🤔 Brainteaser of the day: I can be found at the start of every journey, the root of every goal, and the heart of every change. What am I?

Click here to see the answer.

✅ Today's Checklist:

• Thania shares AI home design tips

• The new HBO show that's giving major Game of Thrones energy

• Pet of the week: Meet Murphy  
  

🗓️ Wed 2/25 9AM PT: Recap emails, follow-ups, and documenting next steps can quietly eat up hours each week. This session will show you a simpler way to stay on top of everything. Register here.

QUICK LINKS

🌅 If your mornings feel chaotic before 8am, try these 7 grounding steps.

🤖 Learn how to leverage AI tools to build authority without sounding like a bot.

🛁 Skip the spa bill and pamper yourself at home instead.

💛 Positive DONUT delivers good news without the doom.

INTERIOR DESIGN

What Happened When I Let AI Design My Airbnb Bedroom

I love ChatGPT. I use it for everything. But when I think of AI for interior design, it sounds gimmicky. And honestly, a couple of Instagram ads have gotten me. I've downloaded an "AI" interior design app only to be fooled and disappointed.

But Joanna (co-founder of the Assist) swears by it. She's successfully used it to design several rooms in her home. I've dabbled with it for helping me find a certain type of pillow or asking it to help me with my color scheme, but I haven't yet honed it in for a full-blown interior design consult.

So let's give her a whirl, shall we?

Styling my Airbnb bedroom

I recently listed my condo on the Airbnb market and need help styling my primary bedroom. What goes on the nightstands? What kind of lamps? How do I tie it in with my bedspread and pillows?

Here's how I used AI to actually solve this problem.

Step 1: I fed it my vision

Before touching AI, I'd already spent tons of time collecting visual inspiration. I pulled together Pinterest boards, saved images of rooms I liked, and created a color palette mood board. I had a clear vision of what it should look like. I fed it some poorly taken pictures of the room and screenshots of my personal mood board deck I'd created on Canva:

Step 2: I crafted a strategic prompt

I didn't just say "design my bedroom." I was specific about the role, constraints, and goals.

Here's the prompt I used:

"You're a top short-term rental interior designer. Craft me 3 mood boards or mockups based on my photo and the inspo document I've provided. What questions do you have for me?"

You could customize this based on your needs:

• "You're a top interior designer for busy families with young kids"

• "You're a top interior designer specializing in small apartment living"

• "You're a top interior designer for maximalist, colorful spaces"

The more context you give, the better.

Step 3: I answered the follow-up questions

ChatGPT asked me clarifying questions. I answered them thoughtfully:

The more details I provided, the more tailored the results.

Step 4: Review the drafts and request specific deliverables

It provided me with 4 awesome options! However, #4 was cut off, but I could still get the gist.

Then I asked for exactly what I needed:

• "Build me a shopping list"

• "Can you provide me with links to each of these items on Amazon? Or can you help me use Amazon's AI Rufus tool to find them?"

ChatGPT generated:

• Shopping lists with specific items

• Multiple design concepts to choose from

• Mockups showing how the room could look

• Product recommendations within my budget

Step 5: I refined with follow-ups

The first result was good, but I wanted to see more options. So I asked:

"Can you mock up the room with my preferred colors and this pop art?"

And it generated a mockup with my "BIRDIE baby" pop art piece above the bed, blush pink accents, and the exact vibe I was going for.

My verdict

I was skeptical. But this actually worked. I think ChatGPT's 5.2 Model has come a long way and the image creation is way better than it used to be.

If you've been hesitant about AI for interior design, I suggest giving it a try! It saved me a lot of time and as a visual person, having the mockup was incredibly helpful.

So, I'm officially a convert. I can't wait to make this Airbnb bedroom design a reality!

P.S. If you're ever in the Coeur D' Alene, ID area and want to rent a condo, just let me know in the message that you're a TA subscriber, and I'll give you a homie discount!

HR TOOLS

Doing Everything Doesn't Mean Doing It All Manually

Modern HR is more than payroll + paperwork. It's onboarding, performance, compliance, manager support, engagement, reporting, and still answering "where do I find that form?" without losing your mind.

If your current setup relies on spreadsheets, scattered docs, and manual follow-ups, the bottleneck usually isn't your team. It's the system.

Here are two HR platforms that excel in different lanes:

If you want culture + insight across teams

HiBob is the move when employee experience and visibility matter as much as admin.

Best at: engagement tools (shoutouts, surveys), dynamic org charts, and people analytics that help you spot trends (like team health, retention signals, and manager patterns), especially useful for distributed or global teams.

If you want clean, centralized HR that actually runs itself

BambooHR is a great fit when you need one home base for employee info, onboarding, time-off, and approvals without building a whole HR tech stack to get there.

Best at: organizing employee records, simplifying onboarding + offboarding, managing PTO/approvals, performance check-ins, and reporting that doesn't require 12 tabs and a prayer.

Quick pick: "level up engagement + insights" → HiBob. "streamline core HR + onboarding + approvals" → BambooHR.

STAFF PICKS

📚 Read: No One Would Do What the Lamberts Have Done by Sophie Hannah

The pacing stays tight, the characters are morally messy in the most readable way, and the twists are the kind that make you stop mid-page and re-read what you just finished.

📺 Watch: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (HBO)

If you miss Westeros but don't necessarily want the emotional stress of peak Game of Thrones, this is a great re-entry point. It's more character-driven and playful while still delivering the good stuff: sword fights, status games, and enough intrigue to keep you hitting "next episode."

🎧 Listen: Gut Punch by Nick Jonas

It's basically a pep talk for your inner child: you're not behind, you're not broken, and you're doing fine. Put it on when you need self-compassion that doesn't feel cheesy.

EXCEL SKILLS

Make Excel Do the Work for Once

If spreadsheets keep turning into a time-suck (and you're constantly fixing the same issues over and over), it's probably not your Excel skills — it's that no one ever taught you the systems.

Miss Excel's free 60-minute class shows you how to stop "hand-cleaning" data and start setting up repeatable shortcuts, including how to:

• Clean messy data fast (extra spaces, weird formatting, inconsistent names, duplicates — gone)

• Record simple macros you can run anytime to repeat the same steps in one click (no coding required)

• Automate the tasks you dread, like standardizing reports, prepping files, and tidying exports

Bonus: you'll learn a quick "before you touch anything" checklist so you don't accidentally break formulas, overwrite columns, or turn one fix into five new problems.

You'll leave with practical skills you can use immediately — the kind that save you minutes every day and hours every month (and make you feel mildly unstoppable).

👉 Register free and let Excel do the heavy lifting for once.

JUST FOR FUN

COMMUNITY

🗓️ Upcoming Events

• Wed 2/25 @ 9AM PT: Turn Your Meetings Into Action, Instantly

• On Demand: 2026 Compliance Predictions Companies Can't Afford to Ignore

* Smart Girl Society is our private community for women who want deeper conversations, accountability, and tools that actually make life easier. Join the waitlist to get in the next round.

🐶 Pet of the Week: Meet Murphy

Murphy is 1 year old and a complete purr machine. She almost always has a grey mouse toy in her mouth and loves bringing them into bed or leaving them in our shoes. She is obsessed with swimming in the laundry hamper, sitting on the bath mat to supervise showers, and cuddling with her older brothers Fritz and Phineas.

🐾 Got a cute fur baby? Submit them to be our pet of the week in an upcoming issue.

💼 Browse our job board here.

SPILL THE TEA

Our Weekly Work Horoscope Feb 23-27, 2026

Want this personalized to your actual birth chart? Try Eume for free.

♈️ ARIES: Hold The Line. Someone is challenging your leadership this week. Hold the line. Your authority is earned, not given. Avoid the big speech. Instead, present the data that proves your point. A budget meeting will get messy. Double-check every single line item yourself before you send it. Shut your office door and map out your next three steps alone. Your best moves are made in private right now. Let them wonder what you are planning.

♉️ TAURUS: Suddenly Visible. Everyone is suddenly paying attention to you. Do not shrink from it. This is the result of all that quiet, consistent work you have been doing for months. People see your value. Your job is to simply stand in that light. Go to that awkward networking happy hour. Just one. A quiet colleague is struggling. Offer to review their work without being asked. Your stability is your most valuable asset.

♊️ GEMINI: Read The Fine Print. Your big ideas are getting noticed. Now prove you can handle the small stuff too. A tech glitch or a misread email will try to derail you. It is a test. Slow down and fix it. Before you hit send on that important email asking for more money, let it sit for ten minutes. Read it again. Your network has your back, but they cannot save you from your own typos.

♋️ CANCER: Ask For More. Your confidence is your best professional asset this week. People are drawn to it. Use this moment to make a bold request. Schedule that meeting with your boss to discuss your future role. Use the word 'autonomy'. A conversation about the team budget will get tense. State your needs clearly and without apology. Say yes to the weird coffee invitation. It leads somewhere interesting. This is your moment to expand.

♌️ LEO: Share The Spotlight. You have a big vision and the drive to match. Great. Now you need to get your closest partners on board. This is not a solo mission. A negotiation requires your patience, not just your passion. Listen to their concerns before you make your final pitch. Publicly praise a teammate for their contribution to your recent win. Sharing the credit now gets you the backup you need for your next big idea.

♍️ VIRGO: Just Ask. You are stuck on a technical problem. Stop trying to solve it alone. The answer is in someone else's head. Send a one-line Slack message to that expert in the other department. Just ask. Your daily grind feels heavy because you are focusing on the wrong details. In contract talks, pin people down on vague statements. Do not sign anything until the expectations are crystal clear. Your precision is your protection.

♎️ LIBRA: No More Hints. Your professional reputation is sparkling right now. But your desk is a mess and your inbox is chaos. Stop everything and organize your schedule for the rest of the week. It will save you. A collaborator is not pulling their weight. The time for subtle hints is over. Tell them directly what you need and when you need it. That directness will feel uncomfortable. Do it anyway. It protects your work.

♏️ SCORPIO: Do The Admin. Your big-picture ideas are brilliant. But your foundation is shaky. Your grand plans will fail if your daily systems are a mess. Block off one hour on Tuesday just to clean up your digital files. It is boring but necessary. Your creative work is getting attention. Keep being bold. Just remember to follow the bureaucratic rules for now. It is faster to comply than to fight it. Your discipline is your secret weapon.

♐️ SAGITTARIUS: Pause Before Sending. Your words have extra weight this week. That means they can build things up or burn them down. Choose carefully. Before you send that brutally honest Slack message, take a breath. Wait five minutes. There is usually a gentler way to say the same thing. Financial talks get tense. Keep your receipts organized and your emotions in check. Your best move is to create stability in your own daily routine. It grounds you.

♑️ CAPRICORN: State Your Price. One More Time. The results are in. Your work has been excellent, and people see it. This is one more week to talk about money. Your words carry authority, so use them to negotiate for what you are worth. In your next one-on-one, start the conversation about your salary or rate. Stop giving discounts. A creative idea needs a budget. Be realistic about the costs. Your reputation is solid. Now make sure your bank account reflects it.

♒️ AQUARIUS: Lead From The Front. You are the center of attention. Good. Use this visibility to redefine your role on your own terms. People are looking to you for direction. Send a team-wide email that clearly outlines the top three priorities for the week. Yes, the small administrative tasks are annoying, but do them without complaint. A small error now creates a big headache later. Your clear communication prevents chaos for everyone. Set the standard.

♓️ PISCES: The Secret Weapon. Your quiet work is about to pay off. You have a secret strategy and it is a good one. Write it all down, but do not share it with anyone yet. Let the results speak for themselves. Your charisma is high, which helps win over skeptics in meetings. Just be careful a money conversation does not get confusing. Wait for total clarity. Your intuition about a teammate is spot on. Observe, but do not act.

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