Jessica's Friday Five: I haven't showered since Monday

Hi Reader,

I haven't showered since Monday. You're right, it's not great. I am in the midst of a 5-day allergy test where they put big stickers with 36 common allergens on your back, and you can't sweat or shower while it's happening. Later this afternoon I get the final results read and can get back to my normal life of Pilates and hygiene. Hooray!

Oh - mark your calendar - next Tuesday (8/4) is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day if you're in the US. Might be some free cookies near you (I found this list) or maybe you could just bake some cookies at home to celebrate!

Let's get to your Friday Five, shall we?

1. A bunch of tiny tips if you've got school-aged kids: My kids went back to school this week (our school district shortens summer to 7 weeks and adds those as extra breaks throughout the school year and we love it), so I've got several tips on my mind: first, these "inserts" are what we used as our kids' actual lunch boxes when they were younger and we were sending lunch with them to school. No need to buy the more expensive full ones, IMO. Second, use Agenda Hero to make a page of dates that every parent in a given school/team/group can use to easily add the dates to their digital calendar of choice without everyone doing it manually (good chance they already have your district's school calendar here!). Next, read this and give you and your kids a break this week. Also, I made these for you to print and put in kids' lunchboxes if you want. Finally, go to this free workshop next week on how to do a Back-to-School Reset!
   ​
2. For bringing fridge snacks with you: I had to spend a few hours waiting around last week and trying to get work done from my phone (luckily there was wifi!), but was so glad to have this freezable bag for a cold diet soda and my fave snack — a delightful little treat on a hot day. So good for bringing along any snacks that are better when they stay cold.
   ​
3. Do new, different stuff with your romantic partners: I saved this little nugget from a book I read last year, Life Reimagined: "[The researcher] divided fifty-three seasoned couples (married on average fifteen years) into three groups. He asked a third of them to spend ninety minutes once a week doing something familiar and pleasant, such as going to a movie. He asked another third to go dancing, skiing, see a concert, or do something else out of their routine. The third group was not assigned any activity. After ten weeks, the couples with novel date nights reported significantly more marital satisfaction than the couples who went to a movie or trundled on as before. He followed this with another study in which some couples crawled across a room with their ankles and wrists Velcroed together, carrying a pillow between them, while other couples performed a boring task: one person rolled a ball across a room on his hands and knees while the spouse watched. Those with the "novel" task reported more happiness with their relationship, as well as greater acceptance of their partner. The brain rewards novel activity and craves surprises. No wonder couples that infuse novelty into their relationships feel a little dopamine-driven reward, a little cocaine-like high, a little oxytocin-mediated closeness, all of which leads to romance.”
   ​
4. Outlook Tip: Members of Joyfully Managed Society get to ask me questions on work or home anytime they have them, and I answer them for them + the other members can also view all the Q&As. Recently I gave 7 specific Outlook tips to a member whose new job is Outlook (she's used to Gmail), and here's one of those 7 tips for any of y'all Outlook users: "I think 'Categories' is the most useful way to organize an Outlook inbox, and there's a number of ways you can do that depending on what feels helpful to you. I'm attaching some screenshots to show you what I mean and give you a few ideas. When I was using Outlook day-to-day myself, my categories were basically about priority level (a red-colored one titled something like "To Do Today", a blue one titled something like "To Read Later"), but you could organize them in any number of ways that are helpful to you."​
   ​
5. Stop avoiding the hard convos: In my professional life, I've led a handful of workshops this year on how to have difficult conversations and give feedback that works. In my volunteer life this year, I've had to have a number of these hard conversations to avoid letting bad situations fester on and on. I like this quote from Sahil Bloom: "When you avoid a hard conversation, you're taking on a debt that has to be repaid (with interest) at a date in the future. Time doesn't heal anything when it comes to relationships. Make the minor repairs along the way, and you'll avoid the major repairs later on. Our success in life is proportional to the number of hard conversations you're willing to have." This tool (it's free) might help you prepare.

Bonus Sponsor Resource: Beehive - best deal ever. This week, I realized my coupon for Beehive (it's JESSICA) stacks with the code BACK2SCHOOL so that you get both free shipping + $10 off. I don't think they've ever done that before. We've had Beehive meals in our freezer at all times for the last few years - it's so helpful to have an easy meal during a busy day (they have slow-cooker meals and flat-top meals now). This resource is from one of our Friday Five sponsors - thank you to them for keeping this newsletter free for readers!

Last Friday's Most-Clicked Link: Grippy, not sticky nipple covers I really love (I like these for under swimsuits and instead of bras when I'm wearing a top that is tight).