Jessica's Friday Five: Perpetually cold? Me too (fixed it!)

I got to see Wicked For Good earlier this week, the sequel to Wicked with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. I loved it and definitely recommend checking it out in theatres.

On a separate note, what's an article, video, or podcast episode you found helpful recently? I love getting these recommendations from you for myself and often end up sharing them back with this broader community, so hit reply and let me know!

😜 Also, psst, just decided to do something ridiculous the week after next. It's free. See more here and join me for this adventure if it sounds fun to you.

Let's get to your Friday Five:

1. For the cold nights: If you’re perpetually cold like me, and it keeps you from getting a good night’s sleep, especially on cold nights, this blog post is for you. In it, I share a few items I'm loving, but the first is the heated mattress pad, which is my favorite item in the whole house during the colder months.
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2. Consider using smart plugs this holiday season. If you're not familiar with smart plugs, they are an easy, low-tech way to make your life a little easier and a little more fun this holiday season. And they're very low-cost and easy to set up (promise you don't have to be "techy"). You can get them online for $6-$8 each. We happen to use the Kasa brand in my house, but there are many good brands out there. You simply the smart plug into a regular wall outlet, then plug your items into the smart plug. It then allows whatever is plugged into the smart plug to run on a schedule, or, if you have a voice device—like a Google Home or an Amazon Alexa—you can control it with your voice. During the holiday season, I plug our Christmas tree lights and the lights on our mantle into a smart plug, and then I can set the smart plug to turn the lights on every evening at 5 p.m. and turn off at, say, 9 p.m. You can even have them turn on at a different time on the weekends. And, because I can control them with my voice, I can say on a Saturday morning, “Alexa, turn on Christmas,” and all the lights come on, and there's just a little bit of magic. We also have a living room lamp plugged into a smart plug year-round; the lamp comes on automatically at sunset each night and turns off at 10 pm.
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3. Negative Teen Stereotypes Are a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: If you have young people in your life, check this out. The things we believe about kids will influence what they believe about themselves, and I found this articleabout how our beliefs about teenagers affect their behavior really helpful.
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4. Organize your Gmail inbox: I love sharing tips for organizing your inbox! Here are 6 Lesser-Known Gmail Tips to help you organize your inbox if that's what you use for email.
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5. If you or your team could use some support: You know I love sharing resources that help us lead and live with a little more ease. If it feels like every decision, crisis, and conversation somehow ends up on your plate, you’re not alone. My friend and former coach Rayne Martin runs a program called The Changemaker that helps leaders do exactly that — especially when work feels nonstop. The Changemaker is for experienced leaders who want to build steadier teams, clearer systems, and healthier ways of working. One leader said, “This program helped me stop leading on adrenaline and start leading with intention. My team notices the difference — and so do I.” Read more here, and fill out this quick form — Rayne will then follow up with details and a discounted rate (how awesome!) for Friday Five readers.

Bonus Sponsor Resource: I legit love the iPhone Life Tip of the Day Newsletter. I’ve shared this one before, but it’s worth bringing back because it keeps teaching me new things. I still pick up fresh tricks from it every week, and I know a lot of you have too. It’s easy to stick to the same old habits on your iPhone, but you end up missing out on so many time-saving features! The iPhone Life Tip of the Day breaks that pattern and really helps you start using your iPhone to stay organized, productive, and on top of your life at home and at work. This free newsletter drops one short, helpful iPhone tip in your inbox each morning with clear screenshots and simple steps that you can try out right away. It’s one of the few emails I actually look forward to opening. Sign up here, it’s 100% free. 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: The LinkedIn post about how I use tiny giraffe figurines to get things done that I want to procrastinate on.