#003—Idk what to do with all of these resources...
Hey all, I can’t believe we’re in June… I hope you’re having a good week so far. Some of you have messaged me this week and expressed feeling stressed and scattered lately. That’s a pretty natural response to our current climate and having so much on our minds. 💜
But it’s also related to the overwhelming amount of content and information we’re taking in right now. As someone who sends out a weekly email with resources, I’m very aware of what you might call “resource overload.”
It’s that feeling when you have tons of open browser tabs and unread newsletters, but the thought of reading, listening, or watching everything feels overwhelming.
Here are a few tips for fighting back:
Make a dedicated folder, bookmark list, or other space for what you’d like to catch up on. Make another for “finished” content so you can feel good about moving things out of your to-do.
Spend a little time curating what’s on the list. Don’t be afraid to cut things you know in your heart you probably won’t get to.
Set up a specific time to begin going through your list and make sure you have a reminder set.
Finally, cut yourself some slack. There’s too much out there for anyone to consume it all, and it’s better to read or listen to a few things and reflect on them than to constantly overload yourself with information.
More on Energy Management vs Time Management in Final Thoughts.
For now, remember to share the newsletter with anyone you think could use it. And if you’re new to the newsletter—welcome!—and remember to add shireen@substack.com to your contacts so the next editions don’t end up in your spam.
More good stuff 👇🏼
💼 CAREERS AND JOB HUNTING
Last week, I used this space to cover networking during the pandemic. A ton of people responded asking for help with reaching out to people and what they should say.
So, my team and I created this guide that covers networking during uncertain times. I hope you find it helpful, and as always, let me know if you have any feedback.
And additional resources:
Working remotely and thinking about the cost of living? 💸 Take your list of dream cities and plug them into a Relocation Calculator to find how far your salary goes on the basics. And if early retirement is high on your list, scout out cities with a lower cost of living with this Financial Independence Calculator.
Career Reinvention: Liz Ryan’s seminar was yesterday and here are the details. There should be a link to the recording or you can just email them for it!
Reminder, for internships: here is a list of companies hiring. And check out InsideSherpa as a platform for remote internships!
And as requested by a few of you: if you're a recruiter, or in a recruiting function, here is a list of companies hiring for recruiting roles!
This weekend’s bootcamp: This will be the last of my monthly job search bootcamps for a while - I’m going to be an aunt soon and will be busy spoiling my nephew! But if you’re actively job searching, or simply focused on networking more, come join this weekend. Tickets are available here 🚀 And shoutout to Playa Tech for co-hosting these bootcamps with me!
👋🏼 SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL HANGOUTS
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:
You wake up with a plan to do some meditation or mindfulness exercises throughout the day, and then when the time comes, you’re too busy or stressed to make time for it.
This happens to me all the time. I regularly RSVP to breathwork events and then don’t carve out time in my schedule to actually attend.
If you’re like me, try doing what I’ve started: I use the free stoic. app (no ad revenue here lol) to help keep me on track and guide me through some midday reflection and decompression activities. It even has breathwork and visualization exercises built in.
Even if you do make some time in the morning to reflect and clear your mind, I’d recommend trying it out in the afternoon, as well. If you’re busy, you might not realize how much tension you build up just over the course of a morning.
Anyway, here are some hangouts happening soon:
• Developing Emotional Agility
June 11th, 12:30 p.m. PDT
Recording may be available - email the organizers! This event may also happen again, so I’m adding it here to give you a heads up. The ability to manage one’s thoughts and feelings is essential to success. Emotional agility is about being mindful of our emotional state and consciously navigating our feelings rather than trying to suppress them. This session will focus on building an emotional vocabulary and generating situational awareness (e.g., how you perceive the world, how you respond to stress, and how this may be impacting your success). Details here.
• Out in Tech: Careers and Job Searching
June 13th, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. PDT
Join us on Saturday, June 13th for a half-day focused on making you a stand-out candidate. We’ve gathered a dozen seasoned experts to help you do it all: optimize your resume, nail your job interview, leverage LinkedIn, network, and more. We’ll also look at what industries are currently hiring, and what are optimal ways to navigate the job market right now. Plus stick around to network with hundreds of fellow LGBTQ+ techies! RSVP here.
• Reflecting on 2020
June 15th, 10:00 a.m. PDT
What if 2020 is the year we have been waiting for? A conversation around growth, living outside of your comfort zone, and creating a “new normal”. RSVP here.
• Take Control of Your Money, Womxn
June 16th, 10:00 a.m. PDT
Financially powerful women make the world better. Whether it’s a woman starting a business in Oakland, or a woman in South Africa taking charge of her family’s finances — when women take control of their finances, the ripple effects on the world are positive and real. RSVP here.
• Bloom Break w/ Nadia
June 17th, 9:30 a.m. PDT
Join us as we “stop to smell the roses” during this series of fun, virtual meetups! Connect with your community and invite nature into your home or workspace as we explore flower varieties, rediscover the joy of the seasons, and practice techniques to clear our mind, boost our mood, and re-energize for the day ahead. RSVP here.
😎 COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS
Every week, so many of you respond to this email and share resources, that I thought I should have a space to re-share them with the group.
So, the former “Fun Things To Brighten Your Day” section is now “Community Recommendations.”
Feel free to share a fun activity that everyone can enjoy from home, a cool resource you’ve been using, or an app, website, or podcast you love—I’ll do my best to reshare everything in the next installments of the newsletter.
For now, here’s what people have already sent me:
Black Lives Matter
Book Recommendations
Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson (coming up on my reading list)
Good Talk, by Mira Jacob (coming up on my reading list)
Adventures with A.I, by Rico Rojo (reading now - it’s fascinating!)
Lessons of History, by the Durants (read this last year - loved it)
Podcast Recommendations
MacroVoices - for investors and finance, although I think everyone should listen to understand how our financial system works
Joe Rogan’s episode with Kevin Hart - great motivation in this one, check out their most recent one, but also one prior.
⭐ FINAL THOUGHTS
“Energy management.” That’s the term my friend used last week while we were talking about how busy our schedules are.
My friend then proceeded to tell me it’s actually much more important than time management. Here’s why:
Have you ever made a plan for the day, or for the week, with everything timed out perfectly? From breakfast to checking email to signing off at the end of the day, everything is scheduled.
And then, somehow, you find yourself at the end of the day or the week, and you haven’t gotten everything done.
How could this happen?
The problem my friend was getting at is that time management alone isn’t enough. You can make schedules til the cows come home, but it won’t do you any good if you’re mentally or physically drained when it comes time to do something on your calendar.
Energy management is about reflecting and understanding when you have the energy to perform certain tasks and when you may need a break.
It’s about having a sense of your own strengths and limitations—and then modifying your schedule accordingly.
If you get a lot of work done in the morning and then feel brain dead by 2:00 p.m. (me), then you know to schedule your most energy-intensive work in the morning and keep lighter, less important work for the afternoon.
But don’t be a slave to your schedule. If you get a burst of energy when you aren’t expecting it, try not to tell yourself it isn’t “the right time” to do something. Use your energy when you’ve got it!
I’d love to know what you all think about this, so let me know if you practice energy management or if you have any stories about how you schedule your days and weeks. 😀
And of course, keep that energy positive and kind as we all navigate our current times. Let me know where else I can help, and simply reply to this email to share feedback or community resources. I love hearing from you.
- Shireen
