Countdown Mode
From Massachusetts museums to what’s helping me stay sane
The last few weeks have been a mix of travel, work, and hitting reset. I snuck away to Massachusetts, partly for Bastét, partly to shake things up — and spent time wandering through Mass MoCA and The Clark. Travel is always inspiring, but also a guarantee that my workouts and meals slide off rhythm. Coming back, I feel like I’ve pressed reset: fresh energy, fresh structure. And because part of what I love about writing here is sharing the everyday (not just the highlight reel), here’s where I’m at lately.
Starting a business is stress central, and the only thing that keeps me grounded is moving my body. I used to teach Pilates, so that’s always been my anchor, but this past year I’ve been layering in more strength training. Honestly? It’s thrown me. Pilates/barre gives me that quick burn-and-done satisfaction, while strength training requires more planning and mental space. Sometimes I leave the gym feeling more mentally taxed than physically.
To take the guesswork out of it, I’m committing to a 12-week plan: three strength sessions a week, Pilates/barre sprinkled in, and daily walks. I even bought a weighted vest (new obsession) the posture awareness alone has been worth it. If you have a strength program you swear by, send it my way. I’ve yet to find one that truly sticks.
I’ve been leaning on reading as my off-screen escape. My habits swing, sometimes I tear through books, other times I can barely get past 50 pages but either way it feels like a reset. With so much of my work tied to screens, carving out time with a book has become my pause button. Most mornings I try to start with sunlight and a few pages before checking emails. Some reads are just for fun, others for learning, usually a mix of both.
A few favorites lately:
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant (Eric Jorgenson) nudged me to see entrepreneurship differently. I still flip back to it when I need a quick hit of inspiration.
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself (Joe Dispenza) isn’t business-focused, but it’s shaped how I reframe stress and come back to challenges with more clarity.
The Art of Thinking Clearly (Rolf Dobelli) — a gem for sharpening mental habits.
I read plenty of “business” books (I just finished 5 Types of Wealth and I’m in the middle of Blitzscaling), but honestly, the ones that stick with me most aren’t business reads at all.
On the pleasure side:
The Sisters by Jonas Hassen Khemiri — a hefty 638 pages, but surprisingly easy to dip in and out of thanks to its short chapters. It jumps between Stockholm, Tunisia, and New York, and while it could’ve been shorter, I loved the ride.
How to Lose Your Mother by Molly Jong-Fast — if you’ve read Fear of Flying by her mother Erica, this is fascinating insight. It’s a sharp, honest exploration of a complicated mother–daughter dynamic (with the added twist of fame as the omnipresent third character).
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore — a perfect summer novel set at a camp. Atmospheric, fun, and a true seasonal escape.
P.S. I’m always looking for more recommendations. Please comment what’s on your stack right now.
Also if you read my newsletter two weeks ago, you know that I am currently on a spend freeze until we launch.
What’s In My Breakfast Bowl (and My Closet Wishlist)
After sharing a snap of my breakfast bowl on IG, I got way more questions than I expected. Clearly, my original caption didn’t cut it—so here’s a proper breakdown. Just a heads up: I’m not a doctor or nutritionist, just someone who’s spent years experimenting, doing lab testing, and tuning in to what actually makes me feel good (and sometimes… not so go…
To keep myself sane, I’ve been reworking my closet into a formula—especially for meetings. Cycling through my staples has made me realize how a small rotation can feel fresh if styled right. I’ll share some favorite pieces and alternatives soon.
On the topic of meetings: I’ve finally admitted my makeshift desk setup (laptop stacked on cookbooks) is tragic. It’s time to buy a proper standing desk, but until then…we adapt.
A few things that have been helping:
Light hygiene. Screens always dimmed, I use F.lux. on my laptop. Blue light glasses (clear for day, yellow for night, red for the evenings). I also have a red light shortcut on my phone for evenings. The payoff: fewer headaches, better sleep-I also convert everyone on the Bastét team to do the same.
Content tools. I finally caved and bought a magnetic phone case to nudge myself into creating more content. Tripod next (terrifying).
Also from an admin side of the business, we are a pretty lean team so incorporating structure with all of the moving parts using tools like Trello and Notion has really helped especially during production phases, also for every meeting I have an notes.ai. Since we are in a category that is heavily science based, we do use ChatGPT (lightly, mainly used for fact-checking), I’ve also had to learn some new skills with Figma and Canva, and of course keeping sane with an organized Gmail Suite. Also looking for new tools to incorporate, feel free to share.
And because food is my love language, you’ve probably noticed this in our Table Series here’s what’s been on repeat in my kitchen lately… “food therapy”: I came across organic rhubarb at the very end of the season so a mandatory strawberry rhubarb pie, banana crumb cake, some tomatoes and onions I was roasted for a tomato, corn soup.
On an exciting end note we are ONE month out from launching Bastét.
Sign up for early access → www.bastetritual.com
As always, thanks for being here
-Ally
✍️ adding ally’s reads to my Goodreads list ✍️
One of my favorite things about travel is the reset at home afterwards. Hope things goes smoothly ahead of the launch!