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Remotely Interesting

June Favorites

Published 14 days ago • 4 min read

Hey there, This week, I'm sharing a quick recap of my favorite lessons, reads, and shares of the month. We'll be back to the usual articles next week.

If you came across anything great this month (whether it’s a book, podcast, or insight) I’d love to hear about it! Just hit reply and share what you loved.

PS: Join me next week for our monthly, Cooking with AI (Live!) event to catch up on the latest AI features and see how to actually put them to use. See you there!

June 2025 Recap

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Reads

This month I picked up Indistractable by Nir Eyal, a book that’s been on my radar for a while but kept getting… well, distracted from.

The timing ended up being perfect. As I shift between parenting, running two newsletters, and building a company, I’ve felt that familiar pull of fragmented attention. Like my brain keeps trying to load too many tabs at once.

Indistractable is about reclaiming your focus, but it’s not about going off-grid or deleting every app. What I appreciated most is how practical and non-judgmental it is. Eyal’s approach isn’t about shame, but about designing your environment and habits with intention. So that you use tech rather than letting it use you.

The Good: The chapters are short (he clearly knows his audience). And the book is shorter than it looks, about 50 pages at the end are just bonus resources. Great pacing, engaging stories, and actionable takeaways. Also, appreciated the section on parenting indistractable kids in a high-tech world.

The Bad:​
I found myself wishing for an updated edition that tackles how to use AI to build stronger virtual boundaries and fight back against the slop. It’s a gap that feels increasingly relevant.

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If your focus feels scattered, this one’s worth a read.

Some Highlights:

(Side note: I have a Telegram group chat for people who like reading non-fiction books to share highlights and current reads. If you'd like an invite, reply to this email with the best nonfiction book you read last year and what you're reading next.)

Listens

I’m getting nap-trapped far less these days, so my podcast queue has thinned out, but these three episodes still earned a spot in my earbuds:

It's okay, you can take a break (This Working Life)

The title says it all. Listen here if you need the reminder:

show
It's okay, you can take a br...
Jun 27 · This Working Life
25:52
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Michele Ferrero and His $40 Billion Privately Owned Chocolate Empire (Founder's Podcast)

I had never heard the Ferrero story before. Always love a good example of successful founders who treat their people well. Here's an excerpt:

One thing he was adamant about is that he wanted low employee turnover. He wanted you to have a lifelong job at Ferrero. Many people worked with him for more than three or four decades. Their kids would be born, they would grow up, and then they would come to work at Ferrero as well.
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When they let in the reporters for the first time, 60 years into the history of the company, they remarked that how many of the relatives were related to each other. And they would talk about what Michael would do for them.
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So he would show up and he'd make coffee for the factory workers before they arrived. He would bring hot chocolate to the people working on the night shift. He would ask them questions about what they're seeing on the factory floor, what was going on in their personal lives.
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He traveled with some of his employees to see machines that they could use production. They went and traveled to Germany. One of his employees wasn't feeling well and decided to go back to his hotel room. Michael shows up a short time later with herbal tea and wanted to see if there's anything else that his employee needed.
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He believed that creating wealth was a moral duty and it was imperative to treat your employees well.
show
#392 Michele Ferrero and His...
Jun 23 · Founders
54:55
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Henrik Karlsson - Cultivating a Life That Fits (Dialectic)

Henrik shares a kind of double-life: half deeply online, half farming with his kids on a Danish island. My favorite moment:

It’s a very sort of barbell approach … I put a lot of effort into my writing... then I switch off the computer and go out into nature with my kids. It’s really nice to have these. I like having very extremely barbelled situations.
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19: Henrik Karlsson - Cultiv...
Jun 3 · Dialectic
164:42
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A good reminder that deep work and deep rest can (and should) coexist. It also echoed a tweet I shared earlier this month about redefining what balance looks like:

Shares

In case you missed it, I shared three new articles this month:

A People-First Approach to AI Adoption

The AI playbook for teams that actually care about people

​→ Read it​

The Availability Trap

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Always-on culture is quietly burning out remote teams. Here’s how to reset expectations and protect what actually matters.

​​→ Read it​

My Quiet Power Tools for Remote Work

After trying every tool out there, these are the three that have earned my trust and helped me work better, year after year.

​​→ Read it​

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Work Forward Society

Want to meet others who do work differently?

Join us in making 2025 your year of less meetings and more real work!
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What did you think of this issue? What do you hope to see in the next one? Hit reply and let me know. I read every response.

I truly appreciate you taking the time to read this. Hope you have a lovely day!

Marissa
​Founder, Remote Work Prep​

P.S.

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