Dawn Friedman is a licensed clinical counselor and parent educator who lives in the Poconos. She operates Open Book Parenting, where she offers a weekly reflective journaling practice for parents raising anxious kids in a worried world, which is called, Tell Me It Will Be OK: The Practice. Readers can sign up for The Practice at http://openbookparenting.com.

PHYSICAL

• White board Magnetic Sticky Notes: I bought four of these little white boards to organize three months at a time, with a bonus holding board. I write all of the tasks I do every month on a color-coded sticky note — each newsletter I write, the podcast, the guided reflective journaling recordings — and whatever extras I have coming up like a Keynote presentation I need to build or a course I need to finish. At the start of the month the little whiteboard is full and as I finish each task it either moves to the next month or gets erased and set aside on the bonus board, (which holds blanks and future tasks that aren’t happening in the next three months). I’m a visual person and I need to organize tasks away from my monitor so that I can glance up and see exactly what’s still on my to-do-list. These magnetic sticky notes help me not just get organized but feel organized, which is half the battle.
• Icebug Boda Women’s BUGrip: These cleated, waterproof boots have been a lifesaver for continuing my long walks in winter weather. This year we had a lot of ice and they did not fail. The metal cleats keep me stable even on unexpected black ice but are lightweight enough that they’re fine to walk over uncleared asphalt, too, which means stomping around my neighborhood is easy whether or not the plows have made it my way. They say you can walk over wet walks without slipping in them but I haven’t had the guts to try that yet.
• iSi Gourmet Whip: I got this because my husband’s one indulgence is whipped cream on his coffee throughout the day and I got tired of buying (and tossing) the store brand whipped cream containers. I found this for Father’s Day (along with a box of the nitrous chargers) and he’s in love. It’s fun to make whipped cream and play with flavors and it means a lot less waste. We got an open box version on eBay and so far, so good!

DIGITAL

• Endel Lifetime Subscription: I work best with a soundtrack but if the soundtrack is too good then I start paying attention to the music instead of my job. Endel links up with my Apple Watch to send me soundscapes that are ostensibly personalized to my circadian rhythm, the weather at my locality, what my watch senses I’m doing. I can let it autoplay or choose Focus or Relaxation and the tunes are unobtrusive enough that I let it play in the background on my bluetooth speaker when I’m seeing my therapy clients, too. I also use it on walks, where it changes the rhythm to go with my stride (although I don’t like it while running when I really want some thumping club music to keep me going). My husband swears his sleep is so much better when we play it at night, which is what inspired me to upgrade to the lifetime subscription.
• ScreenZen: I installed this donation-supported app after the election when I found myself coming to my clinical sessions agitated and distracted after reading the news and/or social media on my lunch hour. ScreenZen blocks distracting apps and websites but lots of apps do that — including Apple’s own system. But what I like about ScreenZen is that if you need to, you can open that app or that site but it makes you pause. It might ask you to ask yourself, “Why am I checking?” Or it might ask you to breathe first. I recommend it to clients because it allows us to be more mindful when we do want to push through the block. It not only broke me off my Threads rabbit holes but also made me notice why and when I was reaching for my phone.

INVISIBLE

There is a song by Jane Siberry on her album, About a Boy, called “The Gospel According to Darkness”. It’s a beautiful song on a beautiful album but there is a particular bit that moves me like no other. My mom had rough beginnings (understatement) and due to the way these challenges shaped her and our relationship, we haven’t spoken in years. I still love my mom and grieve the loss of her in my life and this image of her brand new, full of hope, with a chance for things to be different just wrecks me but in a good way. The lyrics to that part are:

“Oh, my sweet sweet darlin’ (Wait)

You know when you open up your eyes?

(Oh, I’m afraid there won’t be anyone)

I’m beaming you all this light (Something’s happening)

Who is it? (It’s a. I’m holding my sweet mama in my arms)

Is she dying? (No, I think she’s just been born)

Mmm hmm (And she looks, she look so... sweet)

I know there’s a place

(And she looks so... hopeful)

That you call your own

(And she looks so... trusting)

Safe and warm

(She doesn’t know, she doesn’t know how hard)

And you feel like you’re home”

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