I Pressed the Wrong Button
It's Monday. I'm Here for You.
The Pick Me Up is a Monday morning newsletter filled with advice, personal stories, and tips to help you get out of bed and jumpstart your week.
I’ve put almost everything in my life on pause right now.
I’m a few seasons into Breaking Bad. I haven’t turned on the TV since March.
I have a pile of clothes in the back of my closet to list on Poshmark. I haven’t used the app since January.
I’m in an awkward twist with a good friend right now and our relationship needs to be ironed out with a few conversations and get togethers, I think, but I haven’t sent her a message about it.
There are times in our lives when we’re to-do list conquerors.
Everything is in motion.
But then there are times when we let things pile up again.
Know what season you’re in and embrace it.
Don’t put up such a fight.
It’s okay to pause. It doesn’t mean you’ve given up. It doesn’t mean you’ve become a permanent couch curler. It doesn’t mean you won’t get your spark back.
It just means that right now, you need to zoom in on a smaller world with less noise and really hold on tight to what’s in front of you.
And if you need to, buy yourself a pause button. Bring it out and stick it on your desk when you need a reminder that life doesn’t always have to be a marching parade. It sometimes feels good to let it slow down.
In this issue: how to know when something needs to be paused, my go-to work from home outfit, and an NYC apartment update.
Why you’re getting this: I'm Jen Glantz and this is The Pick-Me-Up newsletter. I've been sending it every Monday, for 8-years, to thousands of awesome humans, just like you. Thank you for letting this email live in your inbox. It truly makes my heart explode with joy.
Ps. I’m so grateful that you’re reading this because writing this newsletter every week is my favorite thing. If you know anyone who would adore getting this in their inbox, it would mean the world if you’d share it.
⚡Instant Pick Me Ups
📚: Put together a collection of my favorite books here.
📄: Giving you a reminder that your health is important. If you haven’t done your annual doctor’s appointments, use this as a nudge to get those on your calendar. Here are the doctors I saw last month because I was feeling anxious about my health.
Dermatologist: Annual skin cancer check
OBGYN: Annual exam
General: Annual physical
🎧: Her sense of humor is really fun + odd and I adore her on TikTok. She started quite the interesting podcast that I’ve decided to binge this week.
🎵: I love listening to this song pretending i’m 18 again.
🛍️: This is my go-to look Monday through Friday
I wear these shoes most of the day
I like to wear three necklaces like these. It helps change a more plain looking outfit to look more put together.
These biker shorts are the best. I’ve shared them before!
My friends in college used to make fun of me for wearing shirts like this one but this is what I pair with biker shorts and the stack of necklaces. It’s my weekly work from home uniform.
🛠️: I built a tool! It can write you a custom maid of honor speech in minutes.
📢: If you need any graphic design help (logos, branding, pitch decks, etc.) my really good friend is an amazing graphic designer. She does a lot of work for TV/Film and is impacted by the writer/actor strikes. I wanted to share her info. in case you need a graphic design pick-me-up!
Things That You Can Put on Pause When You Need To
I was venting to my mom about a close friend of mine.
For a while, things with this friend have felt off.
It’s so obvious.
If we were new friends, the relationship would certainly have melted into the future. But because we have history, it doesn’t feel so easy to ignore.
I called my mom to tell her that I just don’t know what to do because neither one of us is doing anything about it.
“It needs a pause,” my mom said.
I am a person who lives in extremes.
I either love you so much or I don’t have a place for you in my life.
I’m either overwhelmed with excitement about doing something or I won’t even bother to give it a try.
But there’s this space in between that i’m really looking to get comfortable with.
It’s a space where I’m not 100% in and I’m not 100% out.
Somewhere in the middle.
“A pause?” I questioned my mother. “What does that mean?”
“It means you stop trying to give the mental energy into making this friendship whole again and you let it be what it is,”she said.
So much of what happens to us in life is about timing.
And timing isn’t something we have control over.
If something isn’t working right now or you don’t have the space in your life for it, pause it.
There might be a time again when it makes sense or time might show you how you’re able to move on without it.
Time makes us all different versions of ourselves.
And if we don’t pause and see that, we lug around people, places, and things that are trying to tell us they are living on their own time too.
So what can you pause in your life? Anything.
Friendships.
Plans.
Subscriptions.
Hobbies.
Giving it something your “all”.
Routines.
Self-care.
Being the best version of yourself.
A goal you’ve been attached to forever.
Working out.
An argument.
It turns out, I didn’t call my mom because I wanted a friendship solution.
I called her because I needed confirmation to do what felt right.
If you’re looking for permission, ask yourself for it.
Then, press pause.
Hi, It’s Me!
Apartment update: Still looking around town. We refresh StreetEasy every morning and if there are new listings we stroll on over within the hour. Places are getting swooped up so fast. We saw an apartment we sort of liked. It was a small space with a large price. The lady showed us that there were already 15 applications in for the apartment. I’ve lived in New York City for over a decade. Never once have I said: Wow, it’s really easy to live here. Don’t get me wrong. It’s fun living here and it’s really awesome. But easy? It’s not easy to live here at all. It’s even harder to stay here when you know life would be breezy somewhere else. But even so, here I am, refreshing apartment listings, trying to unpack my life inside another place in a city that’s constantly kicking my a….
New: I’m really into trying new workouts these days. For so long, I did the high-intensity workout 5-days a week. My body isn’t feeling great anymore doing burpees and pushups for 45-minutes straight. I’ve been trying new classes around town, like pilates and yoga (I use this to find the classes). I’m beyond intimidated walking into these classes but I walk in, make eye contact with the people in the waiting area, and introduce myself to the instructor right away. I say something like: Hi! I’m Jen. This is my first-time and I’m excited to be here.” I notice when I do that, I release some of my nervous tension and can relax during the class a bit more.
Extra nice: I feel like the month of July was a super tough one for a lot of people I love. It was tough for me too. I don’t have any advice. I just want to say if July was tough or if August is feely heavy, I see you, and I am sending you virtual love.
What do you want to read about next week? Let me know by leaving a comment:
Until next Monday…All my love,
Jen Glantz
Loved this issue, Jen. What I want to read about next week? Honestly, I would love to hear more about your project with James Altucher. I got to know you via his Podcast and loved the episodes with you.