Jessica's Friday Five: a 48-hour flight delay, covered
Published about 5 hours ago • 2 min read • Friday Five
Hi Reader,
My family and I got our flu and COVID shots last Friday. It is that time again! I'd much rather not get sick, but honestly, what motivates me more is knowing that if we do catch one of these viruses, the chances are super high we'll pass it to a few other people. I really like that I can do something to help keep others safe. So even if you don't want a flu shot for yourself, go get one for someone who will stay healthy because you did!
Let's get to your Friday Five:
A tip from Friday Fiver Emilie: "One thing that is rocking my world right now: credit card travel insurance. Few people access it, but it saved us during a 48-hour delay in Denver due to the Microsoft CrowdStrike glitch. We use Chase Sapphire Preferred, and I’m no financial wizard, but their travel benefit is like a sleeping, all too hidden wonder of a benefit."
Fun way to up your protein: I got the Javvy protein refreshers last month, and I've been really liking them. I've been working on improving my protein intake, and I love a good fun beverage, so I got this to see if I like it, and I really do. It's a good way to get a nice afternoon fruity drink that is also good for my body. Usually, I put in some of the Buoy hydration drops too. You can see what else I've bought this month and liked here.
Improve your phone’s battery health: Turns out my iPhone 13 is too old for this (womp womp), but you can help keep your battery health better on your iPhone (or Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel) by turning on this setting. I love when you can do something one time, and then it keeps helping you every day moving forward without any additional effort.
If time blocking has never worked for you, stop trying to make it work: Some people genuinely thrive on it. They write "11 am Thursday I will write the blog post," and then at 11 am on Thursday they draft the blog. My friend Maia calls those folks “when-ers." The rest of us are “what-ers” — give me the list, let me pick. I've tried being a when-er, and my brain just says, "Who are you, Past Jess, to tell me what to do?" I polled a group of 11 people a few weeks ago: ten what-ers, one when-er. So if you've been reading productivity advice that tells you to time-block your schedule and it's making you feel like a failure, that's a mismatched strategy for your brain, not something wrong with you. My one exception: when a block has a real external deadline attached to it, I'll do it (like I only have one open 30-min window today between lots of meetings and I know I've gotta finalize Friday Five during that window to get it sent to y'all on time).
Did you know you can get fewer or more emails from me? Scroll down to the orange "Manage Your Profile" link at the very bottom of this email, and you can get really specific about the types of emails you want. We've got Friday Five, Tuesday Tips, a monthly newsletter just for managers at work, Jess's Product Picks, emails just for small business owners like me, and emails just for parents, so you can decide what you want.
Bonus Sponsor Resource: What Season Are You In? Before you map out the next few months, it helps to know what this stretch is actually asking of you. Beginning, tending, releasing, or resting. A free guide to recognizing your season and planning from there. Here is the link. This resource is from one of our Friday Five sponsors - thank you to them for keeping this newsletter free for readers!