What I Read Every Day

This is usually around the time people start parting with their resolutions and I get it. We put so much pressure on ourselves and then it just becomes overwhelming, doesn’t it? Coming into 2020 in a very different world from the previous decade I inevitably saw so many people making resolutions to either support a cause, be more informed, or be a better citizen. Similarly, many go-to blogs with perfectly curated lifestyle content advocated the importance of being in-the-know about more than just the world around you. I couldn’t agree more.

I like to believe that I am well-read, updated on international affairs, and analytical. To be honest, I take pride in being all those things and think it sets me apart. Part of it is that I read an array of things from news articles, magazines, literary works, blogs and more. There are always rotating favorites, but there are also a few that I go to regularly. I thought I would share what I read every day because I wanted to show you how I breakdown what I read and how I get the information that I know. This roster changes, but not too often and you’ll see me crediting the sources of what I read every day across my channels!

In the Morning

You may have already seen this in my recent vlogs, but I always skim the news in the morning. I try to get a digest of everything going on locally, nationally, and globally. Since morning is always associated with productive time for me, I place reading the news in that category.

New York Times’ Morning Briefing Newsletter

The first thing I do the second I have some coffee in me is look for the New York Times’ Morning Briefing newsletter in my inbox. If you’re more of a listener, then I’d suggest their podcast. For me, I like to get my brain going and find reading at my own pace a great way to do that. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a newsletter that covers headlines with background information and easier to read, then theSkimm has a great newsletter that goes to your inbox Monday through Friday mornings too! Subscribe here to the newsletter. Without fail this is what I read every day.

BBC International News

Since the New York Times’ newsletter is a bit limited on international news, I prefer scanning the BBC International News website to fill me in on domestic news in foreign countries. I hope that makes sense?

Pulptown Newsletter

As I’m getting ready after my shower I usually receive Pulptown’s newsletter in my inbox. It’s the perfect newsletter and resource for all local things happening in Orlando from fun events, important news, and business openings. It’s new to what I read every day since my recent move in case you’re wondering! Subscribe here to the newsletter.

Lunch

I try to take an hour off for lunch. A really bad habit I picked up in London was working through my meals. I found that it wasn’t keeping me mindful of what I was eating and it ultimately had an impact on my gut health. Now I sit at a table and eat my lunch and use that time to actively clear my mind. Since that’s usually consumed in 35 minutes, I spend the rest of the hour reading about wellness.

Minority Mindset Newsletter

I’m trying to be smarter with my money and part of that is understanding how the market works. Since investing a little bit in the stock market, I have tried to stay on top of how the market is reacting to political events and other things. Minority Mindset’s daily newsletter goes a bit deeper in helping you understand what is going on in the market and how that might effect us and uncomplicates all things money-related.

The Well + Good

The Well + Good is a wellness blog that has more of a 360 approach. They share everything from recipes, exercises, skincare tips and more. I love that their content is a mix of videos and articles, which makes it fun if I’m feeling a bit lazy. Well+Good has also gotten me to think about my wellness and how to approach it in a healthy way. It’s been the bible for helping me achieve balance in work and life because it equips you with the right knowledge!

In the Evening

My evening routine is very simple. I eat dinner, help clean up, organize the space I was working in for the day, fix up my room if it was destroyed in the process, change into my pajamas, and get into bed with my laptop. Maybe not the healthiest having my laptop in bed, but I’m not perfect! Oftentimes I’ll do a bit of reading for about two hours, then I’ll get my evening skincare out of the way, then it’s time to Netflix before I’m off to bed!

Poetry

This may come to you as a surprise, but if you’ve been around here for a while you may know that my closest friends in graduate school were in the English program, specifically poetry and creative writing. We spent summers working on our dissertations and spending long summer days outside reading fiction and poetry. Between reading many drafts of my friends’ poetry work, I’ve also been supplementing it with additional poetry to help contextualize the way they’ve written theirs.

Whatever Book I’m Reading

I’m going through a weird phase where I haven’t been inspired to read all that much. I guess when I was in the thick of it all in London, my only escape was whatever I was reading at the time. The last few books I’ve read have been very light reads, but I’ll get into detail about them later!

Weekends

My weekends are a bit different from the rest of the week. I usually avoid reading everything I mentioned above and focus more on reading editorials, journals, essays, magazines, and anything else that piques my interest!

• The New Yorker is a great mix of essays and criticisms covering politics, popular culture, and the arts.
• Harvard Business Review is my source for all things productivity. From advice on leadership to work-life wellness, it’s great for entrepreneurs and corporate professionals.
• Inc.com is similar to HBR in that it caters to entrepreneurs and people in business, but gets into detail about people and businesses specifically. I love that they cover profiles of so many women-owned businesses and highlight both big and small victories in various industries.
• The Economist is an excellent source for looking at domestic issues on an international scale. Covering international stories and technological trends, it’s a great one to add for analytical thinking
• Rising Powers reports and analyzes climate risk in emerging economies. It’s an important and helpful read for my field and contextualizes what major international players (e.g. Brazil, Russia, India, China) are also doing.
• Mix used to be StumbleUpon, which is a personalized discovery platform. I’ve optimized it by selecting enjoyable articles and favorite topics. It then gives me a newsfeed of articles I might enjoy across the internet, which usually covers travel, fashion, and recipes.

What should I read every day? There you have it! My little mix of what I read every day and throughout the week! You can see that’s a great mix of self-help, current events, literature, and a decent sprinkling of articles to keep me thinking. If you’re looking for advice on what to read every day then make it the following:

• Local news is a great way to know what’s going on where you live. Try to go to some of the events they publicize so you don’t fall into a rut!
• Major news outlets like The New York Times or Washington Post will always keep you informed
• Something for yourself! Be in a book, magazine, or blog. Read something that interests you.
• Self-help in whatever capacity you want. I don’t care for big self-help books, so a few blogs that encourage me to live a balanced life is fine.
• Something to make you think. Editorials, essays, and investigations will keep your mind active and thinking about things in a different way.

What do you think of what I read every day and tell me what you read!