I'm hosting a webinar on September 12th! Join me to learn about using automation to repurpose your content. Sign up here. ​ Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 - Happy Wednesday. Today is my oldest daughter's birthday. She was stillborn back in 2015. So it's a somber day every year. We always get a cake to honor her. 1) Reflection:Talking about pregnancy loss makes some people uncomfortable. And yet, by not talking about it, parents who experience losing a baby feel isolated. I started writing about grief and loss shortly after Nelle died (within days). At first, it was to process my own feelings. But I've continued, now nine years later, so other people know they're not alone. My posts are far less frequent now, but I still think about her, all the time, and wonder who she would have been. 2) Tip:I started seeing a therapist after Nelle died. She gave me a tip I still use to this day, when I'm feeling particularly grief-stricken or anxious. She told me to go outside and observe the world as a child does, noticing things that are beautiful or out of place. It gets you focusing on something other than what's going on inside your head. A good friend of mine (and fellow bereaved parent) shared another tip, specifically for anxiety. She says to count something in the room, like books on a bookshelf or tiles on the floor. I used this a lot when I was pregnant again after loss and so anxious, all the time. Counting forces you to focus on something and can also help you regulate your breathing, if you breathe in and out as you count. 3) Product:Even if you've never experienced loss yourself, chances are, you know someone who has. And it's really awkward when you don't know what to say (and trust me — some things people say are really hurtful, even if unintentionally so). I love the book There's No Good Card for This: What To Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful and Unfair to People You Love by Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell. I've bought copies and given them to other people. Emily McDowell also has a fantastic line of empathy cards. Want more ideas?→ Here's a list of AI tools I actually find useful. → I've used Moleskine notebooks before and found this article really interesting. (I'm an avid notebook collector, as many writers are!) ​ That's it for this issue of Tinkering! See you again in two weeks. Cheers, PS: If you like this newsletter and want to support it, here's what you can do! 1) Forward this newsletter to a friend. Sharing is caring. |
Practical tips to make your day better & make your life easier.
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 - Happy Wednesday. I saw this Year Progress bar on Threads this week and thought, "That can't be right..." But it is. 1) Reflection: I've been thinking a lot about things that "grab my attention." I'm frequently the victim of Shiny Object Syndrome. I see something new, and I want to try it right that moment (hence, I never run out of ideas for this newsletter 😆). But I also recognize that distraction comes at a cost. I have bigger projects I want to work on. When I...
ICYMI! I hosted a webinar last week about using automation to repurpose content. The YouTube version is here. Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 - Happy Wednesday. We're fully into the fall season in Chicagoland (colors, weather, pumpkins, everything). My husband has wanted a 12-foot skeleton for years. I keep wondering where we would store it... from Home Depot's website It's that time of year when buying a skeleton is A Discussion in our house. And ConverKit has a polls feature, so I ask you......
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 - Happy Wednesday. School starts TOMORROW so that means I'm buried in backpacks, laundry, and other details before the big day. This year, I have one high schooler, one middle schooler, and one elementary schooler so that means THREE different schools are emailing me on the regular. Please pray for my sanity. 1) Reflection: The start of the school year usually comes with a big shift in our routine. It's an entire production to get three kids out of the house. Whenever...