Jessica's Friday Five: what I learned from the phone spa

Hi Reader,

I just spent five days at a women's camp where phones lived in a "phone spa" (drawer), and I deleted all social media and email apps for the week. Checking my phone just once or twice daily to call home and check texts from friends felt so refreshing. Now I'm back in smartphone land, already craving another escape. Every time I try tech boundaries, it creates such clear joy and ease. Do you have any "tech sabbatical" practices? I'm considering what a regular rhythm might look like. Hit reply—I'm curious what works for you!

Also - we've got $600 to donate to charity - scroll down to vote where to give it!

1. Smart Chips in Google Docs. Try Smart Chips in a Google Doc today! Open a Google Doc (existing or new). Type @ and see the various options appear - calendar events, dates, people, and more. This is especially helpful if you're using Google Docs (or Sheets) to create any "hub" of information, like a Project Plan Overview, or a Resource Hub for your organization with links to various tools and documents folks might need to access.
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2. 30 Passive Income Ideas (Free): Fed up of hustling for every new client and feeling the pressure to launch or promote something new every other week just to pay this month's bills?! My friend Leanne is one of the smartest folks I've ever met when it comes to strategies for making passive income possible. She has 30 creative set-and-forget strategies for earning more passive income, helping you work smarter, not harder! By putting just a few of these strategies in place, you’ll be able to increase your income whilst working fewer hours. Hope it's helpful (and it's free, which is so generous of her). Many of the easiest strategies I've implemented in my work are from Leanne's ideas (more than a dozen from this list of 30, in fact!).
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3. Watch all 3 clips here. It'll take you about 60 seconds. That's all you need to know. The second is my favorite. I've watched it like 10 times over the last few days.
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4. Flu and COVID vaccine time! We just put a note on our calendar to get all 4 members of my family our annual flu and COVID vaccines in a few weeks, when we'll already be near our local medical facility for a regular appointment. The average person who gets the flu or COVID will infect 1-2 others, so I always remember that the 4 of us getting our vaccines not only protects us but 4-8 others that we spend time with (plus whoever those 4-8 would infect, and on and on). Oh, and a new study shows that COVID and flu can rouse 'sleeping' cancer cells in the lungs. 😱 I encourage you to make a plan for when you'll get yours in the next month or so.
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5. Headphone Case for Keys: This little thing is such a random find that I appreciate over and over again. I have it on my keys, and it holds a set of cheap wired headphones. When I'm out in the world and wish I had headphones, they're just always available to me (sitting on the sidelines of a kids' sports practice, grocery shopping, etc.). You could put other little items in it too instead of headphones. I show it here in a quick video.

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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 BevLedge I take on airplanes with me to hold my drinks so I no longer spill them all over myself or my laptop (both have happened...).

Vote Where to Donate! ​
​If you ever buy something from one of my Amazon affiliate links, I might get paid a small commission at no cost to you. I then donate every penny of this and more to charity. Since we last donated, they've sent me $593, so I'll donate $600 next week to charity. Instead of just one charity this time, I'll split the $ proportionally based on your votes below. Click on the charity where you want your portion to go!