Morning Brew - 🎓 The learning curve

Time-saving tools and products we’re really into rn.

• While the “I just rolled out of bed” look may work for video calls, it won’t fly in the office. Pick up this handheld steamer to go from sloppy slacker to business professional.
• Dare you try “the world’s most dangerous writing app”? Squibler is for focused writing spurts spanning from 3 to 60 minutes. There’s a catch, though: If you stop writing for longer than a few seconds, your words will disappear.
• Stop intrusive thoughts from hogging your brain space, with the help of mind gardening—a practice that involves focusing on positive and uplifting content (so, not TikTok) to improve your thought patterns.

What’s top of mind at the watercooler.

Balancing work and home life is difficult enough, especially if you have family members to care for. Add school to the equation, and it makes Squid Games look like Teletubbies. Despite that, to advance your career, you may have considered pursuing higher education—a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s, a PhD, or a certification program. But how do you manage going back to school while working full-time? For tips on simultaneously navigating your professional and academic career, Sidekick spoke with two academic advisors—Francine Coker and Garfield Benjamin—who are also pursuing PhDs.

To balance your academic and professional journey, Benjamin suggests you first acknowledge its difficulties. It’s not realistic to expect yourself to juggle all your responsibilities flawlessly. “[What helped me] at first was letting myself struggle through it and realize that it was a problem,” he said.

Coker agreed, noting that being honest with yourself and your loved ones will be key to alleviating some of the pressure. But if you’re still up for the challenge, Coker and Benjamin shared these best practices:

• Stay organized and prioritize. Use a planner or a calendar, and be discerning about what’s truly urgent and what can wait. “I have a checklist and it's a tiered system—what’s urgent, what’s important, and what I can move to tomorrow without stressing myself out,” Coker said. “There’s [only] so much time in a day.”
• Maximize your time. Squeeze in what you can between tasks. For instance, Coker said she tries to sneak in some reading during her lunch break at work.
• Set boundaries and take breaks. When you’re constantly working on something, it's easy to get burned out. Taking time to refocus and “do nothing” is equally important, Benjamin said. “Make sure [you] set time aside to be [yourself], because those are the refreshing [moments] that let [you] take on work or school with a clear head.”
• Set personal and professional goals. Coker said that setting goals helps her stay focused on the finish line. “Paint that picture for [yourself] of ‘this is what I'm looking to achieve,’” Benjamin agreed.—SS

Your punch list for when you punch out.

Listen: 1970s soul or H&M elevator music? Disclosure’s “Feel Like I Do,” which samples Al Green’s 1972 “I’m Still in Love with You,” is the definition of “why not both?”

Read: As we redefine work and professionalism two years into the pandemic, this Refinery29 op-ed explores why dropping the stiff filter and letting our personalities shine might actually be a good thing.

Eat: If you’re into Cuban pastelitos, Jamaican beef patties, and Central American empanadas, you might want to give Moroccan bakoula hand pies a try. This vegan variation of the popular dish proves it really is a small world after all.

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Pearls of career wisdom.

What career advice would you give your younger self?

“Get really good at giving and receiving feedback. It’s important to get, so you know how you can improve and avoid blind spots. Even if you disagree with the feedback, or think it’s unfair, it's critical to be aware of what other people's impressions of you are. Then you can do something about it.”—Amii Barnard-Bahn, C-suite advisor, speaker, and Harvard Business Review contributor