π₯ βJanet Planet,β in Theaters: This movie, about a mother-daughter relationship during a New England summer, has the sensibility of a play, with luxurious time allotted to dialogue, and three distinct acts, marked by title cards. Written and directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Annie Baker (I loved her play, βThe Flick.β), itβs the perfect escape into a lazy summer. Side note: It reminded me to re-listen to this Van Morrison album, featuring his first wife Janet Planet on the cover. Iβm also curious to see Yorgos Lanthimosβ βKinds of Kindness,β though Iβve heard not-rave reviews. Have you seen it?
π Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood: In this tech-thriller, out today, Mitty observes the perfect couple who moved in next door, Lena and Sebastian. Their newly-built Santa Cruz house is state-of-the-art, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, all harsh angles and sheen compared to the nicotine-stained house Mitty shares with her older roommate. Things just seemβ¦ off, and get stranger as Lena befriends Mitty leading up to an ending I couldnβt get out of my head.
πΊ βAmericaβs Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleadersβ on Netflix: As someone who hasnβt watched reality TV in years, and has seen maybe an hour of football (yes, total), I may not be the target audience for this seven-part series on the βDCC,β but I was enthralled. The show follows a group of women from cheerleading auditions through training camp, and performances as theyβre paid an astoundingly low salary and held to next-level (and old-fashioned) standards of beauty and perfectionism, while performing as elite athletes. I couldnβt look away, and have demanded that every friend watch it so we can talk about it! I was also intrigued by βRen Faireβ on Max, though havenβt (yet) made it past the first episode.
P.S. Iβll be in Bend, Oregon this Thursday, July 11th at 6:30 PM in conversation with
(who I chatted with here) at Roundabout Books! You can purchase a ticket and secure your spot here, and buy Youβre Safe Here!At the end of last year, I found myself balancing my full-time Masterβs program, book edits, this newsletter, and several major life events that included moving twice, buying a house on my own, and going through a divorce. Not to mention, the one million things that go into being a functioning human, friend, and dog owner. It was chaoticβ¦ but not entirely unfamiliar. Iβve always approached my life, especially my career, with unbridled enthusiasm and underutilized brake pads. Iβm bursting with all the things I want to do and create, and feel an urgency to fit them all into this one life.
While Iβm actively working on tempering that urgencyβmaintaining the excitement I have, without constantly operating on the razorβs edge of burnout or a breakdownβIβve developed a number of practical tools for getting things done quickly and efficiently, so that I can better make room for things like rest. Read on for how I overcome procrastination (it really works!), manage my time to maximize efficiency and get things done, and how my WFH desk set-up is designed for maintaining focus.
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