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Anna Burgess Yang

Writer. Productivity geek. Always tinkering.

I share tips, tools, and resources to make your daily life a bit easier.

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Tinkering With Ideas #037: The smart home

Hello fellow tinkerer πŸ‘‹ - Happy Wednesday. I saw the solar eclipse on Monday this week. Well, sort of. My area was 93% eclipsed which, as it turns out, is still a lot of sun. But the fun part was that I got a call from the middle school about 30 minutes before peak viewing time. My son had a sore throat and I needed to go pick him up. When I arrived at the school, about 800 middle schoolers were standing outside with their eclipse glasses on. My son and I stayed for a bit so we wouldn't miss...

10 days agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read

Hello, fellow tinkerer πŸ‘‹ - Happy Wednesday. HOW IS IT ALREADY APRIL NEXT WEEK? I've been running a tiny experiment over the course of Q1. I've never been a big fan of year-long goals and prefer to break things into smaller chunks. This year, I tried something new, stuck with it for the first three months of the year, and am pleased with the results. I'm excited to share more about this in the next newsletter! 1) Reflection: We all have to make time to consume the content we love. For me,...

24 days agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read
a whimsical illustration of a light bulb

Hello fellow tinkerer πŸ‘‹ - Happy Wednesday. ICYMI, I'm creating a new course: 30 Days of Writing Online: Prompts to Spark Creative Ideas. I know a lot of people who want to start posting (mostly on LinkedIn) but don't know where to start. This 30-day email course will deliver one prompt per day to your inbox. General enough that they'll apply to any professional, but specific enough to get your creative juices flowing. You can sign up for the waitlist here and I'll let you know when it's...

about 1 month agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read

Hello, fellow tinkerer πŸ‘‹ - Sometimes I read a story that's just so amazing that I simply must share it with everyone. This week, that was the story of a 93-year-old woman who made a $1 billion donation to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. The donation will make tuition free for students, with the goal of attracting "talented and diverse" students who otherwise might not have the opportunity to pursue a medical education. What an incredible gift. 1) Reflection: I listened to...

about 2 months agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read

Hello fellow tinkerer πŸ‘‹ - It's Friday. As I write this, I can hear birds chirping, which (hopefully) means spring is around the corner... ?! 1) Reflection: Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn't β€” but it's Friday and I usually send my newsletter on Wednesday. Wednesday was Valentine's Day in the U.S. but that wasn't the reason. Tuesday was my daughter's birthday. She died when I was 16 weeks pregnant, back in 2016. For whatever reason, her birthday hit me particularly hard this year. I didn't...

2 months agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read

Hi friend πŸ‘‹ - You made it to the end of January. Whew. How are you feeling about 2024 so far? January is a slow month for me with client work. It was the same in 2023. But November and December are always wildly busy, so I'm trying to appreciate the change of pace. Plus, if you live in the U.S., you've been receiving your tax forms. Tax preparation has been demanding a bunch of my time. As humorist Dave Barry says, "It's income tax time again, Americans: time to gather up those receipts, get...

3 months agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read
a whimsical illustration of a light bulb

Hi friend πŸ‘‹ - Happy Wednesday. I’m typing out this edition of the newsletter in the Notes on my iPhone. I’ve been in Orlando for the past few days and managed to accidentally forget my laptop charger. So I’ve used my laptop only intermittently to reply to a few things and then it ran out of juice. When I’m taking time off, I don’t do client work. But running my own business means things come up. An inquiry came through my website and I wanted to reply. I’ll also keep working on things like...

3 months agoΒ β€’Β 3 min read

Hi friend πŸ‘‹ - Happy Wednesday and Happy New Year. I'm in full-blown "recovery mode" after the holidays. If, in December, you said a lot of things like, "that feels like a problem for 2024 me" you're probably in catch-up mode at this point. I feel that. I hope you're able to ease into the new year as much as possible. 1) Reflection: "How do you measure a year?" - a line from RENT, one of my favorite musicals. But maybe the answer is just... don't. If you don't know the song, it goes on to...

4 months agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read
a whimsical winter light bulb

Hi friend πŸ‘‹ - Happy Wednesday. We're in the throes of the holiday season. If you celebrate Christmas, we're looking at T-Minus 5 days. Admittedly, I love Christmas. I also recognize that the holidays are hard for a lot of people. I have a friend who always struggles with seasonal depression and holiday stress. I checked in with her a few days ago, to see how she's doing. If you're energized by the holidays, don't forget about the other people in your life who may feel down or lonely. Let them...

4 months agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read
a whimsical illustration of a festive light bulb

Hi friend πŸ‘‹ - Happy Wednesday. I'm counting down the days until I take some time off at the end of the year. My kids don't have school for 2.5 weeks and I don't do any client work during that time. If you have kids, you know: it's not really a "break" or a "vacation." This year, I'm wrapping up client work two days before my kids are done with school. That means two whole days to myself. What am I going to do with my time?? I have some ideas. 😊 But this divides December into two distinct...

5 months agoΒ β€’Β 3 min read
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