The Debrief, Vol. 3

Rumble strips, budgeting, and my Prime Day impulse buy

Have you ever hit a rumble strip on the highway that jolts you awake mid-road trip zone-out? I hit one of those last week — not in my car, but in my general existence. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything dramatic, just a little internal shake-up that made me realize I’d been on cruise control for a little too long and was starting to drift. I’m taking it as a nudge to re-engage, realign, and stop living on autopilot.

So this weekend, I’m doing a large-scale Brain Dump (in the aptly named Brain Dump Journal — code BUSYMOM always saves you 10% store-wide). I’m breaking it down into three lists: Law Tasks, Life Tasks, and Busy Mom Tasks. Every single thing that needs to get done is going on the list.

And yes, the lists are going to be long. Once everything’s out of my brain and onto paper, I’ll triage the tasks using an Eisenhower Matrix:

• Urgent + Important? I’ll do it right away (or ASAP).

• Important but Not Urgent? I’ll schedule it for later.

• Urgent but Not Important? I’ll see if I can delegate (I’m trying to get better at this, especially at work).

• Neither Urgent nor Important? Into the abyss it goes.

credit: Todoist

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from my wise friend

Kelly Nolan | Bright Method

: my to-do list can’t live on paper. It can start there to get my head clear, but it needs to make its way onto my calendar ASAP. Because we all know: if it’s not scheduled, it’s probably not getting done.

Light a candle. Say a prayer. And if you don’t hear from me next week, assume I’ve been buried under a pile of post-its and may need snacks or rescue.

Our first Clubhouse meeting is this Wednesday at 7 PM Central! This one is a casual kick-off (no weird ice breakers, I swear). We’ll be chatting about what topics we’d like to dive into in future months and whatever else is top of mind that night. Full transparency: I have an appellate brief due that day, so we’ll all be lucky if I’m forming coherent sentences, but I’ll be there with bells on and I’d love to see you there too!

What is The Clubhouse? It’s a chance to take the community we’ve built a bit deeper and make the conversation more of a group chat and less of a Bailey Monologue. You’ll get access to The Clubhouse chat on Substack and our monthly Clubhouse meetings on ZOOM (replays available for 72 hours!)

We’d love to have you join us!

What's rattling around in my BaileyBrain™, in no particular order:

+ I’ve trash-talked Kindles for years. I have an old (10+ years old) one I never used and just couldn’t comprehend why people loved them so much, but I got wooed by the Prime Day deals and I am the proud new owner of a Kindle Paperwhite. Y’ALL. I AM IN THE CULT NOW. I LOVE IT. I’ve already read 2.5 books. I’m one click away from buying a Kindle stand pillow and a page turner that dozens of y’all have recommended on Instagram.

+ If you’ve been around for a bit, you know I keep our family’s budget in a spreadsheet template I’ve neurotically crafted because I could never find another template I liked. I’ve always wanted to use an app or online system, but each one I tried bugged me for one reason or another…. but I may have finally struck gold — I’m going to finish out the month with it before recommending, but I am fully nerding out over it so far.

+ Does anyone have a Pranamat? It’s my newest crunchy obsession, and I’m * this * close to buying one — can someone talk me on or off the ledge? If I receive any feedback, I’ll be happy to share it!

You’re always welcome to reply to this email or DM me with any thoughts! Now that we’re on Substack, you can also tap the ❤️ icon below, or hit the 💬 to leave a comment.

Talk soon!

Bailey

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