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Kirkus Reviews: Productivity is Power II is “A compassionate, very practical blueprint for getting things done.”
I’m thrilled to share with you the wonderful review Kirkus Reviews gave Productivity is Power II: For Creative, Business, and Other Professionals: The problem is procrastination, writes Rettig at the outset of her book. “Many people think they procrastinate because they’re lazy or undisciplined, but that’s wrong,” she contends. “We procrastinate because we haven’t been…
Read MoreMy Eye!
So, I just had eye surgery. Not cataracts, something trickier and scarier. I will spare you the details except to note that the surgery is called a “vitrectomy.” Those who want to look up the icky details are welcome to. It took almost a year from my initial diagnosis to get my surgery—and not so…
Read MoreHow to Cope With Clueless Questions, Crass Comments, and Crazy Conjectures
Note: I’m re-upping this one from 2013, as it seems a useful follow-up to the Robert Caro post. Also see this piece on Advice for Academic Couples (excerpted from my book The 7 Secrets of the Prolific.) – Best, Hillary Oh, the things people say to writers! “What do you do?” “What do you write?”…
Read MoreBack from Taiwan! And some great links!
Dear Friend, My books and coaching will help anyone get a strong start in 2019 – both make excellent gifts! (Coaching hours usable for up to a year after purchase, and you can be located anywhere.) I recently got back from two fantastic weeks in Taiwan, where I visited my partner, currently a visiting professor at National Chiao Tung…
Read MoreThe Best Productivity “Tool”
Just a little Tweet thread I came up with after seeing someone ask what the best productivity tool was. Hope you like it / find it useful! Follow me here, and also on my Facebook page. So many people searching for the ultimate #productivity tool but no tool works as well as the abilities…
Read MoreWhy an Anime Girl (or Raccoon!) Might Be Your Next Productivity Buddy
Back in Cambridge, MA, where I used to live, a group of writers used to meet regularly to get some work done. After a quick hello – no chit chat, latte ordering, or other delays – they all sat down and started working. It was so quiet you could hear the proverbial pin drop, and…
Read MoreThank you Fast Company!
I’m kvelling! A few weeks ago a wonderful Fast Company writer, Stephanie Vozza, approached me for input into an article on how to be as productive as possible during the summer. I told her that I actually thought the opposite: that summer should be for relaxing, and, moreover, that in summer people often relax into…
Read MoreParenting Is Not a Zero Sum Game!
From Evelyn Tsitas, an exceptionally useful blog post about what it took for her to write her thesis: Admit it, if you are a mother, there is always that nagging voice somewhere – yours or some critic – that says ‘intense focus and study at the expense of much of everything else in your life…
Read MoreSix Things To Do If You’re Having Trouble Finishing Your Work
Here’s the list: (1) Show it! Often we procrastinate because we’re afraid to show our work to anyone. (“Afraid” is probably putting it lightly—we’re often terrified.) So stop hoarding your work and start showing it. But be judicious: there’s no point in showing to clueless or callous people. Show only to kind supporters who “get”…
Read MoreDo You Have a “Room of ReQUIETment?”
Continuing on last week’s Harry Potter theme, I want to ask you: Do you have a “Room of ReQUIETment?” Of course that’s a play on Room of Requirement, the fantastic room at Hogwarts that could be anything, supply anything, a student needed. Back in 1929, Virginia Woolf published A Room of One’s Own, which discussed,…
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