JULY 1, 2026

INSIDE: Decision Fatigue, Silent Splurging, and Enola Holmes’s Costumes.

TODAY I WILL:

Give myself a chance to impress myself.

Is your group chat also feeling that summertime sadness?

• Basically nothing can convince us to stop sleeping with our pets.

• It only costs $3.99 a month to make Instagram even more crazy-making.

• Maybe we should keep AI out of our love lives.

• Grieving the end of summer when it’s only just begun is pretty common.

• If you’re still looking for a Fourth of July mani, look no further.

Too Many Tabs Open

Choosing a dinner recipe. Picking a show. Deciding what to wear. Replying to a text. Scheduling an appointment. None of these decisions are particularly life-changing, but when they pile up, they can leave you feeling surprisingly drained.

That's the reality of decision fatigue. The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder it becomes to make thoughtful ones later on. It's one reason why ordering takeout can feel impossible after a long workday or why online shopping carts somehow end up filled with things you weren't planning to buy. Your brain simply gets tired.

Modern life doesn't exactly help. Between endless streaming options, dozens of open browser tabs, constant notifications, and an algorithm serving up new recommendations every few seconds, we're making far more decisions than previous generations ever had to. Even small choices require mental energy.

The good news is that decision fatigue isn't necessarily a sign that you're overwhelmed or bad at making choices. It often means your brain has been working overtime. That's why many people find relief in creating routines, simplifying recurring decisions, or giving themselves permission to choose "good enough" instead of endlessly searching for the perfect option.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is remove a few decisions from your plate altogether.

Try this today: Identify one choice you make repeatedly and automate it. Create a go-to breakfast, a default lunch order, a standing workout time, or a simple outfit formula. Saving your energy on the small stuff leaves more room for the decisions that actually matter.

Money Talks Less

For years, luxury spending was often tied to visibility. Designer logos, recognizable packaging, and products that signaled status from across the room dominated the conversation. But lately, a different approach is gaining traction: spending more on things that improve your life, not necessarily your image.

Think high-quality sheets that nobody else sees, cookware you'll use for a decade, a comfortable office chair, tailoring that makes existing clothes fit better, or a suitcase that survives years of travel. These purchases aren't designed to impress anyone scrolling past your Instagram Story. They're meant to make your day-to-day life easier, more comfortable, and more enjoyable.

Part of the appeal is that silent luxury spending often encourages a longer-term mindset. Instead of buying multiple cheaper versions of the same thing, some consumers are choosing to save up for items they'll genuinely use for years. The goal isn't owning the most expensive option; it's buying fewer things that work better and last longer.

It's also a subtle shift away from performative consumption. Not every purchase needs to be content, and not every upgrade needs to be announced. Sometimes the best investments are the ones no one notices, but you benefit from every single day.

The financial lesson here isn't that everyone should spend more. It's that value doesn't always look flashy. Sometimes the smartest money move is investing in quality where it matters most to you and skipping the pressure to make those purchases visible to everyone else.

Worth asking yourself: If you couldn’t tell anyone else that you bought it, would you still want that item? The answer can be surprisingly helpful when deciding what's actually worth the splurge.

If there's one thing the Enola Holmes movies always get right, it's the fashion. From Enola's signature adventurous dresses that modernize historical looks with a signature rebellion to the looks that quietly reveal where she is in her journey, every costume helps tell the story. 

With Enola Holmes 3 streaming on Netflix today, we caught up with the film's Oscar-winning costume designer, Consolata Boyle, to talk about bringing Enola's next chapter to life. She shared how closely she collaborated with Millie Bobby Brown, why the script is always her starting point, and the deeper meaning behind that unforgettable wedding dress.

When you begin designing costumes for a project like Enola Holmes 3, what's your starting point—historical research, the script, the characters, or something else?

The main thing with everything, every project, whether it's the Enola projects or any other, is the script, which is the main thing. The whole script spends as much time as possible taking it apart, talking about it, talking to the director about what they want and where they want this story, because obviously we have been involved in many Enola stories, which is so lovely. Her progression through life, she's growing up, which is a wonderful way to follow her through. 

I always find that with research it's a wonderful time, and then the sort of nitty-gritty sets in… and the luxury of discussion has to end. Then we move on right to the completed garment, working very closely with the actors and the director. And for me, it was working very, very closely with Millie herself on everything that she wanted. She had a very, very strong contribution to the look of her character in Enola Holmes 3, particularly.

What does the collaboration process look like between you, the director, and the cast when shaping a character's visual identity?

One thing that is really important with the Enola character, and has been there from the very beginning, is that we always wanted, and Millie wanted, to be dressed in versions of the period. There'll be lots of petticoats, lots of layers, lots of corsets, obviously involved, and yet she's able to do all the character can do, all this extraordinary physical courage, and sometimes they seem reckless, taking almost amazing physical