It's that time of the week!

First, a little personal plug 😌: The high schoolers in Youth Ambassadors of Service's fellowship program have been working so hard over the last nine months interning with a local nonprofit, participating in our curriculum, and hosting their large-scale Impact Initiative for their host organization. For those based in RDU, we'd love to have you at our Impact Showcase (sign up here), where students practice their public speaking skills and show off all the cool things they've been up to!

👀 My Musings

So, yoga and meditation. I've never seen myself as the sort of person to do either of these things relatively consistently. Because y'all, I don't think you understand how busy my brain is (which, granted, means I likely need it more than if my brain wasn't busy).

A few weeks ago, I started doing twenty-minute yoga sessions and five-minute meditations here and there when I have a moment, but it's genuinely taken me weeks of this to get my brain to quiet down during these practices. I just did a yoga sesh, and this is basically how the first ten minutes go:

• "OH, I need to respond to ___."
• "ECON 410..."
• "Wow, that would make a cool business idea... someone should do that!"
• "I should've turned on my diffuser; it makes for an even better yoga-esque zone."

Overall, I've gotten good at focusing during a deep work session or in class, but stopping the thoughts altogether? That's been another ballgame (if you need help deep work focusing, Deep Work by Cal Newport was my favorite book to help with tips and tricks on that front).

But, whenever I do a yoga, meditation, or journaling sesh, I come out with more clarity and peace. I always think my brain is too busy to have a good ROI on the ten to twenty minutes spent, but it works 🤭. So, my resources!

What's Worked for Me:

• Keeping my yoga mat out to reduce the friction anytime I want to use it.
• Make time for yoga or meditation in your morning or nighttime routine (I know it ain't daily for me, so find whatever's sustainable for you).
• I am more of a yoga girlie, but whenever I don't have a few days for a yoga routine, there are many five-minute meditation exercises and breathing routines online. The internet is a wonderful place.

My Favorite Mindfulness Resources:

• ​Yoga with Adriene: Adriene's channel is the largest yoga-focused YouTube channel. She's been at it for over ten years and is my go-to for a quick yoga vid.
• ​Gaiam Yoga Mat: I love the purple. I promise there are cheaper options, but it looks similar enough to the one I've used for years.
• ​Diffuser: Favorite. Purchase. Ever. I love getting people I care about diffusers too. Just fun to set the tone (and fall asleep too).
• ​Headspace: An app with meditation practices, sleep sounds/stories, mindfulness exercises, study playlists, and podcasts. I fall asleep to it every night and use it for its mindfulness practices (#fortytwodaystreak). If you want a sixty-day free trial, use this link (or the code: FEELGOOD60). Most of their trials are thirty days, but I found this one if y'all want to take advantage of it!
• ​Day One: Fave journaling app. You can upload photos from past dates to sync it all in one place, write within the app, and utilize their prompts. I've just started being more consistent with it, but I know people who've been using it for four to seven years.

Of course, what works for me might not be what works for you, but that's the fun of experiments. If anything catches your eye, feel free to give it a shot. It's taken lots of free trials of apps, YouTube channels, and testing things my friends have to figure out systems that are sustainable for me. I hope you're able to create those systems for yourself! <3

🪄 Casual Magic

Being able to do course registration online! ConnectCarolina, the site UNC uses for registration, has SO many issues (glitches, order is silly, having to two-factor authenticate every single time), and as a whole, every UNC student fights and screams with it. But, I talked to someone who went to UNC twenty-ish years ago, where you had to stand in line in the gym for hours, waiting to see which classes still had spots (and largely not getting the classes you were interested in). Though ConnectCarolina is a beast, I'll take that over the alternative any day.

🧠 Productivity Tip

Paired Study Sessions: Working with friends, especially with a Pomodoro session is my favorite way of doing deep work. When working with someone, y'all can set goals and keep each other accountable. But, when you don't have people, substitute them with YouTube videos of people studying -- you have to wait for the timer to run out before you take a break from working!

P.S. Fave Study with Me video is this one: 4 Hours of Asian Mum to Help You Focus​

🥳 Community Event Spotlight

​Leadership Triangle is my favorite leadership development nonprofit (though I may be a little biased, #alumniboard), but they're hosting their THRiVE Leadership Summit. It's a one-day celebration of the Triangle and deep dive into the issues that matter most to our residents. Back in the day (2022), it was the first community-focused event I'd ever been to, and it got me connected to some wonderful humans I'm still close to! More on THRiVE:

As we step into 2024, many of us are still feeling the effects of economic insecurity, social isolation, and polarization. Our theme for THRiVE 2024 centers around rest, resilience, and how well-being requires strong community connections. THRiVE 2024 will feature panels and interactive conversations on:

• Shifting the Workplace Towards Whole Person Well-being
• Finding your People
• Mindfulness Practices
• Civic Leadership
• Rest as Resistance

When: Friday, May 10, from 9 AM - 4 PM

Location: The Umstead Hotel and Spa

Cost: $171.50

❤️ My Favorite Things this Week

1. 📕 Book - Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kagan was the only book that I've bought based on a podcast episode (good listen).
2. 🎙️ Podcast - For folks who are Emma Chamberlain fans, she did a three-hour pod with Colin and Samir, and I loved it. It's pretty niche, as most Colin and Samir podcasts are, but as she took a step back from YouTube, it was interesting hearing her perspective as a twenty-two-year-old trying to unpack her creative purpose and identity over time. It's very in line with the musing from two weeks back -- and if there's someone who has endless doors open, it's her. Being a few years younger than her is so fun because it helps me learn what is coming next. She's still a young person... just with a crazy amount of ambition and hard work. It always feels easier to learn from someone a few years ahead than years ahead.
3. 📱 Productivity App - Streaks is my simple to-do list app to help me... track Streaks!
4. 🎁 Product - I FINALLY DID IT; I got a weighted blanket! I slept like a baby this week; I've meant to get one for months and have so much love for it.​
5. 🚀 Nonprofit - The local Boys & Girls Clubs are some of my favorites, providing safe places where kids can be themselves and participate in fun programs that build their skills for school, the workforce, and life. I've met many wonderful kids through their programming, and they always blow my mind. Watching how the chapters support them in becoming well-rounded, compassionate adults is one of my favorite things in the world <3​

✍️Quote of the Week

“To produce at your peak level, you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction.” ~ Cal Newport, Deep Work​