Favorite Small Things (July 2022)

30/07/202230/07/2022 by Some Small Things In Do, See 9 Comments

Favorite Small Things (July 2022)

Did you see something this month that prompted a quick photo or note to self?

I saw some things.

And at the end of each month, I share my finds.

Recently, I came across this study on the significance of documenting the ordinary rather than the extraordinary. I felt so validated!

Here’s July’s list:

Cow on Top of House

First, it’s always good to see a cow on top of a house.

Forest App

Next. Are you spending too much time on your phone? I was.

This month, I started teaching online. I began checking my email obsessively to see if I had enrolled any new learners. As it became more and more disruptive, I searched for an app that would help me focus.

Forest App plants a virtual tree every time you focus for a chunk of time. If you check your phone after the time starts, the tree dies. I found it sad thinking about a tree dying — even a virtual tree.

So it worked. I never once broke my focus.

The trees get planted in a virtual forest, and you get points for planting them. Once you achieve 2500 points, you can cash them in, and Trees for the Future will plant a real tree!

I’m hooked. Here’s my forest below. I’m not sure why my trees look more like squirrels with statement necklaces, but maybe that’s just the starter tree. Not sure.

Two Kayaks on Top of Car

I’ve got a thing for things attached to cars. A post devoted to this topic is forthcoming. I’m still developing my research.

Here’s a teaser.

I squealed a bit with joy when I saw this double kayak number.

I so bad want to be the sort of person who has things on top of the car.

Writing Advice

Last one.

There’s a lot of writing advice out there. But this site, Enchanting Marketing, run by Henneke, contains some of the most useful tips around. I stumbled upon it while searching for copywriting wisdom for my new teaching endeavor.

Her free email “snackables” course covers intros, CTAs, sales, holding your readers’ attention, and more. Sign up for bite-sized nuggets of genius that appear in your inbox every day for a week and then every other day for another two.

(One small part from today’s: use nouns as verbs (as Shakespeare did) as a means of keeping your readers’ attention. Her example: “He godded me.“)

Then let the magic begin. You might redo your blog pages after reading her site. I did.

She also gives wonderful advice in the comments section of her blog.

(Just a quick note that I like to add “s” to irregular plurals like “deer” and “sheep” and “sushi,” but it often makes people uncomfortable. I much prefer “deers” and “sheeps” and “sushis,” and I once told Gary Shteyngart this on Instagram back when I had Instagram and he “liked” it (or whatever you did on Instagram. I don’t remember now)).

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And that’s all for July! Thanks for reading. What were your favorite finds/sights/notices this month?

If you liked this post on favorite small things from July, check out my favorite things from May and June.

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