Hello friend,

I hope your week has gone well and that you have some rest planned for this weekend. I certainly benefited from last weekend’s enforced downtime.

There’s something I forgot to mention in last week’s email (a sure sign that I was under the weather!).

A few weeks back, I mentioned that I was thinking about moving this newsletter to Substack and introducing a paid tier. Many of you shared thoughtful feedback (thank you), and, as you know, based on that, I decided to keep things as they are for now.

In response to my feedback, several readers suggested I create a virtual tip jar for anyone who’d like to say thanks for the free content I share in this newsletter. I thought that was a lovely idea, so you’ll find a button for it at the end of this email—no obligation, of course, but it’s there if you ever fancy it.

On to this week’s digest.

✏️ Doodle Essays

First up, I'm sharing my doodles and essays from this week.

The first explores the phrase "feedback is a gift" from a slightly different angle.

The second celebrates a personal milestone: 500 Days Alcohol-Free. If you've not been following along with my sobriety experiment (undertaken for health improvement reasons), this recent post includes links to the others in this series.TL;DR: I feel great, I'm not going back, and if you are sober-curious and want to chat, reply to this email.

I also updated my website's Tools page, so if you are curious about the tools I use to run my life and business, please take a look. You can see what's in my office here: Office.

📚 Read

Here are some articles from other creators I thought you might enjoy:

This article from Kate Sotsenko is an interesting take on how to say no in a professional setting (I'll admit she had me at "hostage negotiators").
Ryan Holiday's opening to this article, "I have a hobby and it's weird", had me immediately intrigued...

If you're curious about the books I'm reading, you can see my library in Tana here: Library.

📺 Watch

Here's an interesting discussion about how to leave work time at work:

Autumn is "Knitting Season" for me, so I found myself in a KnitTube (a thing?) rabbit hole last night.

The Sophie Scarf is an excellent choice for knitters who have mastered the basics. It's plain, but beautifully finished and would look good on anyone. I like the look of the shawl version and the hood, too.

And if you've never knitted before, perhaps it's a good hobby to explore as an alternative to scrolling on your phone...? Curious? Start here.

🎧 Listen

On the subject of scrolling, Cal Newport is still on a mission to get us off our phones (more so than usual), and I am here for it. Episode 374: This is Your Brain on Phones is a good listen or watch:

I listen to podcasts in the Snipd app, but you can find shows and episodes I recommend on your preferred podcast platform. Use my referral link to get a month of Snipd Premium for free.

That's all from me today. Have a great week, and I will be in touch again next weekend.

Best wishes,

Martine

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help: