Helping you find the good stuff. Downtime is a weekly newsletter sharing useful recommendations and curated style edits — written by a bookish homebody.
created by Alisha Ramos, formerly of the Girls’ Night In newsletter
What’s in the newsletter?
In the popular weekly Friday post, you’ll find all the highly vetted recommendations that I might text a good friend about—like a totally engrossing new novel, the new show I can’t stop watching, or the softest sweatpants I’ve tried. Occasionally, you’ll even find a Deep Thought buried in the post somewhere. These posts are primarily for paid subscribers.
Downtime also regularly features guests and people worth knowing in monthly columns like Bookmarked (interviews with authors and bookish people discussing their reading rituals and favorite books) and Winding Down With (worth-it recommendations for your off-hours from cool people in the know). The twice-monthly Downtime Edit is a new style and shopping column where we discuss personal style, and I share my latest finds, particularly in my strange and exciting new postpartum life stage. There’s a secret(ish?) column about motherhood aptly called…Motherhood (it is opt-in only).
People seem to like the newsletter (over 130,000 subscribers), and readers say that Downtime feels like a bright spot in their inbox. Above all, I’m always seeking inspiration, coziness, and living with intention. I hope you’ll leave each issue of Downtime feeling inspired, entertained, and like you’re catching up with a friend.
x Alisha
“It’s like getting an email from your smart, funny, in-the-know friend.”
Direct reader support makes this newsletter possible.
Free subscribers receive a few newsletters per month. Paid subscribers receive all weekly newsletters plus *extra* content each month featuring roundups, interviews, Q&A’s, personal updates from Alisha, mini-essays, and access to the Downtime community (like joining our fun reader chats, book clubs, and comments).
About
Hi! Alisha here, the creator and primary writer behind Downtime. I’m a recovering media entrepreneur: I founded the popular Girls’ Night In lifestyle newsletter and media business, which I ran for six years. It’s been featured in publications like Vogue and The New York Times. I also launched a line of puzzles called Whiled. Before that, I worked in tech and brand. It’s been a weird and fun journey!
I’ve always been that friend who loves to [over]share all her latest discoveries, and this is partly why the newsletter exists. I’m an avid reader of fiction (literary with a dash of romance), a design and style lover, a classic overthinker, and a type-A-who-loves-a-good-spreadsheet kinda gal. I’m thinking about motherhood, career, and identity a lot these days, too (there’s an opt-in Motherhood section of the newsletter).
I like to consider how to live intentionally and make space for rest, creativity, and joy. If any of that resonates with you, you might like the Downtime newsletter.
Thanks for being here. x
Contact
Need help? Email me at alisha@downtimenewsletter.com. If you have a technical issue with your subscription, the app, etc., you can browse Substack’s FAQ page here.
