#ThirstyThursday Issue #259

Thirsty Thursday #259

A pink graphic features a colorful alarm clock beside the text “MY CLOCK IS FALLING BACK THIS WEEKEND.” Blue and white stripes decorate the bottom.

Click the image for the punchline ☝️.

😂 See all October 2026 Thirsty Thursday jokes here.

✅ Today’s Checklist:

Why nothing in a performance review should be a surprise

Permission to leave that job
Ideas to make your content 10x better
The 80/20 rule for wellness

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QUICK LINKS

🎭 Talking more in meetings makes you likelier to end up the leader, whatever you actually say.

🚆 Barclays staff want childcare vouchers and travel pay before they go back to the office three days a week.

📊 The Census says women now earn 83.9 cents on the dollar, but the BLS puts it at 82.1.

📋 Keep your team compliant and up to date with this handy guide.

NO SURPRISES

A smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair wears a white shirt while sitting in a black chair. A green plant and white brick wall are visible behind her.

The Four Questions to Ask Before Any Performance Review

Takeaways:

Employees should never hear important feedback for the first time during a performance review. When managers wait months to address concerns, employees lose the opportunity to improve, and what could have been a simple coaching conversation can turn into a trust issue.

Make feedback an ongoing conversation throughout the year. Regularly recognize achievements, address challenges as they arise, and provide specific examples so employees always understand what they’re doing well and where they need to improve.
Prepare for performance reviews by asking yourself four questions: Have I communicated honestly throughout the year? Can I support my feedback with specific examples? Have I recognized wins as consistently as I’ve addressed problems? Will anything I’m about to say surprise this employee?

Read the full LinkedIn post.

SALES SHORTCUT

You Spent Two Hours Finding Leads and Sent Zero Emails

It’s 4:47 p.m. and you’re on tab nine: LinkedIn in one window, a spreadsheet in another, and a cold email you started at lunch that’s still half-written because you can’t tell if the address you found is two jobs out of date. By the time the list is done, so is your energy for the actual pitch.

Apollo puts the whole process into one place:

Data from 240M+ contacts across 30M+ companies
Intelligent signals so you know who to target
Sequences that send for you

Already living in Claude or ChatGPT? Apollo works right inside them, so you can type “VP of Marketing at Series B fintechs in Austin” and get real names back.

Whether you manage a sales team or you are the sales team, Apollo fits however you work. More than 600,000 companies already run on Apollo, and the Free plan includes the AI connection, so you can try it this week without asking anyone to expense it.

👉 Book a demo here.

KNOW YOUR WORTH

A motivational quote on a cream background reads “Quitting a job is OK. Moving on is OK.” Additional text about recognizing your worth and finding better opportunities appears with yellow highlights.

When Staying Loyal Starts Costing You Your Peace

Takeaways:

Quitting a job doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Sometimes walking away is a necessary decision to protect your self-worth, peace of mind, and dignity, especially when you’re in an environment that consistently overlooks your contributions or undervalues your abilities.

Loyalty shouldn’t require you to sacrifice your well-being. Too many talented professionals stay in workplaces where they feel unappreciated because the uncertainty of leaving feels scarier than staying somewhere familiar. But working harder, staying silent, or making yourself smaller won’t necessarily change an unhealthy workplace culture.
Leaving can create space for better opportunities. Choosing to move on gives you the chance to find leaders and organizations that recognize your value, support your growth, and treat you with respect. You can be proud of the work you’ve done while recognizing that it’s time for a new chapter.

Read the full LinkedIn post.

SCROLL STOPPERS

A pink graphic titled “How To Make Your Content 10X Better” features three columns labeled Topic, Hook, and Visual, each containing numbered tips.

15 Ways to Make Your Content 10x Better

Takeaways:

Start with topics that have already proven interesting to your audience. Study your top-performing posts, repurpose the ideas that generated the most engagement, and keep a running list of questions your audience asks. Make each post more memorable by connecting it to a personal story or observation and including at least one actionable takeaway.

Write hooks that give people a reason to keep reading. Make a specific promise in your opening line, lead with a compelling result or statistic, or create curiosity by introducing a question your audience wants answered. You can also share your perspective on relevant news or challenge a popular belief in your industry, as long as you can back it up.
Make your visuals work with your message. Your first three lines and visual should create curiosity together, while the design should communicate the main idea quickly. Use carousels for storytelling, infographics for teaching, and videos for demonstrations or testimonials. Experiment with distinctive visuals or a recognizable signature style to stand out.

Read the full LinkedIn post.

MENTAL LOAD

A cartoon woman with teal hair sits cross-legged at a desk with a laptop, making an OK gesture with both hands. A clock, folders, sticky notes, gears, and office supplies surround her against a light pink background.

Close Your Laptop Knowing Nothing Important Slipped

It’s 9:40 p.m. and you’re in bed replaying the day. Did you ever answer the client who asked about Thursday? What did you promise on that 2 p.m. call?

When a lot depends on you, holding every commitment in your head is a second job. Fyxer is an AI assistant that keeps track of it all across your email, meetings, Slack and Teams:

A morning briefing with what came in, what’s waiting on you and what’s coming up
Draft replies in your voice, learned from your sent emails

A meeting notetaker for Zoom, Google Meet and Teams that captures what you promised
Flows that get your routine work ready, like a weekly recap or a client follow-up, every time it’s due

Leading a team? Spaces gives everyone one shared view of each client or project, so nobody has to ask “where are we with this?”

Nothing goes out without your yes. It sets up in under a minute inside Gmail or Outlook, and more than 100,000 professionals already use it.

👉 Try Fyxer free for 14 days.

WELLNESS

The 80/20 Rule That Makes Healthy Habits Actually Stick

Takeaways:

Prioritize consistency over intensity when it comes to movement. Aim for 80% consistency and 20% intensity, so regular movement becomes part of your life and a hard workout is the occasional bonus. The same principle applies to routines: aim for 80% structure and 20% flexibility so you have reliable habits without expecting every day to go perfectly.
Build a healthier relationship with food and your mindset. For nutrition, think 80% intention and 20% enjoyment, choosing nourishing meals while still enjoying dinners out and favorite treats without guilt. For mindset, focus on 80% self-awareness and 20% compassionate self-talk. Notice patterns that hold you back, then replace harsh thoughts like “I’ve already failed” with “I can start again today.”

Become the person who follows through, and the plan gets easier. Think 80% identity and 20% strategy: how you see yourself matters as much as the plan itself. Start identifying as someone who keeps promises to herself, then reinforce that identity through small, consistent actions.

See the full post on IG.

STAFF PICKS

Stuff We’re Loving This Week

☕ Curious about the mushroom coffee trend? This blend is an easy way to try it.

🥚 Breakfast on autopilot: Kristel swears by this electric egg cooker.

🦷 If flossing keeps falling off your routine, this water floss pick makes it a 30-second job.

📚 On Joanna’s TBR: I Eat the Stars by Sarah Wilson.

JUST FOR FUN

A cartoon ghost wearing blue jeans sits beneath the joke “What kind of pants does a ghost hunter wear? Just a paranormal jeans.” The background is cream with “@WILDFLOUR FARM” written in pink below.

COMMUNITY

Upcoming Events

TODAY 10/29 @ 4PM PT: Halloween Craft Night (SGS Only* | Join the waitlist)

Fri 10/30 @ 8AM PT: AI Office Hours (SGS Only* | Join the waitlist)
Wed 11/4 @ 9AM PT: Goal-Setting & Accountability Workshop with NextArrow
Thu 11/5 @ 8:30AM PT: SGS House Meetings (Jade, Sapphire, Ruby) (SGS Only* | Join the waitlist)

Fri 11/6 @ 8AM PT: AI Office Hours (SGS Only* | Join the waitlist)

* Smart Girl Society is our private community for women who want deeper conversations, accountability, and tools that actually make life easier. Join the waitlist to get in the next round.

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