Productivity
Biographer Robert Caro on How It’s All About Perspective
Most books (and many theses and other projects) take years to produce, and that’s a simple fact. And yet, the “When will you be done?” question can bedevil new writers in particular. (Even worse when it’s phrased disrespectfully, as in: “What? Are you still working on that thing?”) That’s why this anecdote from Caro’s autobiography…
Read MoreA Big Part of Time Management is Learning How to Decline Unwanted Invitations…
…which writer Harold Pinter knew how to do LIKE A BOSS.
Read MoreSlow Down to Speed Up! Also, Bonus Moving Story.
Sorry for the hiatus – we wound up moving on somewhat short notice. Now we’re (mostly) settled in a bee-you-ti-ful new apartment (still in Kalamazoo), so it’s time for another newsletter. After the move, I was surrounded by mountains of boxes, mountain ranges of boxes. It would have been easy to get overwhelmed, but I…
Read MoreNope, “Perfectionism in Moderation” Isn’t a Good Thing
Writer Lindsay Ellis recently tweeted about imposter syndrome (where you think you aren’t up to the task, have everyone fooled, and are destined to be revealed as a horrible fraud). Unfortunately, she gets it wrong. She writes: “Because the thought patterns that lead to imposter syndrome need not always be a net negative – on…
Read MoreNonperfectionism in a Single Sentence
Nothing is as humbling, to a writer, anyway, as when you’ve used a lot of words to say something, and then someone comes along and nails it in a single sentence. But also nothing is more of a gift, so I guess it evens out. 🙂 It happened to me with my book The Lifelong Activist.…
Read MoreNow Do an Email Sprint With Me
Here’s another good technique: email sprints. Take a clicker* and use it to keep track while sending out ten QUICK emails in rapid succession. I love doing email sprints. You can fit them easily in between other tasks and they clear out your inbox like nothing else. Sprinting also gives you a wonderful little productivity…
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 MoreRecommendation: CBD Oil for Insomnia
I’ve battled insomnia for decades, often losing the battle. For many years I took trazodone, which seemed to help. But then, as often happens with sleeping pills, one day it just stopped working. I’ve also tried other pills, over the years, with poor results. For the last few years I’ve taken Natrol time release melatonin…
Read MoreInspiration from Michael Jordan and Garry Kasparov to Start Your Work/School Year
I hope everyone had a fantastic summer! Let’s get the work/school year going with a great quote from Michael Jordan: I quoted chess champ / democracy activist Garry Kasparov saying something similar in my book The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: “Years ago, I was fortunate to hear one of…
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…
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