Morning Brew - ✈️ PTO

We’ve officially reached the last month of Q4, which means many of us will be taking some well-deserved PTO to wrap up the year. Even if your plans just include cozying up on your couch and secretly binge-watching Tiger King 2 (we won’t tell), taking PTO helps you avoid burnout and become more productive at work.

A recent Well+Good piece by Erica Sloan discussed the challenges of not only taking your PTO, but also taking enough time to actually feel relaxed and refreshed upon your return to work. The piece cites a 2018 survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, which found that 28% of respondents reported working more on vacation than they had originally planned and 42% reported dreading returning back to work after taking time off.

The key to actually unplugging and enjoying your vacation time is crafting a plan beforehand, Sloan writes. So before you activate that OOO email response, try following these tips:

1. Create a detailed document of what projects or work will need to be completed while you’re out and who your fellow team members should contact in your absence in case of issues or emergencies. (You would also do well beforehand to note exactly what you’ll want to accomplish before your time off to ensure that you’re not behind when you return.)
2. Communicate with your team members about how active you’ll be while off and feel free to share details about what you’ll be up to, which will hopefully discourage them from reaching out unless it’s a true emergency.
3. And a bonus tip for when you’re actually on PTO: Limit checking your work email and work messages to the minimum that your workplace will allow. Remind yourself that you earned this time off and not properly taking it can hurt your work performance in the long run.

Read: Natasha Rothwell (best known for her roles on Insecure and The White Lotus) wants us all to know she’s not an overnight success. From performing at comedy clubs in Tokyo, to feeling silenced in the SNL writers room, her career path to directing her first TV episode was anything but traditional.

Listen: Poet, writer, and thought leader Jeffrey Davis offers a play-by-play guide on bringing wonder back into your life, one relationship, job, and thought at a time. Which is something we can all use as we start to process the tornado of a year that was 2021.

Browse: Step back in time with a site that allows you to explore 1940s NYC. A fun first task: Take a peek at old Times Square.

There’s no such thing as too much nut butter, as proven by this list of essentials.

• I can’t stop putting Gooey vegan hazelnut spread on everything in my snack pantry, from pretzels to fruit.
• For those of you with nut allergies, we didn’t forget about you. Sunbutter’s 6-butter lineup is nut-free (and still delicious).
• Whether you like your nut butters spicy, chocolatey, crunchy, or smooth, Fix & Fogg has a butter for you.
• Craving dessert but low on ingredients and time? Whip up these 3-ingredient peanut butter cups that require just an hour of refrigeration time. And you can add in as many surprise ingredients as you like to customize.

We get it, giving great gifts can be a struggle. Whether they’re super picky or they keep claiming they “don’t want anything this year,” we’ve made it easier for you to worry about the important things...like what you’ll be picking up for yourself.

Check out our gift guide here.

This editorial content is supported by Roborock

MacBooks have their place—this newsletter was written on one!—but sometimes you need to travel light. That's where the iPad Pro comes in. For reading, gaming, or streaming on the go, it can't be beaten. Refer a friend before midnight (ET) tonight and you'll both have a chance to win.

Only readers with a US address are eligible to participate. And the more you refer, the more entries you get. Check out the full terms and conditions here.