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| | | ✅ Today's Checklist: Why hobbies matter more than you think Kristel's real-life take on work-life balance Recipe of the week: Pan Seared Cod in White Wine Tomato Sauce
🤔 Trivia: President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a "War on Poverty" in which major address delivered on January 8, 1964? Find out.
👀 See all of the January 2026 Wellness Wednesday Trivias. |
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| | | | | | | When "Fun" Fell Off Your To-Do List |
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| When was the last time you did something purely because it was enjoyable?
Not useful. Not impressive. Not something you felt obligated to turn into progress.
If nothing comes to mind, play may have quietly slipped out of your routine.
For a lot of adults, this happens gradually. Work expands. Energy narrows. Free time gets optimized, scheduled, or sacrificed. Activities that once felt restorative start to feel optional, then inconvenient, then unnecessary.
But enjoyment isn't excess. It plays a role in how the brain regulates stress and recovers from sustained effort.
Why play matters
When you engage in activities purely for enjoyment, your brain releases chemicals associated with mood regulation and stress reduction. It also activates regions involved in creativity, emotional regulation, and flexible thinking. This is part of how the brain resets between demands.
Research shows adults who maintain hobbies have lower stress levels, better sleep, and stronger overall mental health. These benefits aren't tied to mastery or achievement. They come from regular exposure to low-stakes enjoyment.
Play supports the same systems you rely on when work gets heavy.
What happens when it disappears
Play deprivation is linked to higher stress reactivity, decreased emotional flexibility, and increased risk of depression. Without play, the nervous system stays "on" longer than it should.
Play also creates conditions for flow, that state where attention settles, time fades, and effort feels contained instead of draining. Flow is connected to lower anxiety, higher satisfaction, and better focus.
Without opportunities for that kind of engagement, mental fatigue accumulates faster.
How to bring play back without overcomplicating it
Most people don't struggle to find time. They struggle to justify using it this way.
You don't need to be good at a hobby. You don't need a plan. You don't need to prove it's "worth it." The only requirement is that it feels appealing enough to begin.
Start with something small and self-contained. Choose activities that don't demand improvement or output.
Easy entry points: Crafts: Making something tangible without a performance goal Knitting or crocheting: Rhythmic, grounding, and finite Puzzles: Structured focus without urgency Movement: Activities chosen for enjoyment, not optimization Collecting: Objects that invite curiosity or nostalgia Cooking or baking: Exploration without efficiency pressure Gardening: Caring for something external to your workload Music: Listening deeply or learning slowly Reading: Fiction, chosen for pleasure alone
Avoid turning it into a project. Let interest determine how long you stay with it.
Enjoyment doesn't need a secondary benefit to be legitimate. |
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| | | | Make Every Part of Your Practice Work Better |
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| Leadership is a mix of big decisions and everyday tasks. The key is building systems that support your people, protect your time, and grow with you.
Here's where to start: one task at a time, done right.
👥 Streamline your HR processes Use BambooHR to manage hiring, onboarding, time off, and team data—without the paperwork pile-up.
💰 Keep your financials clean and current Use Xero for simple dashboards, real-time visibility, and no messy spreadsheet juggling.
📇 Fill your pipeline with the right prospects Use Apollo.io for targeted outreach and lead tracking that helps your team focus on what moves the needle.
🧾 Make payroll easy and accurate Use Patriot to run payroll, handle tax filings, and stay compliant—with fewer HR headaches.
🛡️ Get the coverage your business actually needs Use biBerk for quick quotes, tailored protection, and zero guesswork.
🛍️ Sell smarter with seamless POS Use GoDaddy to power your online store, manage in-person sales, and sync it all in one place.
Set your systems up right, and the rest gets easier. |
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| | | | What "Balancing It All" Actually Looks Like (At My House, Anyway) |
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| I'm a mom of two—a boy (10) and a girl (12). I work from home. So does my husband. And like a lot of you, I spend most days trying to hold it all together without totally losing it.
Here's the short list of things I try to stay on top of:
Cooking homemade meals (because I actually love it... when I'm not exhausted).
Keeping track of school events, homework, activities, permission slips, all of it.
Spending real time with my husband; not just sitting next to each other on laptops.
Planning occasional family road trips to shake us out of routine.
Keeping the house clean and organized enough that I don't feel like I'm drowning.
And when there's time left? Taking care of me—a workout, a moment to breathe, a podcast that isn't about parenting or productivity.
Some weeks, I feel like I've got a good rhythm. Other weeks, it's survival mode. I'm throwing together whatever's in the fridge, rescheduling dentist appointments, promising myself I'll catch up on work over the weekend—and then not doing it, because I'm tapped out.
The pressure to "balance it all" is real. But I've stopped thinking of balance as a finish line or a 50/50 split. For me, it's more like a scale that's constantly adjusting. Some days tip toward the kids. Some days, toward deadlines. Some days, toward the laundry pile that's slowly taking over the living room.
It's not perfect. But it's mine.
I've learned to ask myself a few questions that help me recalibrate:
Where do I actually need to show up today?
What can slide without everything falling apart?
And when's the last time I sat with my kids without multitasking?
Those moments—the ones where I put my phone down, really listen, or share something that's been on my mind—are what bring me back to center. They don't fix the overwhelm, but they remind me why I care so much about trying in the first place.
I still struggle with mom guilt. I don't think that ever fully goes away. But I've stopped trying to eliminate it. Now I just try to make peace with it, knowing it comes from love, not failure.
I'm also learning that balance doesn't mean doing everything all the time. It means choosing what matters most right now, and trusting that the rest can wait a little.
This is the version of balance that's working for me right now:
Flexible. Imperfect. Intentional.
And I'm curious: what does your version look like?
What helps you feel grounded when everything's pulling you in different directions?
What are you proud of lately, even if no one else sees it?
Hit reply. I'd love to hear your take. |
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| | | | | New Year, New Language, No Guilt |
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| You give everything to everyone—deadlines, dinners, diapers, deliverables. But where's the space for you?
Learning a language isn't indulgent.
It's growth. It's confidence. It's a win that's yours alone.
Promova was built for busy women who want real progress without the pressure. No draining study sessions. No gamified guilt trips. Just quick, flexible lessons you can fit into the nooks of your day:
☕ While the coffee brews 📱 In the school pickup line 🧠 When your brain needs a break, not a scroll
12 languages. Real results. Zero pressure.
This year, stop waiting for the perfect time.
Start learning with Promova. |
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| | | Stuff We're Loving This Week |
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| | 👉 Klaviyo got every employee personally committed to using AI (you can do it, too). Learn how on 2/4. |
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