Hello friend,

Did you know it’s Mental Health Awareness Week? This year’s theme is community, so I have been reflecting on how much being part of various communities has supported my mental health over the years. It really is a privilege to have you as part of this newsletter community—thank you for being here.

Much of today’s digest touches on mental health. I hope you find it useful. And if you haven’t already, take a moment to check your stress bucket.

Finally, a gentle reminder to book your spot on my Weekly Review Workshop. A weekly review is a great way to ground yourself and start the week with intention.

Here’s your digest…

✏️ Doodle Essays

Here is this week's short essay collection:

And here are the doodles:

📚 Read

I enjoyed the following articles this week:

Jevon's Paradox: A Personal Perspective (via Fakepixles—this article inspired one of my doodles this week and is an excellent read).
The Case for “Worrying Well” over “Not Worrying” (via Neurodivergent Insights—while the specific strategy in the article might not work for everyone, I found the notion of worrying "better" intriguing).

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

📺 Watch

I've shared this video clip before, but given it's Mental Health Awareness Week, I thought it would be good to share it again. The video demonstrates one of my favourite stress management breathing techniques: the physiological sigh.

If you are noise sensitive, the first few moments of the video feature a sound effect that I found quite jarring, so check your volume before pressing play.

⚒️ Tools

I have an app and some gear recommendations to share with you today.

The app is Praise Jar (basically, a mobile Smile File). I love this idea. It's an excellent way to save and revisit positive feedback.

And the gear?

I've been doing more online training lately, so I upgraded my webcam and lighting setup. I did lots of research and am delighted with my choices. Here's what I went for: Osbot Meet 2 webcam, Elgato Light Strip Pro, and Elgato Key Light (25% off at the time of writing in the UK Amazon store).

If you're curious about what's in my office, I have a list here: Office. I also have a list of the digital tools I use to run my life and business here: Tools. Both pages were updated today.

🎧 Listen

If you are running-curious (or already a runner), I enjoyed listening to comedian Romesh Ranganathan recounting his London Marathon experience on the latest episode of the Runna podcast.

I listen to podcasts in the Snipd app, but you can find shows and episodes I recommend wherever you like to listen to podcasts. 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: