Morning Brew - 🍺 BBQ

Career building with a dose of self-care 

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Odds are you’ll be feeling the workweek blues after the long weekend. So, today’s Work topic is all about an underrated calendar trick. 

It’s called the daily rhythm, and it’s the antithesis of time blocking—aka forcing yourself to do things at a certain time. This Wired article by Emily P.G. Erickson argues that when our routines align with our natural (circadian) rhythm, our mood is better and therefore we’re more productive. If you’re navigating post-pandemic social anxiety (cue me quietly raising my hand), you’ll love the flexibility of this approach. 

How to find your daily rhythm:  

1. Notice patterns in your day. For three days, write everything down. If you try to wake up at 6, are you usually pressing snooze for an hour? Do you feel refreshed after a walk? And unfocused around 3:30pm? Be realistic about what this means for your routine. 
2. Determine your nonnegotiables. Start with the stuff you can’t change: recurring meetings, the kids’ bedtime. 
3. Add time for things most important to you. Fifteen minutes for meditation? A weekly farmers’ market run? A full hour on Tuesday and Thursday nights to write? 
4. Experiment and edit. 

Erickson says: “I plotted my ideal daily routine on one recurring calendar and overlaid corresponding reentry activities on another, giving myself a smooth runway to the new normal.” By doing so, you’ll have extra flexibility to slot in an episode of Mare of Easttown.

Fun stuff to do outside work

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• We rounded up the best picnic essentials for summer 2021, including a playlist by yours truly with more than four hours of breezy, sunny tracks. 
• This Mexican street corn recipe (but in salad form) is a five-star potluck dish, equally delicious served cold or warm.
• Repel summer bugs and pests with these tips (seriously, bookmark this). If anything, here’s your gentle reminder to take out your trash if you’re leaving town this weekend. 
• After many tests, writer Ella Quittner found the best way to cook a hot dog. 
• If you also check in to your flight exactly 24 hours in advance and arrive at the airport at least two hours before boarding, you’ll want this expert’s advice on how to manage post-pandemic travel anxiety in a crowded terminal. 
• More of an indoor cat? Spend the holiday weekend with the recently released Netflix food series High on the Hog. It’s all about Black American culinary history.
• Burnout hasn’t always been synonymous with cubicle life. This fascinating New Yorker article unpacks the term’s surprising origin story. 

Exploring new skills for the sake of personal growth

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You may know how to grill hot dogs and corn on the cob, but why not add some fire to your summer BBQs by signing up for Aaron Franklin’s MasterClass? As the owner and pitmaster of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, he’ll teach you how to cook all your fave smoked meats—pork butt, ribs, steak, and brisket—and one green veggie: charred broccolini. 

It’s 16 lessons (about five hours total), a tad longer than how much time it takes to reach the front of the line at Franklin’s. Toward the end of the course, things get a little heated, with five sections dedicated to mastering brisket—how to trim it, wrap it, smoke it, and slice it. And best of all, you can revisit the course anytime, which comes in handy, because as Franklin says, “You only learn how to make good barbecue by making bad barbecue.” 

P.S. For a more veggie-friendly class, check out Sam the Cooking Guy’s video on how to make the best grilled vegetables ever. That butter sauce looks delish. 

Shop for the big weekend without leaving your home.

This Memorial Day Weekend, you’re gonna want a lot of things for the commencement of BBQ season—like hot dogs, summer cocktails, sunscreen, and making sure your dog doesn’t steal your freshly grilled burgers off the table. 

And while Instacart can’t exactly help with that last thing, they can make sure you are covered when it comes to groceries and other essentials. With Instacart, you can get all the goodies you need delivered from the store to your door in as fast as one hour.

Skip the pre-holiday grocery haul and focus on the fun stuff this summer—starting with downloading the app or visiting Instacart.com to get free delivery on your first order.*

Products that just make life better 

Julia D'Agostino

• First we have a rec from the Brew’s Director of Social Media, Laura Edwins: “Sick of trying to squeeze beers into a lunch box? The Tourit Insulated Cooler Backpack has an insulated compartment large enough to hold 16 cans. Plus, it has tons of other pockets. You can easily pack lunch and drinks for two, throw in a picnic blanket, and find a home for your sunscreen, phone, keys, and wallet. Bonus: The whole backpack is waterproof, so just wipe it down at the end of the day.” 
• Big thanks to my ChappyWrap blanket for saving me from a soggy bottom (and helping me get my gingham on). Founded by a mother-daughter duo, the preppy brand has a wide variety of sizes and patterns. Each blanket is made from a natural cotton blend, and after a long afternoon in the park or on the beach, you can throw yours in the washer and dryer without worry. 
• A few weeks ago I was browsing a neighborhood grocery store, where I picked up a can of Sanzo Calamansi sparkling water for the first time. If you’re unfamiliar with calamansi, it’s basically a hybrid of a tangerine and a lime, and is primarily grown in Southeast Asia. When you pair it with a lil carbonation, you get a tart and sweet citrus taste that’s thirst-quenching on a hot day. 

And click here for more of the Brew’s picnic recs.