Creativity
Dogs Like LoFi Hip Hop Too!
Recently I wrote about Lofi Hip Hop YouTube radio channels, which many people like to listen to while studying, writing, etc. Turns out dogs like Lofi, too! Enjoy these remaining dog days of summer, and don’t forget to draw lessons from them that you can use to live a happier life all year long. Also,…
Read MoreYou’ve Got Time…
Our society tend to fetishize early success, but lest we forget… Toni Morrison: 40 Mark Twain: 41 Marcel Proust: 43 Henry Miller: 44 JRR Tolkien: 45 Raymond Chandler: 51 Richard Adams: 52 Annie Proulx: 57 Laura Ingalls Wilder: 65 Frank McCourt: 66 Harriett Doerr: 74 Harry Bernstein: 96 No, you’re not too old to publish…
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 MoreLet’s Talk About “Situational Perfectionism”
“Situational perfectionism” is when something causes your perfectionism to spike above its usual levels. (Which usually, in turn, causes your procrastination to spike!) It’s a common phenomenon, with many causes. Here are a few: A prior failure. Often, when we perceived we’ve failed, we get more afraid of future failures. (The solution is to not…
Read MoreSome Thoughts on “Genius” – a Not-Very-Useful Concept
There’s been a spate of writing about “genius” lately. Here, in Tweet form, are some of my thoughts on that concept. Hope you like them, and I welcome your comments, on Twitter, Facebook, or below. – Hillary For millennia #genius has been gendered male, and used to justify everything from boorishness to rape and murder.…
Read MoreDogs Don’t Like Perfectionism Either!
This piece by Nancy Tanner on how impatience ruins dog training is brilliant: When I am asked what is the biggest problem I see in dog training today, it is the same problem I saw fourteen years ago, and thirty years ago, it is the misunderstanding of time. It takes time to learn how to…
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 MoreSelect 2016 Blog Posts
Below is a list of select blog posts from 2016. Not surprisingly, many were on the topic of how to stay productive and otherwise cope during challenging times. Also, I want to remind you that coaching is a fun and empowering way to start the new year, and nothing catalyzes progress faster. I take on…
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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