Need a little inspiration for your reading, listening, and cooking? We’ve got just the fresh new ideas for you to kick off your fourth (and final) quarter of the year with a little spark of learning and creativity. As always, these are things we love and want to pass along — we’re not sponsored or affiliated with any of the products.
What We’re Downloading
Google Primer for Business and Marketing Skills
If you’re looking to start your own online business, this is the app for you. Google Primer is an app that has tons of content to teach you about running a business online and marketing your small business.
Each lesson is bite-sized, so you can spend 5 minutes a day learning. Topics you can choose from include:
- SEO
- Online sales
- Social media
- Analytics
- Branding
- Marketing
- Website building
The app is free to download and use and has no ads. All of the content is created by the Google Primer team and well-known entrepreneurs. The Google Primer app is available for Apple and Android.
What We’re Listening To
Creative Pep Talk
Are you craving more creativity in your life? Looking to start a creative hobby? Creative Pep Talk is the podcast for you. Hosted by creative and storyteller Andy J. Pizza, this podcast is all about building a thriving creative practice.
The podcast features a range of layouts, sometimes you’ll get storytelling and creative recommendations and other weeks you’ll get an interview with creative badasses such as Joseph Gordon Levitt, Abbi Jacobson, and Morgan Harper Nichols.
If you’re looking to get started with the podcast, check out If You Only Listen to One Episode of This Show and it’s follow up episode on overcoming creative fears.
Happy listening!
What We’re Reading
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
After almost two years of living and working through a global pandemic, we all could use the information in this book. Written by sisters Emily Nagoski, PhD and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle goes over the science behind burnout and why we’re all feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by our modern lives.
Wellness and life balance are a state of action, not a state of mind. You won’t find self care platitudes or suggestions to take a bubble bath in this book. Instead, you’ll find science and researched backed tips on how to not get burned out and how to recover if you are burned out.
What We’re Doing
Lillördag: Little Saturday
Yep, it’s another tradition and word coming out of the great Scandinavian North: Lillördag or Little Saturday.
Little Saturday is the Swedish tradition of finding time on a Wednesday for a small celebration. Why wait until the weekend to have fun? Little Saturday is all about prioritizing a break in the work week to spend with friends and loved ones enjoying life.
Challenge yourself to find a little more work-life balance next week and go out for happy hour with friends on a Wednesday, plan a date night out for dinner with your significant other, or spend the evening reading a book and putting your phone on airplane mode.
What We’re Cooking
Cozy Winter Soups: Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Nothing says Autumn like a steaming bowl of hearty soup. This curried butternut squash soup is the perfect balance of sweet and tart with a little bit of spice. Nothing says fall more than butternut squash soup, but when it’s mixed with curry and caramelized onions, it takes on a warm, spicy taste.
For an added kick, top this soup with one of these delicious additions:
- Freshly grated green apples
- Coconut milk
- A dollop of sour cream
- Toasted sunflower seeds
For a truly decadent experience, serve this soup in a sourdough bread bowl and enjoy the soup-soaked bowl for dessert.
As we move to close out 2021 and enter the holiday season, it can feel like the days are slipping by way too quickly. Don’t get bogged down in work and family outings, instead get inspired with these app, podcast, book, and recipe suggestions. Cheers to Q4!
