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Hi Reader,
Yesterday, I was *rudely* informed (via a random classmate's post on Facebook) that it was 20 years to-the-day, of when I graduated high school. 🤯
The person who posted this (on her own profile –I just happened to see it), was sharing an official-looking grad portrait in her Valedictorian robes, tassel, hat & whatever else, –and I thought 2 things:
She looks GREAT! Hasn't aged a day. 😃🤔
...quickly followed by:
Wait ––do I even have any pictures of myself from that day? 😂
That day was all a blur. I've always been a jeans, t-shirt & sneakers kinda girl, and had totally wanted to wear my black converses as my 'black shoes' –but found out a day or two before that they "wouldn't let me walk" (participate) if I did that.
So I distinctly remember going store to store looking for black, closed-toe dress shoes specifically for graduation, having trouble finding anything I liked, and feeling very sure I'd never wear them again. (I was right about that!)
I actually never even WANTED to participate in the ceremony at all; I just wanted my piece of paper so I could GTFO. 😬
Looking back on it now, I have NO IDEA who took this picture of me & my high school friends, but it was the only one I could find on short notice as most of my pictures are still in boxes, in storage, from our last move or forgotten digital memories on some external hard drive backup that I couldn't locate either. 🫤
Anyway, –I say all this to say that time FLIES. Not just when "you're having fun" but also when you're busy just fucking adulting & doing life-things. Then one day when you look up, 20 years have passed & you'll realize that you still think '20 years ago' means the 80s. 🤣🫣
As we get older ––as I am getting older–– I'm more aware than ever that I spend a lot of my days responding & reacting to things, like emails & notifications, requests & to-do lists, organizing wish lists of some-day things...
And a lot less time doing nothing. Distraction free. Offline. Away from my desk & whatever responsibilities come with it. However much I love my 'job', some of my best ideas & brainstorming sessions come to me when I'm NOT working, or at my desk; when my brain has enough quiet to wander & think freely.
We don't give ourselves enough of that time, because 'time is precious' and 'time is money,' –but it's also our life.
How do we want to spend it? ––No, really.
After that graduation, a friend & I took our first road trip by ourselves. We road in a helicopter tour over the city, we did a ghost tour, went to a bunch of museums, stayed in crappy-but-safe hotels, and made some great memories!
Since then, I've lived in 3 different states, moved a grand total of 10 times –not kidding– to figure out how to do life for myself. It hasn't always been easy, and my life definitely hasn't always looked like it does to you now.
In light of that, this TikTok playlist (don't worry, you can watch without having an account or being logged in) on "Bare Minimum Mondays" is both funny & REAL, but it may also be helpful in working toward better work-life boundaries so we don't wake up in 20+ years wondering where the past 40 have wandered off to. 😏
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Lots of things happening per usual, around here! But here's the gist:
A (slow) LTDT website redesign is in full-swing 👩🏻💻
It's that time of year & my site needs a clean up, and a style readjustment. I've thrown up my favorite "It's never a good time to burn things down" popup, because yes this redesign is happening to my LIVE website. If ya see anything funky as you use it, let me know, but also keep in mind that it's a literal work-in-progress. A perfect example of "Slap. Shit. Up." from Laura Belgray, which I saw in this timely Instagram post today. 😂 Not that I plan to make it messy & haphazard –that's actually the opposite of my plan– but I'm not afraid of being messy during this change.
Keep us in your back pocket 👋🏻😃
The Club just got a fun upgrade –Circle's community platform just introduced a Desktop app! So you can access my private community and any others without being in your browser & getting lost in the (let's be real) 5,001 tabs.
Dubsado v3.0 is NICE
I just got access to the Alpha version (pre-Beta) of v3.0 and it's already sooo much better. I made a reaction video yesterday & plan to show ya around. This UI/UX update has been a LONG time coming! It'll be available later this year for everyone.
So if your excuse for 'hating on' Dubsado was because "it's ugly," then soon, it'll be harder to say that! Join the waitlist to get access earlier and help them test it before the public release. Use my affiliate code DAMN for 20% off your first payment if you're not already a subscriber.
Nesting birds –& this isn't a metaphor...
Try making YouTube videos when there's a nest of LOUD ASS baby Red-Winged Black Birds just 4-5ft from your microphone, right on the other side of your office window. 😬 Luckily, my mic doesn't pick up much of it –miraculously– and Descript's Studio Sound can further dampen it too, but OMG I can't hear myself think!
Mama bird flies back to the nest multiple times each hour to deliver food to her littles, and they squawk loudly each time. It'd be way less annoying if I could actually SEE them (how cute!), but I can't because the nest is hidden well, so it just feels like they're here to mock my productivity levels. 🤭🐦⬛🪺
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Now you know which 'task/project management' tool I use, which CRM, and which Client Portal app I use. But how & when do I switch apps, and then create the project in Kitchen*?
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See my project template, how I use it, and customize each project in my Client Portal app –without automations– in about 10minutes of low-lift effort.
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This week's gems & interesting finds!
⏯️
What's the difference between tools like Dubsado or Honeybook, Asana or ClickUp or Trello/etc, and Kitchen or Teamwork? Check it out next 👇🏼
Hint:
They're NOT interchangeable. 😉
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📆
I've done a fair bit of research over the years on public event calendar-sharing tools to replace AddEvent or EventBrite, etc. because there's not many options to share Free Event details with people AND allow them to subscribe to the event calendar for updates!
But AddCal is truly FREE to use. I don't even see a pricing page! And in the past week I've seen 2 other biz owners using it!
(vs Mixily & Lu.ma, which also take payments for ticketed events)
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📧
If you get 20-100+ emails a day that require your attention & responses... then OMG, I hope you're sitting down. 🪑🤭
Auto-labels all incoming emails to group them by 'to respond' vs 'marketing' AND auto-drafts responses.
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⏯️
My old videos are BAD. After 2023, they got a lot better! Hindsight's 20/20 but the difference was basically this 👇🏼 & I learned it through many trials & a mountain of errors (bad takes).
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📸
Make tutorial videos on YT and hate scrubbing back through the video to grab screenshots? Me too. 🫣
This FREE Chrome extension makes it A LOT faster/easier!
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⏯️
5 no-code tips to create more responsive designs in Squarespace's Fluid Engine editor (& more info on 3rd party tools like SquareKicker for this).
They'll definitely surprise you!
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Oh, and a lot of you voted for a workshop on how to sell/book VIP Days on autopilot, so I'm planning the content for that & will share the link closer to when that's ready. 🙌 Thanks to everyone who voted!! Got a lot of other related great ideas in the process, too.
That's all for now, so I'll see ya next week!
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Web Designer, Graphic Designer & Educator
Thrivin' on coffee, community, cursing & carefully laid plans!
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