I’ve been holding onto a Dan Harris post since this summer because it had a lot of advice that spoke to me. Nothing new, just well-said. It’s a nice set of advice if you are navigating difficult moments or feeling overwhelmed by the news (either from the larger world or more personal) or just remembering that it’s best to never worry alone.

Passing it along to you in case you can use it, too.

There was a Wall Street Journal article making its way around the internet about a group of friends who started something they called “admin night.” Once a month, they got together and committed to taking things off their to-do list. Filling out forms, balancing their checking account, or dealing with the insurance company. The tasks everyone puts off because they’re unpleasant to do. She writes:

Right away we marveled at how productive we were. Having friends hammer away beside you, faces lighted by the same bureaucratic glow, somehow makes dreaded tasks manageable. Little projects postponed for years—closing a checking account, updating a will—become approachable when you’ve got a squad. We even start sharing wisdom: how to roll over a 401(k), how to get that refund. (Guessing a CEO’s email address, we’ve found, can be surprisingly effective.)

It’s a brilliant idea, and it clearly works for this group, but I think it would only work if everyone committed to the night — whether or not they have any tasks to do. It’s something I’ve noticed a lot on group calls. There are the people who show up every time (or almost every time), and the ones who only show up when they need the call. Life happens, of course, but group calls or group gatherings don’t work unless people prioritize them.

What do you think?

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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We own several immortal animals — a quokka, two polar bears, a puffin — and a stone in the Tower of London, but I just learned that we could sponsor a book in the British Library. It would kind of become your book. I mean, you couldn’t take it out of the library, just as I cannot remove my immortal quokka from Rottnest Island, but knowing it’s kinda sorta (not really) yours will make your heart explode in happiness.

Sponsoring items makes a really cool gift if you’re struggling to come up with something good right now, and if you go for something already being conserved, you can feel pretty good that it will hopefully still exist for the rest of your life.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.

A friend and I were talking about bucket lists, and I admitted that I only had one thing on my bucket list. One thing I would be super bummed I didn’t do while I was on earth. There are things I would like to do. I would like to see my immortal quokka, Akiva. I would like to go to the Magic Castle in Los Angeles. But if I don’t meet my quokka, and I never see magic tricks, I will be okay.

But I will not be okay if I don’t do this one thing.

Go to Efteling in the Netherlands.

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Every time we go on a trip, we buy trip insurance. It has saved us twice, and it’s a huge weight off my mind. But did you know you could get annual trip insurance? I had no idea this service existed. Instead of getting insurance for each trip, you pay once, and it covers you for all trips you take that year. When you’re about to travel, you add the new trip to the site so it’s covered. Isn’t that brilliant? We’re going to explore it the next time we have a trip on the horizon.

Like to Efteling? Hint, hint, hint, family?

The kids are both home — hooray! And I realized something brilliant this week. There are eight nights of Chanukkah, and with four people in the family, we each get to light twice. In the past, we’ve always repeated the same order, so whoever lights the first night also lights the 5th night, etc. Clearly, the best position (if you like lighting candles) would be on the 4th and 8th nights because you get the most candles.

BUT.

If you reverse the order on the back half of the holiday, everyone gets to light nine candles:

First night + eighth night = 9
Second night + seventh night = 9
Third night + sixth night = 9
Fourth night + fifth night = 9

I was this many years old when I realized that. So now everyone lights the same number of candles. Thanks, math.

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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

And now the blogs…

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But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Road Less Travelled writes about the gut punch of learning someone has died, in this case, a friend of 41 years. She writes: “Hug the people you love. Make that phone call, send that email, arrange that lunch date.  Life is short, and tomorrow is not promised.” Sending a big hug after reading this beautiful tribute.

Lastly, All & Sundry writes about realizing you’re living a better life. I love this part so much: “How I did not realize just how much better my life could be. I was so afraid to leave the comfort I had, I didn’t know it was like riding wrong in the saddle. You think it’s fine until you feel something better, and then that just blows your whole world wide open.” So much of life is having the courage to make a change and see if something can be even better than what you have now.

The roundup to the Roundup: Thanks, math. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between December 12 – 19) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.