Puzzles, Pace, and Purpose
Wordl fun, Honey Stinger deals, and a powerful program helping youth and dogs.
This week’s dispatch has a little bit of everything. It’s Substack potpourri!
Did you see that the New York Times Wordl now lets you create custom puzzles? They can be 4-7 letters, and the one I made for you is the customary 5 letter variety. Let me know how many guesses it takes you? Side note: I’m still making a daily habit of Sixtep, and the shift from five to six letters is pretty tough. Try it!
The Cornell field hockey team’s turf inside Barton Hall was finally removed, making way for the Finger Lakes Runners Club winter workouts. This week’s inaugural workout was a great way to get speed work in with a lot of friends (60-ish). If you’re in the Ithaca area this winter and want to find a way to get a good workout in, check it out. I definitely work myself a lot harder than I ever would alone outside or on a treadmill.
If you’re looking to stock up on training fuel, Honey Stinger is running a great promo through December 2 (I think)—and as someone who relies on their waffles and chews for both long training sessions and race-day energy, I can’t recommend them enough. Use code AUTUMN30 to get 30% off. Plus, if you spend $100 or more, you can add the Hive 25 Winter Beenie to your cart and use code FREEBEANIE to get it for free. I did, and it’s a pretty awesome hat.
As we get into the season of giving, consider supporting Project POOCH—a nonprofit led by my sister-in-law, Sarah Bradham. The program pairs incarcerated youth with shelter dogs in a unique rehabilitation model where both learn trust, confidence, and unconditional love. Through training, caretaking, and the responsibility of being relied on by another living being, the youth gain work ethic, adaptability, and a sense of self-worth, while the dogs receive compassionate training and find their forever homes. Here’s Sarah’s recent interview with Portland’s ABC affiliate.
A Tip for the Modern Worker
Create physical boundaries. When you work and live in the same space, the lines between the two modes can become concernedly blurry. Create routines around transitioning from one mode to the other. Do you have a dedicated space for work? It’s effective to leave it at the end of the workday. Bonus points if that space has a door! If you’re working in a shared space, stow your notes, phone, and laptop away when you’re done for the day. Out of sight, out of mind!
This tip is one of 365 in my Handbook for the Modern Worker. That followed my first book, The Art of Working Remotely, about my experience working from home since 1998. Depending on where you work and which way the wind is blowing, these may be banned books or fan fiction. I hope it’s the latter.
Mail Bag: If you work remotely and have come across an issue that needs solving, a thorn that needs removing, or just an observation you’d like to share, hit reply. I’d love to hear from you.
5🤗