Edition #234 | Read time: 5 Minutes
Hi Mamas,
Ever get to 3:00 p.m. and realize you’ve made approximately 7,462 decisions...before your kids even ask what’s for dinner?
What should I wear? What’s for lunch? Did I answer that text? Should I respond now or later? Do we have snacks? Who needs sunscreen? What day is camp pickup?
Decision fatigue is real for working moms. And when you layer summer on top of work, childcare logistics, vacations, camps, and trying to remember if anyone has clean swimsuits...our brains start to resemble 👇
Our friend Kendra Adachi, The Lazy Genius, has a concept we love called “Decide Once.”
Instead of making the same tiny decisions over and over again, create simple defaults that remove mental clutter. We don't always need to optimize our lives. Sometimes we simply need to create rhythms that give our brains a break.
Here are three “Decide Once” ideas we’re loving this summer.
Enjoy!
—The Carry™ Team
This week in The CARRY™ ALL, we’re talking about:
🍓 A Lunch You Can Make on Repeat
📱 Tips To Tame Your Text Messages
👚 The Closet Staples We Keep Reaching For
As always, this is a space for our Carry™ community to connect with each other. Leave a comment and keep the conversation going. And, we bet there’s another mama that would love The Carry™ All in their inbox, too. Pass on the love!
If you haven’t fallen down Tiffany’s viral snack plate rabbit hole yet, allow us to introduce your new favorite lunch. The beauty isn’t that you eat the exact same thing every day. It’s that you decide once on a simple formula instead of reinventing lunch every afternoon.
One plate + a handful of ingredients + zero overthinking.
Mix and match whatever sounds good or whatever you already have in the fridge. One less decision. One well-fed mama. 🤍 Here are some options to get you started:
Grapes, Blueberries, Strawberries, Apple slices, Watermelon, Peaches, Cherries, Mandarin oranges, Kiwi, dragon fruit (a Tiffany favorite), Dates, etc.
Cucumbers, Baby carrots, Bell peppers, Sugar snap peas, Celery, Cherry tomatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Radishes, Hearts of Palm (Tiffany favorite but this can be hit or miss for people), Okra
Chicken sausage (Tiffany favorite), Turkey slices, Rotisserie chicken, Hard boiled eggs, Salami or pepperoni, Brie bites, Babybel cheese, Sharp cheddar cubes, String cheese, Mozzarella pearls
Cottage cheese + mustard (trust Tiffany on this one), Tzatziki, Hummus, Ranch, Buffalo ranch, Laughing Cow cheese wedges, Whipped feta, Guacamole, Salsa
Almonds, Pistachios, Cashews, Pretzels, Crackers, Popcorn, Pickles, Olives
If you also suffer from The Dark Hole of Unanswered Text Messages, welcome.
Two quick ideas:
Every company seems to have discovered text marketing, and our phones are paying the price. Take time to reply STOP to the messages you no longer want.
It's a two-second task that creates a little more margin for the messages and people that actually deserve your attention. 🤍
Ever remember something important at 10:30 p.m.? Or 6:00 a.m.? Instead of trying to remember to send it later, did you know that you can schedule it?
On iPhone:
Open Messages → Type your message → Tap the + button → Send Later → Choose the date and time → Send.
On Android (Google Messages):
Type your message → Press and hold the Send button → Choose a suggested time or select your own.
Your brain gets to cross it off and the other person gets a text at a normal hour.
Getting dressed can become its own decision marathon. Our bodies change as we age and our styles evolve. Instead of reinventing the wheel every morning, we’ve been leaning into a few easy favorites again and again.
☀️ Sunglasses: If yours seem to disappear into thin air every other week, here are some affordable pairs we love that still look cute. (**Make sure you check to see if there is still a coupon to clip)
🤍 The Target tee + shorts combo: Pair the softest tee ever (comes in several colors) with the white or denim AGOLDE dupe shorts and call it a day. As Lizzie McGuire taught us, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being an outfit repeater.
👗 Nuuly: If you’re tired of wearing the same outfits or you want to experiment with your style without committing to buying a whole new wardrobe, Nuuly has become one of our favorite ways to keep getting dressed feeling fresh. Use code TRYNUULY for $28 off your first month.
We always love celebrating working moms who are building incredible things. Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth recently shared an interesting reminder: "Embarrassment is the most under-explored emotion to success."
She credits repeatedly putting herself in uncomfortable, public situations with building the confidence that helped grow Poppi into a $1.95 billion brand. If you've been waiting until you feel "ready," consider this your reminder that courage often comes first and confidence follows. Read the full story HERE.
We saw this debate making the rounds online and knew we had to ask our working mamas. The winner? Spaghetti on a plate! 🍽️
We love that this community can tackle the really important issues. 😉🍝
We’re always looking for little ways to lighten your load, and this is one of them. Instead of hunting through old posts, we’ve gathered our favorite products, exclusive discount codes, and tried-and-true recommendations all in one place. You’ll find it all HERE.
If you choose to shop through one of our links, thank you. It helps support The CARRY™ ALL and allows us to keep creating free encouragement and practical resources for working moms. We appreciate you being here. 🤍
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