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Jessica's Friday Five

by Jessica Eastman Stewart

Five practical tips every Friday for making your life more joyful and easy. A wildly popular email newsletter with thousands of readers.

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Jessica's Friday Five: A great free app, Tom Holland, and how to support colleagues who are grieving

Hi Reader, Thank you for all of the kind responses to my email last week sharing that my mother had passed away. I heard from so many of you; it was a balm for this tough time. ❤️ I wrote about some lessons for managers at work to support employees experiencing grief here on LinkedIn, and my friend Thomas shared with me this beautiful video of Andrew Garland discussing grief as unexpressed love. The funeral home that supported my mom lets anyone sign up for one year of grief messages via...

6 days ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader, As you'll read below, it's been a tough month for me and my family. Throughout the experience, I've noticed much about how work and personal lives intersect in beautiful and toxic ways. I'll share a few of those reflections this month. Let's get to your Monthly Management Memo - as always with something bold, something new, something borrowed, and something to pursue. Something Bold - Getting Honest FeedbackOften, teammates do not feel comfortable giving honest feedback to their...

7 days ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader, This past Sunday morning, my wonderful mother passed away. My dad and I were both by her side, and it was all at once peaceful, beautiful, and devastating. She lived an incredible life, raising me and my brother around the world after she and my dad met each other while they were both serving in the US Navy. She fought multiple myeloma, a type of cancer, for many years and I'm so glad she is no longer in pain. As we've gone through the process of losing her, I have learned much and...

13 days ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader, I'm writing this week while en route to be with family facing difficult health challenges and decisions. I considered skipping this week's issue but decided to send it for three reasons - writing this email is the professional highlight of my week, I haven't missed a week since I began this adventure over two years ago, and there are over 500 new folks just this week who have joined us here to get these weekly tips! Welcome - we're so glad to have you. I can't promise I won't miss...

20 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader, You know what isn't helpful in almost any circumstance? All or nothing thinking. I prefer "all or something". So you didn't get a 30-min workout in, but you went for a 10-min walk. That's something. You didn't bring your lunch from home like you wanted every day this week, but you did 3 times? That's meaningfully better than 0 times. Life is messy. Do what you can with what you've got. Let's get to your Friday Five! Eclipse: For those of us in North America, there's a total solar...

27 days ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader, A common theme in conversations I've been having with workshop clients lately is the need to have really clear processes for things that their team does again and again. It can be both a key ingredient to effective delegation and a balm against the pull of staying too in-the-weeds of a project that someone else should be handling. More on that below if this sounds useful for your team! Let's get to your Monthly Management Memo - as always with something bold, something new,...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader, This week I'm re-learning just how long it can take to catch up after being out of the office. I was away last week supporting family members at out-of-state medical appointments and I still feel behind. The reality is that I'm exactly where I need to be and that I'm a human who can't do all the things. I hope you remember that too next time you're away from work (and if you have no time away from work coming up - here's your reminder to get.that.scheduled!). Let's get to your...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader, It's been a week to prioritize family. Taking care of the people most important to me comes at a cost - it means that other things like professional goals and an exciting conference I wanted to attend had to fall by the wayside. I'm remembering how lucky I am to love people that I want to stand beside during their hard moments. I'm also thinking about the thought experiment that I heard years ago - if a stranger observed your actions for this past week, what would they say your...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read

Hi Reader, It's been a week of big moments in my world - a close friend's mother passed away, my daughter got braces, we bought a 2nd car after years of being a single-car family, and it was the anniversary of my younger brother passing away unexpectedly 9 years ago. I am heading to Texas this weekend to support a family member for a series of medical specialist appointments and it's unclear whether I'll be there for 3 days or quite a bit more. Ramadan began without the joy for many...

about 2 months ago • 3 min read

Hi Reader, In the last two weeks I've gone from a person who was a committed daily Wordle player to now someone who plays three NYT word games every day - I've added Connections (shout out to friends on a Sedona trip for stoking that new addiction!) and Strands, the game they released just this week. They are so fun. Since writing this newsletter feels like my version of a big ole' group text, I had to share with y'all. Let's get to your Friday Five (and if you're looking for Friday Funnies,...

about 2 months ago • 3 min read
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