Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋

Happy Wednesday. I'm still doing the "recovering from brain surgery" thing, so this week's newsletter takeover comes from Samantha Anderl. I've known Samantha as the co-founder of Harlow (I even wrote a guest post for Harlow's blog).

Samantha also works as a consultant and coach. She and I had a mutual client at one point — she worked on the company's GTM strategy, and I wrote blog posts!

Samantha shared a Product and Tip this week.

1) Reflection:

I'm pre-writing several newsletters in advance of surgery and am so grateful for the people (like Samantha) who were willing to contribute.

If you're seeing this Reflection from me, it means that I'm not in a place post-surgery where I could update this newsletter. If I were in that place, I'd have replaced this text with some other type of update. I knew the recovery could be long (which is why I have things scheduled out so far), and didn't have a clear idea of when I'd be back in front of a computer.

OR I'm doing fine and I just forgot to come back and replace this text. One of the two!

2) Product

Samantha: I'm on video calls A LOT between coaching, consulting, and speaking gigs, but I don't have the time or desire to put on a full face of makeup every morning. Life's too short. I like to keep my skin clear, and I need those extra 25 minutes of sleep!

My go-to routine to prep for heavy video call days takes exactly 2 minutes: Eminence facial oil for a natural glow and moisture, Jones Road Miracle Balm for that "effortlessly put-together" vibe, and Cocokind ceramide lip blur balm. This little trio makes me feel confident enough to show up as my best self on camera while keeping my routine simple.

3) Tip

Samantha: As someone juggling a portfolio career, frequent travel, friends, family, fun, and everything in between, I'll be honest—my brain is constantly in overdrive. The Calm app is a daily sanity saver for me. I use their sleep sounds every night to help me unwind and get my much-needed 8 hours of sleep.

Two other meditations have also become non-negotiables in my routine: the "recharge after a busy day" meditation, which helps me leave work at work, and the afternoon nap sleep story when I need to give in to that 3 pm crash instead of fighting it. It's like having a personal reset button.