#ThirstyThursday Issue #163

💰 3 overlooked ways to cut your tax bill before the year ends.

📱 Productivity apps that are actually worth the price.

📅 From meeting madness to meaningful work—how to master your calendar effortlessly.

💼 How to handle a power-hungry coworker, according to a psychologist.

Takeaways:

• Starting a brag book is essential to advocate for and track your achievements
• Brag books can help with pay reviews, promotion reviews, competency-based interviews, updating your resume, 1-1’s with your manager, building your confidence and self-reflection
• As our brains lose details the more time passes, it’s important to keep a regular cadence with your brag doc. As a minimum, you should be filling it in every week, but ideally, setting out 15 minutes at the end of every day. We also tend to focus on the bad things, once you start to use your brag doc regularly you’ll realise just how much amazing work you’re doing!

See the LinkedIn article.

Your help desk shouldn’t feel like it needs its own help desk. If your support tickets are piling up like laundry, it’s time to upgrade. Whether you’re wrangling customer issues or keeping your internal team running smoothly, these three help desk solutions will turn chaos into clarity.

1. ManageEngine

ManageEngine is like that one friend who color-codes their calendar and somehow has time for yoga. It thrives on structure. From IT service management to asset tracking, it’s built for teams that need all the features but refuse to settle for a clunky interface.

• Why You’ll Love It: Automations that work (so you’re not stuck manually assigning every. single. ticket.), detailed reporting, and customizable workflows that adapt to your process—not the other way around.

2. Zendesk

Zendesk does more than just manage tickets—it slides into your tech stack like it’s always been there. If your customers are demanding and your agents are drowning, Zendesk’s sleek interface and omnichannel support will keep everyone happy.

• Why You’ll Love It: Multichannel support (email, chat, voice—you name it), easy-to-use dashboards, and self-service portals that let customers help themselves (because sometimes, that’s a gift to everyone).

3. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk is proof that affordable doesn’t mean basic. It’s packed with features, user-friendly, and plays nice with the rest of Zoho’s ecosystem. Perfect for small to mid-sized teams who want pro-level tools without breaking the bank.

• Why You’ll Love It: AI-driven ticketing, workflow automation, and enough integrations to make your head spin (in a good way). Plus, it scales as you grow.

Cut the support chaos. These help desk solutions will make your life easier.

Takeaways:

• Instead of tossing leftovers into yet another sandwich, try making one of these recipes! Festive okonomiyaki, Turkey Sliders, Brie Roasted Vegetable Tart, or a Dutch Baby Pancake.
• And unless food has gone bad, please don’t throw it out. Because when we bin leftovers, it’s more than just wasting food – it’s throwing out all the love, effort, and resources that went into creating it.
• You can also check out the app Olio, where you can share unused ingredients or food with people living in your area.

Watch the IG reel.

Takeaways:

• Stop writing boring OOO messages and use ooogenerator.com to help you craft a fun and personalized out-of-office communication
• The site asks for a few quick details about your time off and allows you to pick a theme (voting, holidays, summer vacation etc)
• Then select from the two options and viola! A fun, festive message created in minutes.

Watch on TikTok.

TikTok is a full-blown, lead-generating, sales-driving machine, and if your business isn’t tapping into it, you’re watching opportunities scroll by. This platform is now one of the fastest-growing ad spaces, and brands are cashing in at a fraction of the cost they’d pay elsewhere.

But here’s the catch – January is the sweet spot for paid media. Ad rates hit rock bottom, and your budget stretches like never before. You can snag more eyeballs, drive more clicks, and generate more leads for less. Why? Because everyone else is still in holiday recovery mode, leaving the ad space wide open.

Here’s the twist: TikTok might be banned in the US after January. If that happens and you didn’t jump on this, well… you’ll wish you had.

The good news? TikTok’s paying you to test it out.

• Spend $30, get $20.
• Spend $100, get $100.

That’s free ad spend to grow your business while rates are at their lowest. TikTok for Business pulls in new customers and readers at jaw-droppingly low CAC (customer acquisition cost), and it works. Period.

Worst case? You walk away with free ad credit. Best case? Your business levels up faster than you thought possible.

Clock’s ticking – your move.

Takeaways:

• Whether you need a last-minute post-Christmas gift or want to adapt it for Hannukah, this wax fire starters are fun to make and don’t cost much in supplies
• Add twigs or wood shavings to the mix to make them even more budget friendly and effective
• Place them in a labeled jar to give as a beautiful and practical gift

Check out the FB reel.

👗 This squareneck long sleeve bodysuit is a wardrobe staple that pairs perfectly with anything.

💃 Elevate your look with this off the shoulder sexy top—a versatile piece that works for both dressing up or dressing down.

💪 Thania swears by this post-workout protein powder for the last 10 years, loved for its NSF certification and pomegranate extract to help combat post-muscle soreness.

🗓️ Meet Vimcal EA: the scheduling powerhouse crafted to make executive assistants’ lives easier.

🚨 Open Jobs: Visit our job board here.

✨ P.S. Want more inspiration and positivity to kick off your week? Sign up for our Motivational Monday texts (U.S. only).

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