Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋

Happy Wednesday. I'm writing this from the airport in Barcelona, waiting for my flight back to the U.S. My first trip to Europe (first of many, I hope), and my first long trip away from my family.

1) Reflection:

When I booked this trip, I didn't realize that I'd be in Spain for Mother's Day. By that point, I'd been gone for several days, and I missed my family like crazy.

I think solo trips are important — we all need some time alone — but I also think, for me, I need to keep my trips shorter, at least until my kids are older. It's logistically and emotionally hard. I love spending time with my family and would rather take long trips with them.

2) Product

I heard about the trtl neck pillow on the Wirecutter podcast, so I got one for the long flight. It looks ridiculous, but it works a lot better than traditional neck pillows because it kind of holds your head in place. I managed to get some sleep on the plane.

3) Tip

Speaking of sleep, jet lag is terrible. But I used an app called Timeshifter, and it helped — a lot. You put in your flight info and it will tell you exactly how to prep for the time zone change based on your destination. When to sleep, when to force yourself to stay awake, when to drink coffee, etc.

I followed the recommendations on the way to Barcelona and recovered from jet lag quickly. (We'll see how it works in the reverse now that I'm home!)

Want more ideas?

→ Want to create your own custom text alerts based on apps or tools you use? Here's how.

→ Want more automation ideas? Here's a short guide to get you started.

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That's it for this issue of Tinkering! See you again in two weeks.

Cheers,
Anna

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