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Caption contest! Caption this week’s cartoon for a chance to win a doodle from the master herself, Léo Hamelin. Just reply to this email with your entry.
Today’s newsletter will be a short one because, in all honesty, I’m burned out.
The good thing (??!!) about a pandemic is that I don’t need to explain why I’m feeling so unmotivated, flat and exhausted. So, I’m going to take next week off to recoup a bit. Which is also to say that there won’t be a newsletter next Friday (subscribers, don’t worry, your Wednesday newsletter is already scheduled 🤓)
A few quick points I’ll share about how I’m dealing with my pandemic burn out:
Know your warning signs. I realised things were bad when I spent all of last weekend in bed. You might be more irritable than usual, you might not be sleeping well, you may be completely out of ideas. Everyone has different signals that tell them there’s something wrong, tune into yours.
Write a list of everything that’s stressing you out. I used to do this pre-pandemic; I’d write “everything that’s stressing me out right now” across the top of a piece of paper and then dump all my worries on it. Then, I go through the list and cross off all the points which I can do sweet FA about. From there, I look at the things I can do something about and prioritise the ones that have a deadline or time limit on. I also look at the things that need doing but that I can ask someone else to help me with. Suddenly, the amount on my plate reduces considerably.
Take as much time off as you can. When I decided to take this break last Sunday, my instinct was just to take the next day or two off. After going through my list of commitments and rescheduling some things, however, I realised I could draw that out to a full week. As tempting as it is to take the break immediately, if you plan it a bit instead you can eke out more time off
Give yourself permission to rest. I know that not everyone will be able to take a week or two off, but whatever you can take, grab it with both hands. Even if all you can manage is to take a Friday or Monday off to extend your weekend by a day, do it – just make sure you give yourself the permission to switch off and actually rest
The List
💌 Newsletter Masterclass: Do you want to launch a newsletter but don't know where to start? Maybe you already have one and want to monetise it? Or perhaps you're struggling to grow your email list? On June 16th, I’m hosting an online newsletter masterclass with Sian Meades-Williams. Tickets are selling like hotcakes, so grab one while you still can
🎙So many of us feel shame about how much we earn. On this week’s podcast, we spoke to the author and founder of @myfrugalyear, Clare Seal, about how to deal with feeling icky about money. Also! For a chance to win a free copy of Clare’s book, head over to Tiffany’s Instagram
Soooo, I said I was taking next week off but I’m going to be on the radio tomorrow morning talking about the future of work. I’ll be on Good Morning Scotland on BBC Radio Scotland from about 9.30 AM
I’m also going to be giving evidence to a House of Lords select committee about the future of journalism, specifically about the challenges freelancers face. If you have any input into that, you can add it to this depressing Twitter thread
On a more upbeat note, I wrote about how bosses are becoming more empathetic as a direct result of the pandemic
Speaking of empathy, a much-needed call for editors to be kind to their writers
I loved this brilliant guide to powering up your language as a freelancer
And lastly, if you need to some help focusing, the brilliant Harriet Minter is running a five-day focus challenge to help you find your motivation again.
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