A gentle close to the week

And 6 things that made life better / Issue 1,386

Oh, hi friends!

Set aside all the things you didn’t do, the moments that flew by, the feelings of ineffectiveness and stress, the stretches of getting off track, the meetings that didn’t happen, cards you didn’t send.

Where are you now compared to where you were five short days ago?

Progress, somewhere.

Connections made.

Maybe you stood up for yourself in a way that made your spine straighter, your goal fixed.

Good good good. All good.

Now you’re gently closing the door to the week behind you.

6 Things That Made Life Better This Week

On the other side of all this, how do you hope your career changes?

I must work at this level of proficiency, of excellence. I don’t want to move backward. And a lot of that is dependent less on me and more on the jobs that I choose and the people I work with.

— A path forward, from Da’Vine Joy Randolph

• Did you know it’s important to sleep in a dark room? I did! But I didn’t do anything about it until buying this Alaska Bear sleep mask (why does this sound like an informercial). Best $10 I spent this week!

• So glad I stumbled across this NPR Tiny Desk Concert for Little Shop of Horrors.

• This coffee mug warmer was a Christmas gift for Colin but it accidentally found its way onto my desk…where it might stay…forever…

• Casey Neistat makes YouTube videos. He does other things, but I watched his daily vlog for years. His latest video, “Sisyphus and the Impossible Dream,” about his 17-year quest to break three hours in the marathon, reminded me why some things feel so hard — and why we keep running. 

• The title is bland but Criminal Record on Apple TV+ with Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi is goooood. File this under the “clue show” category, if clue shows are your thing.

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And a special request:

Calling all Cal Newport followers: My friend Matt is starting to apply Cal’s “Slow Productivity” principles with his team, and is looking to find a community of people doing the same (or something similar like Agile). The goal would be to support each other in building teams that work at a sustainable pace to reduce overload and overwhelm. Cal also has a book coming out on the topic on March 5, so a book club might be the right way to launch the group!

If this might be you, reach out to me and I’ll connect you with Matt! I cannot WAIT to read Slow Productivity.

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Happy weekend, my dear friends.

Get some sun.

Get some rest.

Pet a cat.

See you Monday.

PS — would love to hear what made your week better!