and am closing the loop on work tasks. The urgency of knowing my flight leaves at 4:50pm is undeniable. And so I do all the stuff.
That reminds me of three things I always do before flying. I figured these out when I was doing more travel writing a few years ago and hopping on planes all the time. They make the back-and-forth easier.
Always take out the trash—no matter what.
I’ve almost missed my train to the airport because I was so determined to haul my trash to the curb. Sure, I don’t want to come home to stinky garbage, but the bigger reason is that I want my apartment to feel clean and open and welcoming after a trip. To that end…
Make your apartment look less sloppy.
Not a deep clean—you still have to pack, Kara—but spending eight minutes making everything slightly less messy makes the return feel so much better. This includes washes all the dishes, blah blah blah.
Conquer that mountain pile of laundry.
I don’t want to come back to more chores and errands—and doing laundry right before flying means you can plop your folded clothes straight into your suitcase.
Uhhh. I didn’t realize these were all about cleaning, but I’ve got a flight to catch, and they’re true! The point is…they’re doing your future self a favor. Now hopefully I can apply these tactics to the other 352 days a year when I don’t have a flight to catch.
By the talented @misscarleypoetry
Ahhh, this one got me.
When tasked with so many things—malleable ideas for the future, immediate angst-inducing to-dos, decisions heaped on decisions—it’s good to remember that most of the time, perhaps all of the time, you are more done than undone. And that is enough.
How Tarell Alvin McCraney Moved from ‘Moonlight’ to Broadway—and Beyond. A beautiful profile. (h/t Ruth Samuelson)
Advice for how to find good and unusual story ideas—invaluable advice from the Director of Research for WNYC’s Radiolab.
How to crush your habits in the new year with the help of science. Because maybe you’re like me and already forgot New Year’s resolutions were a thing?
The U.S. is celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday, and Brass Ring Daily will return to your inboxes on Tuesday! Have an excellent weekend.
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara