Staying Connected While Staying Home

This week we're looking for ways to connect and stay in touch with friends, family, hobbies, and creative pursuits—from a safe distance, of course. We may be spending a little more time apart, but we're focused on finding connection.

Missed out on last week's email? Click here to browse through our finds from last Friday.

Check out our picks to help you stay connected while staying home:

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This week’s assignment

Wondering how you can use your design skills to help others during this time? The UN's Global Call Out to Creatives asks designers of all skill levels to submit visual public health messages in an effort to inform others across different languages, cultures, communities, and platforms. Click here to get the full details, and submit your designs by April 30th for your chance to be selected!

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Book of the week

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell - If you've ever wondered how trends become explosive hits overnight, how ideas spread like wildfire, and what role each of us play in spreading epidemics, The Tipping Point is the next read for you.

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Deliver beautiful style guides

Have you heard? Our new product, The Style Guide Kit, is available for pre-order! This kit is everything you need to make style guides for the brands you create, manage, and build. Deliver your design work in a way that sets up you and your clients up for success.

Click here to pre-order your copy and save $30! Plus, if you pre-order before April 30th, you'll get access to Ben Burns' exclusive webinar!

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Connect the dots

• Learn Tim Ferriss' note-taking and journaling method that helps him filter out the best information. He'll walk you through his tips for brainstorming, focusing, and reducing anxiety.
• Rereading your favorite books may have more powerful effects than you realize, and now's a great time to jump back into the books that have made an impact on you.

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Get in touch

• Houseparty is the social networking app that lets you video chat and play games online with friends and family across all your devices.
• Hopin lets you host online events for attendees to learn, interact, and connect with people from all over the world. Host your next webinar, networking event, or meetup on Hopin!
• Caribu is the video-calling app made for kids. Missing your cousins, nephews, nieces, or grandkids? Give them a call on Caribu for a virtual playdate they'll love.

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What to watch

• Bao, the Pixar animated short that scooped the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2019, is still tugging at our heart strings.
• Author Priya Parker's TED Talk on how to create meaningful connections shows us how to "gather better," rather than "gathering more."
• This animated short of Brene Brown defining empathy shows us how to be more vulnerable and in touch with ourselves to empathize with others.

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Listen while you work

Music we’re loving:

• We made a playlist! Listen to The Futur team's picks on Spotify to perk up your week.
• Get in a groove with Spotify's Breakestra Radio featuring upbeat jazz and breaks.

Podcasts we recommend:

• The DadPreneur Podcast, hosted by Futur Pro Group member, Mario Quezada, taps into the real challenges in the balancing act of parenting and scaling a business.
• Dax Shepard may be another quirky celebrity, but his podcast, Armchair Expert, gives us a glimpse into Dax's fascination with connecting with others.

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Meals to try this week

Easy, comforting dishes that taste like home:

• Breakfast - The Israeli staple that's sure to be your next breakfast obession: Shakshuka‍
• Lunch - Nothing tastes like home quite like Chicken Noodle Soup‍
• Dinner - Cook up this classic childhood dish that'll bring everyone to the table: Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese

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And finally, a quote to keep in mind throughout the week

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
— John Muir

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