issue #211 - the one about osmosis
and why osmosis > balance for your well-being
Here’s the irony of all ironies - the week I spoke about balance and building your business at altSummit was my most unbalanced week - ever.
I was happy with the advice I shared during my panel - focus on consistent snippets in your day to take a pause and do the little well-being things, name the negative voice in your head after a toxic ex and tell it to STFU - but it took me until Friday to come up with the best analogy.
The end goal of balance or equilibrium is stillness. We are anything but still - even when we’re sleeping, our bodies are still very much at work.
I want you to forget everything you’ve been taught or internalized about balance. And I want to re-teach you something you probably forgot after high school science class - osmosis.
os-mo-sis:
a process by which molecules of a solvent tend to pass through a semipermeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one, thus equalizing the concentrations on either side of the membrane
Osmosis is dynamic, reactive, and fluid - just like we are. The molecules from the definition are our energy and time, the membrane is our boundaries. We tend to concentrate our time and energy on the things we have to do for others, leaving the other side - the things we should do for ourselves - fairly empty.
Some of the choices I made this week catalyzed my osmosis in the most stressful of times. I chose rest and reconnection with
(who flew down from SF for a slumber party) on Monday. We talked, laughed, and reconnected over beautiful meals at Norma’s and Colony Club, and with coffee and overlooking the pool on Tuesday morning. After my team’s offsite on Wednesday and a major collaboration meeting on Thursday, I took Friday off from work to get a facial and take a yoga class. I felt a twinge of guilt as I walked through my neighborhood from one appointment to the next, but I also felt the stress of the week begin to drain from my body and my mind.And while I’m back on a plane this morning (this time with my younger one in tow to celebrate my nephew’s upanayanam in Dallas), I plan to enjoy queso no fewer than 8 times over the next five days and to do my best to unplug when I’m with my family.
In science, osmosis requires a membrane (and sometimes a catalyst) for the molecules to be evenly distributed. My boundaries needed some extra fortification this week, which meant dipping out of a day’s worth of conference activities and taking Friday off.
I wish I could tell you that I feel completely restored and things have immediately sorted themselves out (I don’t, they haven’t and will take some time to be completed).
I feel okay - and good about it. We made it to Dallas (fitting all of our items in a single carry-on). I purchased a new copy of one of my favorite planners and was intentional about writing out goals that I had more autonomy over. I laugh/cried at Fated Mates’ live show last night (and napped in my Uber on the way there and back).
I still have a full plate of work and family things to attend to. But having invested some time and energy for myself, I’m flowing back into work mode feeling more calm and focused than I did last week.
May you flow to the other side and spend your precious time and energy on yourself today.
The Sicilian Inheritance
by
(out April 2)I called this book “the feminist literary love child of The Godfather and The Bear” and I still stand by it. It’s evocative, compelling, and based in two of my favorite places in the world (Philadelphia and Sicily). And if it wasn’t so deeply personal to Piazza, I’d have been convinced that she wrote it specifically for me. I tore through this brilliant dual-perspective book in a day, and am re-reading it for our virtual talk on Wednesday (register here!)
You can find my 2024 reading list and reviews here, and purchase March’s reads here.
Full Focus Planner ($49)
My daily and weekly planning need a bit more structure right now (or any structure, for that matter). This planner has always helped me find my way back to peaceful focus, and I’m excited to start a fresh one as Q2 approaches in a week. Something I’m doing differently is keeping the goals I write and plan out focused on my personal life and my content business. Things are constantly changing in drug development and the plans I write out have needed to be changed within days or weeks of writing them, which in turn stresses me out when I flip by it. You can also skip this section entirely - I might do just that this time.
You can find my monthly Amazon favorites here.
A medical tech company that handles billions of records was hacked. What you should know.
published in USA Today, curated by Marisa Hamm-Malanowski
My husband works for a hospital and I work in health insurance, so it's fair to say this story has been dominating our mutual news consumption lately.
One thing that a lot of people don't realize is how interconnected our health provider and payor systems really are - and an incident like this is an unfortunate reminder, with small providers unaffiliated with giant health systems hurting the most on the provider side, and innumerable consumers unable to fill desperately needed scripts for medications running from your basic, run of the mill cholesterol pills to lifesaving drugs for any number of serious conditions.
You can find every issue of #5SmartReads here, and subscribe to the daily newsletter here.
Sharing
Two podcasts I’m loving (particularly if you’re a feminist history nerd like I am):
Breaking Down Patriarchy (I met the host and creator Amy at altSummit and have been LOVING her interviews with ridiculously smart women).
EMPIRE (one of the best history podcasts out there) just launched a new series on Empresses - episode 1 about Cleopatra is live, and I can’t wait to listen to the upcoming ones
Making
I gave my dresser a total overhaul yesterday and it feels so good. My very old, very trusty folding board helped me get the perfect boutique fold for my shirts and my drawers and sweatshirt shelves look so good. Another tip I have is to roll your matching sports bras and leggings together - it makes throwing them on (and packing) a lot easier!
Answering
My phone case (it’s MagSafe and cheers me up when I look at it). I also have this MagSafe grippy for filming, and a matching wireless charger - I highly recommend them all.
I got asked about my gray hair story via DMs and wanted to share the whole story here:
When I was growing out my hair, I’d get dark glosses from Madison Reed and use their root touch up palette, and was religious about scalp massages to help recondition my hair (this oil was the one I used during my hair transition, and I also love this one and this one). I would also use Overtone’s color masks in black first, then dark gray during the grow out process.
Once I had a solid growth pattern, I got dark gray highlights and continued using the dark gray hair mask, and switched to the lighter silver one as my roots grew in for an ombré highlights kind of look. I also recommend going short when you have a few inches of your own grays in - I think it made me look more youthful.
Once you’ve grown out any dyed sections, cut/grow your hair to your preferred style. Continue with monthly gloss appointments (a purple toned one) and use purple shampoo and conditioner. And stick with your scalp massages the whole time to keep your scalp healthy and your hair conditioned well.
Reading
Trying
…my hand at vlogging over on my TikTok. I documented my travels and time in Palm Springs, and have really enjoyed pulling together these little video diaries (with more to come).
Flow on, my friend.
xo,
HPN