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The Sunday Setup

A smart and energizing newsletter designed to help ambitious, thoughtful people kick off their week with more clarity, confidence, and momentum. Journalist, USA Today bestselling author and leadership expert Amy Shoenthal blends quick, actionable insights with real-world personal stories, making it feel like a coffee catch-up with your smartest, most grounded friend. The one who leaves you feeling a little more equipped (and a lot more energized) for whatever’s ahead. It’s casual but confident, thoughtful but never heavy, and always delivers a small but meaningful action you can easily put into practice.

Featured Post

The Sunday Setup: Small Acts of Self Advocacy

Happy Mother’s Day, whether you’re a mom, have a mom, know a mom, or if mom stuff brings up weird feelings and you ignored the whole thing. No wrong way to deal with today. I spent Saturday getting tipsy with my “it takes a village” village at our local park’s Mother’s Day Lawn Party, and today I celebrated with my own mom and extended fam over lots of food (our love language) and handmade cards from the kids. Last week's recap: Our last challenge was all about carving out 15 minutes a day...

Welcome to The Sunday Setup! It’s pretty much still Amy’s Antidote, just more structured to help set you up for a blend of productivity and balance this week while also managing to have some fun. Think of it as your little buffer between weekend-you and work-mode-you. Whether you’re here to distract yourself from the Sunday Scaries or save this for your Monday commute, I’m just so glad you’re here. Each week, I’ll be sending you one small, meaningful action that might offer a little more...

Three years ago, I hit "send" on the very first edition of Amy’s Antidote. I started it because I needed a place to write that was fully mine. At the time, all my creative energy was funneled into agency work, big brand campaigns, and media bylines, none of which really belonged to me. So I started small. A casual approach for a few friends. We grew a bit once The Setback Cycle was published. We grew more after events, a few small partnerships, a viral TEDx talk, and more. Over time, this...

I love a good spring cleaning closet refresh. After unpacking from last week's family vacation, I spent yesterday morning clearing out my closet and filling up two giant garbage bags of clothes to give away. I pride myself on keeping a fairly minimalist wardrobe (credited to many years spent in small Manhattan apartments with limited closet space). Still, even now, with slightly more closet space, I maintain a fundamental wardrobe, plus a five-item per month Rent the Runway subscription to...

Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of The Setback Cycle. Can you believe it’s been a year? Can you believe it’s been ONLY a year? I’m thrilled because I’ll be spending the evening donned once again in the iconic orange suit speaking to a group of interior design industry leaders at Bernhardt Design’s Women’s History Month event. This past year has been kind of transformative. Companies now bring me in to facilitate corporate workshops, I've spoken at major organizations like Google,...

I'm having a bit of an identity crisis with this newsletter. I recognize this was originally set up as your antidote to doomscrolling. But the last few issues have been, I realize, less than optimistic. It’s been a weird, terrifying, heartbreaking time. Sometimes I just can’t find optimism. But this place will always be reflective of the conversations I’m having and I'll always try to share trends I'm seeing with my coaching and marketing clients, insights into trends and actionable, useful...

Lately, motivation feels like a struggle. For many of us, the energy that once propelled forward in our career is fading. Even for those who love their work or have the rare feeling of stability, this vibe rings true. It’s hard not to feel a bit demoralized when everyone around you is either getting laid off, having federal programs that funded their work removed, or seeing how years of hard work can so easily be shattered. And forget “getting ahead.” Right now that concept seems so far out...

No matter what industry you’re in, it’s clear that AI is reshaping the future of work. Just last year, LinkedIn’s 2024 Jobs On The Rise reported that the #2 fastest growing job in America is AI Consultant. The top one? AI Engineer. People are now using AI to write articles, newsletters, social media posts and more. I assure you that what you’re currently reading was written by a human woman sitting outside of her human daughter’s dance class alongside other human parents clacking away on...

Things are feeling a bit extra uncertain right now, yes? Sure, this is always the case to some degree, but today, this week, this…year which we're apparently only 21 days into, the uncertainty feels especially dark. We don’t need to get into why, as there’s plenty being written about all that. No matter what’s driving your anxiety around uncertainty, I'm here with suggestions on how we can try to cope with it. I was recently given an advanced copy of How To Fall in Love with Questions by...

Anyone else feel like the holidays are as distant a memory as those New Year’s Resolutions? Meanwhile, I'm noticing this week that you are all ready to dive right the ef back in, huh? I am simultaneously impressed by the energy and overwhelmed by it. I love that a lot of folks got an extended break as so many offices were closed until Monday the 6th. I personally went back to work on Thursday the 2nd, which felt great because no one wanted to do anything and I spent the first two business...