Jessica's Friday Five: organizing photos, best dish soap, & high temps
Published about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader,
On the professional front, it's been a fun week of scheduling fall workshops for clients and getting some pieces in place for the next cohort of Joyfully Managed Worklife. On the home front, it's been an unusual week with viruses hitting our home, high temperatures outside, and less childcare than normal. I'm finding myself eager for both the cool weather and routine of the fall season—how about you?
Let's get to your Friday Five!
How to Organize and Store Photos: I get asked all the time about how to handle the overwhelming number of photos many of us have on our phones. I did an Insta live on this topic a while back to explain my process (and I still use that same process), but I just found this great article I found from Wirecutter on the topic. If you are struggling with this, I suggest setting aside one hour this weekend to read the article (10 min) and then the rest of the hour to make some progress on getting things in order. You'll be so glad you did!
Sticky notes made to be saved. Meet Sticky Nodes: the original dry-erase sticky note. With Sticky Nodes, you can stick your notes and reminders to your favorite surfaces and wipe them clean when you're ready for something new. Their adhesive-free backing ensures they stick to any smooth surface without leaving marks, perfect for your home, office, or classroom. And they will restick again and again. Simple, reusable, and fun—Sticky Nodes are the perfect companion for your bright ideas. Explore Sticky Nodes. (Sticky Nodes is one of our Friday Five sponsors - thank you to them for keeping this newsletter free for readers!)
Best Dish Soap Ever: I like Dawn's Powerwash. I have given it to friends as a gift (weird, maybe, but also awesome, amiright?!). I just saw a few weeks ago that you could supposedly make it at home for super cheap, so I saved that "recipe" until I was out of powerwash, and we tried it out last week. I can confirm that the homemade stuff works well, too! It's simple, too - just dawn dish soap, rubbing alcohol, and water. I made it in the same spray bottle we already had, and that's how I'll continue from here on out. Here's more details on the ratios.
If you're feeling stuck in your career: I was recently messaging someone who is figuring out where to go in their career. They clearly don't want to do what they've been doing but are unsure what to do next. Here's what I shared in case it's helpful for you:
I suggest journaling about when you felt energized by what you were working on. What about the times you felt annoyed, drained, or frustrated? That will help you make a "definitely yes" and "definitely no" list of the types of activities you want to spend your work time doing.
If you can afford to do some consulting before looking again for a full-time gig, that might be a low-risk way of trying out different types of work and seeing what you enjoy.
If you wanted to try consulting, my rec would be to make a list of the kinds of work you might want to do + a list of the orgs/people on your "dream" list of folks/places to work. Instead of advertising to everyone everywhere that you're open for work (which might result in a flood of random and/or lower paying things you don't want to do), start by reaching out to that dream list one by one to let them know you'd love to connect because you've got some capacity and would like to see if there are any areas they might need help with where you can support them.
Have a great weekend, Friday Fivers! See you next week.
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