Hi Friends,
I’ve been sending a newsletter on-and-off for fifteen years now . . . big thanks to those of you who have been reading different versions of these weekly(ish) missives for months, years, or even over a decade! Today I’m revisiting a tried-and-true format, bringing you some of my favorite things and people from around the web :)
I would also be grateful to hear from you: What are some of your favorite email newsletters? What is it about them that gets you to, you know, actually read and open them, rather than sending them sight-unseen straight into junk or promotions?
💬 Please share in the comments so all of us Free Timers can learn from each other!
📆 Hosting: Join our Next Free Time Hang
Register to join our next Free Time Community Call on March 19 at 12:30 ET! We’ll meet for 45 minutes with a new format: a short reading from Free Time, followed by optional 2-3 minute shares and optional hot-seats for getting group input on a question or challenge in your business.
📚 Reading
In addition to Tara McMullin’s Blank Slate, I’m also super excited to dive into a few other new books for indie business owners:
Jessica Lackey’s Leaving the Casino: Stop Betting on Tactics and Start Building a Business that Works
Amelia Hruby, PhD’s Your Attention is Sacred (Except on Social Media)
Russell Nohelty’s Frictionless Growth (and related Substack, Frictionless Growth)
And just for fun, this Instagram account I recently stumbled upon (the handle says it all): @sobaditsgoodreads (So Bad It’s GoodReads!)
✍️ Journal-Planning
Jenn Smith ❀, a Business Bestie Brunch alum, created a series of quarterly journal-planners — from a tiny spark of idea-pollen to the full-blown gorgeous expression!
🎧 Listening
Like a delicious PB&J, here are two author-friends featured above, Jessica Lackey and Amelia Hruby, PhD jammin’ about their Fall book launches on Aggressively Human:
🎉 Featured
Big thanks to Maghan Haggerty for spotting Free Time in the YouTube wild! And to Deya for the wonderful nod alongside some of my favorite authors in “If I had to start a business from scratch, I'd read these 12 books,” and in these two IG carousels 🙏
⚙️ Tip
📲 Just in case it’s not on your radar: I’m a big fan of setting iPhone reminders when leaving a location (i.e. stop at the grocery store after the gym) or when arriving home (put the laundry in the dryer).
💬 Quote
“Truth is never ugly when one can find in it what one needs.”
—Edgar Degas
💭 Question
What truth is quietly asking for your attention this week?
📝 Permission
You hereby have permission to listen to that inner whisper, even if it’s telling you something you’re not sure you are ready to hear or act on (yet).
🎉 Thank you for reading, and here’s to even more abundant free time, energy, and serendipity!
👉 Did you get this forwarded by a friend?
If so, sign up below to get these curated twice-monthly Time Well Spent missives, and check out the 📘 Free Time book & 🎧 Free Time podcast archives.
Why you should always read Jenny Blake’s posts to the end: the Tips. I thought I was a savvy iPhone reminder setter, but I didn’t know about looping in my location (e.g., remind me of this when I arrive home). Thank you!
I can never resist a good book roundup, thanks Jenny!