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Hi friends,

 

I hope you are having a lovely summer and making nice memories.

As I announced recently, I will be sharing with you the best of The Sunday Spark since 2023 until further notice. 

As you may know, I launched this newsletter in December 2020 but I am only choosing content from the last 2 years since I shared a special edition of The Best of when I created the 100th edition in October 2022.

 

This decision will help me keep connecting with you while lightening the load a little during a very fun and hectic summer.

 

I read every reply to The Sunday Spark, please keep writing to me!

A throwback to ONE year ago! Yes my baby boy turned ONE recently!

 

Hi friends,

 

I am writing this on my laptop, using the food tray I borrowed from my mother as a makeshift table while in bed near the baby. I asked Mum for it so I would pamper myself postpartum like she used to do for me in my previous births when I stayed at my parents’ house. This time, I went home, and I have not used it much, only a couple of meals in bed. But it’s great for laptops.

 

I journaled for the first time yesterday after the baby, and I discovered that the last journal entry was on 23.7.2024, when I wrote:
 

“The medical team that will support the birth of my 3rd baby is already picked, they will be inspired & focused to help me deliver baby Basil safely.

Tomorrow (24.7.2024) would be a good day get the baby out in the world."

It gave me lots of comfort and joy. I wrote it on the swing after Mum invited me to come over, and I declined, saying I didn’t feel like driving. I was glad I stayed home that night. My instincts were right.

 

The prayer in the journal entry was inspired by a spiritual book I recently finished called Outrageous Openness, which I truly enjoyed. It was so cool to see that I mentioned 24.7 in writing as a nice date for the baby to arrive (other than the times I mentioned it to friends), and it became true.

 

Sometimes, journaling is just like this: scattered thoughts and prayers. You can learn all about journaling when you watch my rich journaling workshop here (it is 150 minutes that will make you fall in love with this habit, plus a PDF of more than 50 journaling prompts to get you started, all in Arabic).

 

These summer days, I am spending my time nursing, diapering, holding the baby in front of a mirror to keep seeing his tiny face, eating, watching comedy series, reading on Kindle, and so on while the kids are busy spending time with their cousins and checking on us now and then.

 

I am also working on time management. When the baby takes a nap, I need to make a strategic decision about what to do meanwhile. I try to estimate the duration of the nap, which is nearly impossible because it could range between 30 minutes and 3 hours. So I could either nap, take a bath, eat, or work on The Sunday Spark. Or I could do all of that while he still naps. There are so many time management lessons in here, folks. Haha.

 

Once again, thank you all for your kind messages; many of you said that last week’s was the best Sunday Spark ever ;)

 

Here is your weekly dose of The Sunday Spark ⚡️a newsletter listing 3 “Best of” sparks that I thought were worth starting your week with. 

 

1. 🔍 Have you seen or used the acronym TL;DR before? Here is an excellent reflection from Seth Godin on the defensive arrogance of TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read).

2. 📊 Complement the idea above with the brilliant article about our Dopamine Culture, which includes smart charts. If you find it too long 😉 save it for later and take your sweet time to read it.

3. 💬 A favorite quote from the article: 

 

“The fastest growing sector of the culture economy is distraction. Or call it scrolling or swiping or wasting time or whatever you want. But it’s not art or entertainment, just ceaseless activity.”

― Ted Gioia