I've been looking forward to this

July is all about rest

Welcome to At The End Of the Day. I’m Hannah Sung and I write this newsletter for a people-first perspective on the news. If you like what you’re reading and want to support this newsletter, go to my Patreon and pay-what-you-wish. I’m in a summer sprint toward my goal of raising the funds to pay a small team to make a podcast!

I’m on vacation! And my kids are very much into it. We all clicked our laptops shut with extra finality now that school’s done.

It’s been a long pandemic and I’ve been gripping the steering wheel hard.

This week, I’ve been noticing more birdsong, gotten jolted by thunder and lightning and I’m really feeling our re-entry into the tangible, physical world.

Noticing what’s happening outside is exactly what I need and I can’t do it with my nose in a news article or my fingers tapping away on work. And that’s exactly the point.

I need to rest, recharge and rebuild strength.

So that’s what I’m focusing on this month and it’s the vibe I want to send out to you, too.

In July, I’m going to keep this newsletter short, sweet and *gasp* pull back from news and social media (this, from the lady who spent the pandemic with both a laptop and phone glued to her face).

It might not be easy. Yesterday, I tried to delete the Twitter app from my phone. My thumb hovered and I couldn’t quite do it. Unplugging will be a challenge. But I just got a strong reminder that this is what we need right now.

If I can give some advice, we have all spent too much time on screens. This summer, take as much time away from screens as possible. Embrace the good weather. Have unstructured playtime. While the weather is good and we have the opportunities to increase socialization, make use of it. Model it for your kids.

These are the wise words of Dr. Janine Hubbard, a psychologist in St. John’s, Newfoundland. We were on a call to discuss how to prepare children, from a mental-health perspective, for back to school. (I know – cartoon brakes screeching sound effect – but we just barely ended this school year! Well, I wrote it for Best Health and we’re on magazine timelines. So let this be a reminder that time is fleeting. I look forward to sharing the Q&A with you here in August but for now, seize July! It will fly by.)

I’m taking Janine’s advice and applying it hard to this summer.

I hope you can, too.

Source: The New Yorker, of course

My newsletter will be in your inbox each Friday this month with a small but powerful thing you can do to restore.

Last week, when I got my second COVID shot, it knocked me out and I had to power down the whole day after. I spent an hour, mid-afternoon, in our backyard hammock and ashamedly realized that while the hammock has been out there for a long time, I’ve pretty much never used it. You can’t multitask from a hammock.

That day, exhausted from the vaccine, I woke up after dozing for an hour with my hat over my face and thought, Do people know how amazing a hammock is in the middle of the afternoon? Well, of course they do. But every time you get the feeling of being restored, it’s exceptional. It feels like a total revelation.

Tell me what you do for deep rest.

Hit reply on this email or visit me on Instagram and I’ll share some of your suggestions in my letter next week.

And in the meantime, remember Janine’s advice. Take your time. Live outside. We made it to summer. It’s time to recharge.

Thanks for reading and take care out there ✨

Hannah

Further Reading

This week, I’m all about my newsletter friends.

For sweet, brilliant comics on the climate crisis (yes, a unique niche and she smashes it out of the park) subscribe to Minimum Viable Planet by Sarah Lazarovic.

You’ll always see the world differently after a deep dive into Stacy Lee Kong’s intersectional take on pop culture in Friday Things.

And I’ll always be inspired, in many different ways, by the words and actions of Katie Hawkins-Gaar. Read her amazing newsletter on grief, perspective and mental health in My Sweet Dumb Brain.

Support women-led entrepreneurship on growing the culture, media and positive actions we want to see in the world.

I’m growing At The End Of the Day into a podcast! Click to support via Patreon. With giant thanks to readers who have already signed on. I’m just so excited to grow this with you 🌱