We’re deep in our cheese stick era over here. (The white ones. NOT the yellow ones we loved last week. Let's be clear.) And yea, that meant we had three cheese sticks before noon on Saturday. It's protein, right??
Anyway, if you’re also feeling like this season is running you instead of the other way around, this one’s for you. We’re doing a quick-hit mid-season reset to help you fix what’s broken without burning it all down.
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⚡ The 10AM Mental Reboot Window (Or Whenever You Can Claim It)
👉 Mornings with young kids are loud, chaotic, and full of unscheduled bodily fluids. If you can, try protecting the first part of your day from anything that requires deep focus or maximum patience. We call it a No-Load Zone — not a break, but a buffer. A grace period where you don’t pile on more.
That could look like:
Blocking meetings until 10 if you work from home or have flexible hours
Moving the hardest work task to the afternoon instead of 8am, or whenever you can get that coffee/soda break in
Claiming 10 quiet minutes after daycare drop-off or post-nap as your mental defrost window
If you're out of the house all day: can you stack the most mindless parts of your job early so your brain catches up while your body keeps moving?
Bottom line: Start slower, if possible. Your brain deserves a warm-up lap too.
💗 What’s Draining You? Name It + Nuke It
👉 Mid-year energy is weird. You’re not starting fresh, but you’re probably clinging to a few routines that aren’t working anymore. You know…those tasks that makes you instantly grumpy the second they pop up - folding laundry, packing the diaper bag again, reorganizing toys that get dumped out 12 seconds later. So, let’s nuke it. Not ignore it. Just drop-kick it into a lazier orbit.
Examples we’ve tried (or heard about and will be adopting asap):
Swapped folding laundry for bins. They don't even have to have labels: undies, tees, chaos
Gave up on the toy system. Everything now lives in one giant tub. It's fine.
Bought a week of Lunchables and stopped pretending it was a temporary phase
Rewore pajamas as "day clothes" because no one’s got energy for outfit policing
Did you know? 🧃 JuiceBox is built by a tiny team of working parents just like you. We curate and write this stuff so you don’t have to but we’d LOVE for you to get in on the action.
💬 Got a time-saving tip or a chaos-fighting hack of your own? Hit reply and share it—we all need a village, and we’d love to hear from you.
👯♀️ Know a fellow parent who needs this? Forward away or hit this button:
💸 The 3-Column Summer Audit
👉 Feeling the summer slide: in your energy, your budget, or your ability to remember what day it is? Do a 5-minute gut check to course-correct. Grab a sticky note or the back of a grocery receipt and make three columns:
Loved it: Stuff that felt worth it (impromptu splash pad, friend swap day, movie night)
Did it, didn’t need to: Time/money drains with zero payoff (crowded events, crafts that caused tears, overpriced museum fail)
Wanted to, skipped: Things you actually care about but haven’t made happen (solo errands, backyard margaritas, a full hour with your book.)
Make this your summer GPS: do more of column one, less of column two, and attempt to squeeze in column three.
💼 This Week’s Work WTF
Inspired by real life events.
Scenario:
“Teammate’s on PTO and my boss asked me to log on early to cover — but daycare doesn’t open until 8:30.”
What We Wish We Could Say:
“Absolutely! I’ll just leave my small child on the curb with a granola bar and a note.”
Steal This Response:
“I can be online earlier if needed, but I won’t have childcare yet so I’ll likely be camera-off and may have some background noise. Let me know if that still works, and I’ll do what I can from here.”
K that’s all. You’re the best and we love you.
-CK “Cheese Master” Fuller (Editor) & the JB Crew 🫡
P.S. Next week: Mid-summer’s not too late to course-correct. You don’t need a full makeover, just one less thing to carry this week. We’re right here with you.