Wellness Wednesday Issue #151

🤖 Upgrade your workflow with 12 AI tools that cut your busywork in half.

🎉 Skip the generic “great job!” and try these employee recognition ideas that people actually feel.

💬 Try these two magic words that set boundaries without the drama.

💚 Overcome workplace jealousy with these practical mindset shifts.

The holidays are cozy and magical until you remember you’re about to eat dinner with people who somehow share your DNA but none of your worldview.

The political uncle. The backhanded aunt. The sibling who still thinks it’s 2004 and you’re the family screw-up. The in-law who treats your boundaries like a suggestion.

You love them.

You also need to emotionally bubble-wrap yourself before walking through the door.

Here’s how to get through it without losing your peace, your voice, or your night.

Decide What “Success” Looks Like Before You Go

Not in a “vision-board it” way, but in a “what outcome will actually protect my sanity?” way.

Do you want connection? Neutrality? Bare-minimum civility?

Psychologists call this “implementation intention” — making a plan before you’re triggered increases the odds you’ll stick to it under stress.

Translation: decide your vibe before someone else decides it for you.

Pretend Every Opinion Is a Weather Report

If someone says something inflammatory, imagine it like: “Looks like rain in Nebraska!”

Not personal. Not actionable. Not your job to fix.

Holiday tables aren’t where people become enlightened. They’re where people repeat their greatest hits.

You’re allowed to nod, blink, and emotionally walk away.

Have Three Redirects Ready

Think of these as your conversational escape hatches:

• The Pivot: “Interesting. Hey, how did your trip go?”
• The Compliment: “You always bring the best desserts. What is this?”
• The Humor Buffer: “If we solve politics tonight, we’re going viral. Pass the rolls.”

Smooth. Calm. Chaos-deflecting.

Set Boundaries Without Apologizing

Clear + kind + concise = effective.

• “I’m not getting into politics tonight.”
• “That’s not something I discuss at family gatherings.”
• “We see this differently, and that’s okay. Let’s move on.”

Boundaries don’t have to come with a long explanation.

Or any explanation.

Give Yourself Permission to Take Micro-Breaks

Bathroom break. “Let me help in the kitchen.” A “quick call.”

Stepping away isn’t rude, it’s emotional regulation.

Your nervous system is allowed to reset.

Know the Line Between Annoying and Harmful

Annoying = someone being themselves.

Harmful = someone disrespecting you.

You can excuse yourself. You can change rooms. You can leave.

Kindness doesn’t require self-abandonment.

Remember: You Don’t Have to Win the Night

You’re not there to change minds or referee generational tension.

You’re there to eat, observe the chaos, protect your peace, and go home to your couch where no one comments on your life choices.

Your family can be complicated and you can still be loving.

Both things can be true, and surviving holiday dinner just means remembering which parts are actually yours to carry.

We’ve tried a lot of project management tools, but monday.com is the one we always come back to. It’s flexible without being overwhelming, visual without the chaos, and customizable in a way that actually fits how modern teams work.

At The Assist, it’s our editorial command center. From brainstorm to publish, everything runs through monday.com: we kick things off on a shared idea board, tag teammates to build outlines, assign deadlines, and move each piece through custom statuses like “drafting,” “under review,” and “ready to schedule.” Everyone knows what’s happening, who’s doing what, and what’s coming next.

But it’s not just content; we track sponsor campaigns, cross-functional planning, and internal OKRs all in the same space. Automations handle nudges, owner changes, and shifting timelines so nothing slips through the cracks. And with views like timeline, Kanban, and calendar, we can zoom out for the big picture or dial into daily priorities.

It’s why we rarely ask “Wait, where are we on this?” anymore, and why our team gets more done with less stress.

We even put together a behind-the-scenes guide to our real-life setup—brainstorms, deadlines, deliverables, and all—so your team can skip the trial-and-error and get rolling fast.

This year at The Assist has been…a lot.

We built our first AI course. Hosted live trainings. Doubled our audience.

On paper, everything looked amazing.

But behind the scenes?

I was running on strong coffee and sheer willpower, convincing myself that if I could just get through “this next push,” I’d magically feel normal again.

Spoiler: I didn’t.

My therapist helped me see what I’d been skimming past: somewhere along the way, work swallowed every other part of me. It’s what psychologists call identity foreclosure, when your entire sense of self collapses into one role. Once that happens, burnout doesn’t creep in, it sprints.

So I started slowly (but surely) trying to reconnect with myself.

I had a drum kit sitting in my garage for three years — untouched, unplayed, basically a museum exhibit titled “Someday.” So I signed up for drum lessons.

I bought a new piano pedal and headphones. I started relearning Bach preludes and inching my way toward the Interstellar theme.

I began sketching before bed. I tried pickleball (which was humbling). And somewhere in all of that rediscovery, I felt something I hadn’t felt in months: myself.

And it turns out, there’s science behind why this hit so hard.

Creative activity triggers something researchers call an upward spiral of positive emotion — boosting mood and energy the very next day. It’s literally your brain saying “thank you” for doing something fun.

Hobbies also restore your ability to mentally separate from work (known as psychological detachment). Without it, your nervous system sits in a constant low-level fight-or-flight mode, which is why burnout feels like everything is too loud, too much, too fast.

And then there’s play, which we tend to treat as something for kids. But neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp’s work shows play is a built-in stress regulator — a biological need — supported by the science of play and how it wires the brain for resilience.

Across decades of well-being research, one pattern keeps showing up: people with fuller identities outside of work are more emotionally stable, less reactive to stress, and far less likely to burn out.

Suddenly that pottery class doesn’t feel indulgent. It feels necessary.

If you’re feeling crispy around the edges, start embarrassingly small. Ten minutes of joy. One song. One sketch. One walk. One class.

Your hobbies aren’t stealing time from your goals. They’re giving you back the version of yourself who can actually enjoy them.

Joanna (TA Co-Founder)

Great leaders take care of their people, but the reality is, most of us are juggling too much to consistently follow through on meaningful appreciation. Not because the intention isn’t there, but because most leaders are running on calendars packed past capacity.

That’s why Simpalo Snacks is such an easy win.

Their premium snack boxes give you a way to recognize employees with something thoughtful, personal, and universally appreciated without needing a committee, a spreadsheet, or a last-minute Target run.

Here’s what they offer:

Premium Snack Gift Box

Curated favorites that feel like a real treat, not a recycled corporate freebie. Perfect for new hires, milestones, or “you carried us this quarter.”

Employee Appreciation Pack

A ready-to-send thank you that feels warm, human, and specific—even when your week is stacked.

Branded Boxes

Custom packaging that reflects your company’s personality and makes your appreciation look intentional (even if it took you 90 seconds to order).

Custom Snack Box Builder

Build your own mix to match your team’s preferences, dietary needs, or event theme. Zero guesswork.

Holiday Snack Gift Box

Seasonal gifting without the annual panic. Festive, simple, and guaranteed to get a Slack message of gratitude.

Whether you’re recognizing wins, celebrating people, or reinforcing your culture, Simpalo makes recognition the easiest part of your week.

👉 Explore Simpalo Snack Boxes

📆  Join tomorrow’s AI for PR & Comms course. Learn how to craft smart angles and cut through the noise.

☁️ This frother turns any coffee into a café moment in 10 seconds flat.

🧳 Potluck plans? This casserole carrier keeps dishes hot and hands free.

🚽 Keep things fresh wherever you go with Poo-Pourri’s travel spray.

• Beacon Hill is hiring for Executive Assistant (Quincy, MA).
• Gravis Law, PLLC is hiring for Marketing Assistant (Boise, ID).
• Avnet is hiring for Business Operations Analyst II (Phoenix, AZ).
• Z Gallerie is hiring for Brand & Marketing Manager (Irving, TX).
• Argonne National Laboratory is hiring for Executive Assistant (Lemont, IL).

⭐ View more jobs here >

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