Hello 👋
Are you stuck inside where you are? Lockdown two is underway here in Amsterdam. The return to stillness means no more excuses not to hunker down on my creative projects. I want to use this time as an opportunity to reflect, make, and build as best I can.
I'm considering writing an essay on my very different experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic across the three countries I've lived in this year: Malaysia, the UK, and the Netherlands. Is that something you'd be interested in reading? Hit reply and let me know.
Thanks for reading 🙏
-Lauren
📥 Stoop: A Dedicated Inbox for Your Newsletters (iOS & Android App)
My inbox is in constant chaos, so I'm always looking for smart ways to break things up into bitesize chunks. Stoop lets you sign up for newsletters with a different email address and then scroll them in a beautiful app interface. It's optimized for newsletters, so none of that "view more in browser" nonsense either.
🚀 Mauritius Latest to Launch Premium Remote Work Visa (Dan Rowden)
The global battle for remote workers is heating up again. This week, Mauritius joined a handful of other island nations in launching a premium 12-month visa program (including options for families and extensions). The bureaucracy of global living is fading, and the stage is set for “work from anywhere” to become a defining trend this decade.
🌿 TikTok and the Recession Are Bringing Back the American Commune (VICE)
This fascinating piece looks at how TikTok influencers are choosing to live together in “hype houses” and collaborate on their content. Journalist Calvin Kasulke compares this modern phenomenon to the traditional American commune, and delves into the history of the movement and the impact of recession on the appetite for coliving.
📝 How to Pitch and Write an Opinion Piece (MIT Technology Review)
Tech Review has gone from strength to strength in recent years, pivoting to digital with style and constantly improving their output. Now, the team is seeking pitches for opinion pieces from writers, professionals, and experts alike. This guide offers advice on pitching them, plus lots of brilliant insights about writing comment and opinion pieces for any publication.
📚 The 50 Laws of Freelancing (Stefan Palios)
Stefan Palios shares the lessons he learned launching a freelance business from scratch. This no-nonsense book is a sales guide for new and experienced freelancers alike, offering practical frameworks for various aspects of running and succeeding with a “company of one.” Stefan is also host of the Remotely Inclined podcast I appeared on recently (~20 mins).
🎬 Jiro Dreams of Sushi (David Gelb)
This brilliant documentary tells the story of 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono and his eventual heir's struggles to live up to Ono's impossibly high standards as a renowned Tokyo restaurateur. It’s lighthearted and entertaining, offers lots of quirky insight into Japanese life, and really gets to the heart of what it is to dedicate your life to your craft.
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-Lauren