👋 Save This for a Brain Break
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.
Greetings friend.
It’s me - Jen Glantz. Welcome to December. I love this month. I don’t use these 31 days to take a bunch of actions and try to get a million things done.
I use it to reflect.
I want to replay all the days of my life this year and judge them.
Pick them apart.
One of my favorite Taylor Swift songs is called Back to December.
It’s a love song, sort of, but I love it because it’s about wanting desperately to go back in time and realizing that you can’t. You simply can’t relive your memories or mistakes.
But you can in your mind.
There are some months of the year when I rush to create. Where I’m desperate to launch something new and shiny that wows the world.
But if you see me in December, I’m bundled up in the back of some coffee shop sitting in a booth daydreaming.
I’m not very good at saying goodbye but I am very good at thinking about all that I want to say goodbye to.
So I reflect. I replay. I revisit the monsters and the monsoons of the year. I love them for what they are. I see them off and hope they don’t come back to haunt me. And I cherish the blooms of the past months and see what I can do to wrangle them in my arms and schlep them with me into the newness of the next year.
In this issue: A bunch of things for your brain if you need a break or something to keep you busy during the last little month of the year.
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.
âš¡Instant Pick Me Ups
Ps. All of the picks from the past few months are all inside this list here!
‘Tis the seasons for our inboxes to be buzzing and our brains to be desperate for a break. I wanted to share some extra picks this week that I’m truly adoring.
Helpful on Instagram
I love this Instagram account. She shares tips on how to pose for photos so you look confident and not awkward.
A Free App I’m Obsessed With
I’ve mentioned this for weeks but I really love the Libby app. I’m listening to a ton of audiobooks on there for free because it connects to my library card.
An Article Worth a Read
For those of you going to office holiday parties, here’s how to make it through and get home ASAP.
A Gift I Want to Give Everyone
The best gift I’ve found so far are these board games that look like books. I think they are perfect for anyone who loves to have board games around the house but also cares about aesthetics and decor.
Netflix Movies to Binge
I watched two really good movies on Netflix this week. Both are sweet like a cup of tea. This one and this one.
Gift List to Make
I’m being strategic about gifts this year and here’s what my process looks like.
First, I set an overall budget. I said I only want to spend a total of x this year on gifts for everyone. I picked that number based on my personal finances, my savings goals, and my spending so far this year. The number was tight, considering how many people I want to get gifts for. I also live in an apartment building with (10) different people to tip and that gets pricey. But I factored that into my overall gift budget.
Then I wrote down every single name. My gift list was around 35 people.
Next to each person, I jotted down ideas. Then I started doing the math and divided up the budget so that next to each person’s name, there was an amount I wanted to spend.
As I bought gifts, I kept track of my budget and adjusted numbers next to names of people I didn’t get gifts for yet.
So far, I’ve spent 10% of my budget on three gifts. I have a long ways to go!
Email People for Fun
My friend Molly wrote this book years ago and it still inspires me to this day to email - everyone. In December, I send as many thank you emails to people as I can. I also send emails to people I don’t know thanking them for something that they did. My friend Bonnie gifted me the book I read Gemma every night before bed. I have memorized the book and love it so much because it was one of the first traditions I started with her. I recently emailed the author to thank her for writing the book. I watched a movie the other day and loved it so I emailed the screenwriter. Sometimes I hear back, but it’s not about that. It feels good to say thank you for things that changed your year.
The End-of-Year Inventory Recap
I spent most of November using this newsletter as a little home for you to take inventory on your year so far. The year-end inventory is five parts and can be done in any order, though I’d recommend you start from the top.
I’m sharing all five parts below in case you want to get started, missed a section, or want to share this with someone you adore.
As a recap: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. and part 5
If you did the inventory, let me know!
If you want to say hello, please do so!
Here I am:
Thank you SO SO much for this year-end inventory exercise. I LOVE it; really helps give perspective on what was experienced during the year, what was learned and what can be improved, but most important, how grateful to be connected to incredibly talented jewels. You are a GEM Jen.