Welcome to the Friday Wrap-Up for May 29, 2026. This is a short newsletter where I talk about 3 things: What’s on my mind this week, Recommended Reading, and Recommended Media. Here's what's on my mind...
On My Mind
Working on Saturday Mornings and Summer: 2/3 of my kids finished up school this week (our school winds down in what feels like a super weird way but I also have 2 younger than 1st grade). That means summer break is coming and my schedule is going to monumentally shift for a couple of months.
But I've also noticed something over the last month or so: I've been insanely productive on Saturday mornings. Usually I'll wake up around 5am, make some coffee, let the dog out, and go down to my office to work for a couple of hours before the rest of the house is awake and functioning.
I don't know if it's just that Saturday mornings are quieter, or I know I have a limited amount of time so I lock-in faster. I'd like to think it's because there's not the hustle and bustle of getting the kids off to school...which with a 9, 5, and 4 year old takes a significant amount of effort.
Part of the reason I hope that is the case is because summer might be very productive; a more relaxed schedule and slower start to the morning might bode well for me.
I've known for a long time that mornings are when I work best — but I've always tried to box my work week into the regular work week. Part of that is a function of the school year...especially since next year all my kids will be in school full time. But maybe this summer is a time to experiment with a different sort of work week, where Saturday mornings are part of it and some week day isn't.
What does your work week look like? What are you best hours? Write back and let me know!
Recommended Reading
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin: I've been in a reading slump. I haven't read any books start-to-finish since March, and I hate it. But I've also been feeling meh about every book I picked up. I mean...I tried reading Walden and it was a slog.
But almost randomly (I saw a post from Rick Rubin on Substack) I decided to just grab The Creative Act off my bookshelf and give it a read. I finished it in a few days and I'm officially out of my reading slump.
This is a really easy read, and while it's a little too "woo woo" for me, there are a lot of really good nuggets. The effort to read vs. "woo woo" vs. nuggets is worth it.
And I think there's a little something for everyone.
Recommended Media
Early-Mid 2000s Pop Punk: No set YouTube video this week; I realized throughout the week I actually made 3 different discography playlists: HIM, New Found Glory, and Fall Out Boy.
Because I'm a playlist kind of guy, I have lots of folders for playlists like decades, seasons, holidays, stages of my life, feelings, and of-course, discographies. And I've been really feeling the music of my youth this week. Maybe it's because the school year is ending and that has me thinking about my own summer vacations. Maybe because it's my favorite music to blast with the windows down. Either way, I'm here for it.
To find those playlists, you can check out my profile on Apple Music.
Automation of the Week
Tag Discovery Calls in Kit: I don't know why this took me so long to do, especially because Cal.com has locked down the email templates on free accounts (even though I was able to edit them).
When someone books a call on Cal.com, I check to see if it's a discovery call, and then tag them accordingly in Kit.com. There are a few reasons for this:
- My main CTA on my emails is to book a discovery call, so I don't want to hit people up who've already done it.
- Currently I don't have a direct like to getting discovery call people on my mailing list. This gives me that path (with their consent, of course).
- This can become a more broad automation that tags people based on the type of call they book, which will allow me to better track how people on my list become clients. I started here because it was simple, limited in scope, and served a pressing need.
If you need help building these sort of simple, massively time-saving systems, book a free discovery call and let's chat.
You'll also help me test this automation 😂
Have a great weekend!
Joe
