Published in ILLUMINATION·Jun 11Don’t Waste Your Time on Your SmartphoneDo you mindlessly scroll social media? Haven’t we all? Do you wish you could use your time better? I’ve come up with a couple of suggestions for things to do on your smartphone when you habitually pick it up to be a little more productive. First off, I specifically moved…Productivity5 min read
Published in Reading Life·May 30Signs You’re in a Small Town LibraryFor the past week, I’ve been coming to the small town library near my in-laws’ farm so I can be away from the cats and have a desk space to get some side hustle work done. Here are some observations from a public library worker: It’s a Carnegie building that…Libraries2 min read
Published in Reading Life·May 24Memories of Borders BooksDon’t you miss it? — I worked for Borders Books for 3.5 years. I worked at 4 different locations at that time, and went from part-time working the register to specializing in AV and Children’s, and getting promoted to Keyholder and then Inventory Supervisor. Had the chain remained I would probably be a district manager…Bookseller4 min read
Published in Reading Life·May 12Lifecycle of a Library BookFrom reviews to weeding, here’s what it’s like to be a book at a public library — Penguin Random House — only one of the major publishers — publishes 15,000 print titles a year (that’s not counting ebooks)! That’s a lot of books a public library may want to acquire for their community. …Libraries6 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·May 4Practical Tips for Job HuntersIn this age of the Great Resignation, you may be interested in finding a new job. …Productivity3 min read
Apr 30Using Instapaper for My Ephemeral ReadingLike many people of a certain age, I miss Google Reader, the RSS feed of our dreams that kept track of all our blogs and things we wanted to read, allowing us to stay on top of all that information and reading. …Productivity3 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Apr 22Using the Twos App for My Daily NoteI’m a regular Evernote and Todoist user. I love both apps SO MUCH and am always singing their praises. But recently I found the Twos App, a place to put “things,” and I’ve found it to be a welcome addition to my productivity stack. I have made attempts at doing…Productivity2 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Apr 12Why I Do Digital PlanningA few years back I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole of the Planner Community. The Bullet Journal was becoming a thing, and I was recognizing that I needed to up my organization and productivity game since I had taken on a new position in my career and needed to…Productivity4 min read
Published in Reading Life·Apr 3Keeping All Your TBR ListsIt hit me recently how many TBR (To Be Read) lists I have. Primarily I read ebooks, but I still get some print books and audiobooks in there every once in a while. And every few months or so I’ll find myself with a few spare minutes to scroll through…Reading3 min read
Published in Reading Life·Mar 12How I Organize My Reading NotesReadwise has made all the difference — I have been a voracious reader all my life, apart from just after grad school when I was burned out and took some time off from reading so I could regain my love of it. It happens. I read anywhere from 40 to 120 books a year, depending on my…Reading3 min read