Writing Life/Productivity
Any writer worth their mettle has an odd array of notebooks purchased for one reason or another (and frequently a lack of one other than “it’s on sale” or “it looks nice”) and maybe a few pages get used for an initial purpose and then abandoned. But the notebook itself…
Get Productive
Back in college I was diligent about writing down my assignments and due dates and obligations in my trusty spiral-bound academic planner. I didn’t miss things and had it all at my fingertips. It was a good start to a habit that completely fell apart once I left college.
My…
Get Productive
The library worker at the help desk cannot log you into your email
In my day-to-day life working in a public library, I find that I help at least someone, if not multiple people, every day with a password issue. Frequently it’s older library patrons, but not always. Sometimes they set up their email long ago and their password is remembered on their…
Get Productive
A little upfront work goes a long way in the email game
I started hearing the term “Inbox Zero” a few years ago when I was first really diving into the productivity and planner communities. Inbox Zero is a concept of email management that essentially means keeping your inbox empty or mostly empty. It’s about keeping the number of emails in your…
Get Productive
Make reading a regular part of your routine
I have been a faithful Todoist user for years now. I transitioned from a paper Bullet Journal to this digital task manager and I haven’t looked back. If I don’t get a task entered, it likely won’t get remembered or completed. …
Productivity
Using technology to help you with a long-hand skill
Morning Pages — a concept and practice coined by Julia Cameron but used by many under other names over the eons. The basic idea is you wake up and, before you start your day, you write three pages. Three pages of anything. Just fill three pages. It’s meant to be…
Essay/Book Life/Reading
I read this article about reading in the morning and it sparked a memory for me from middle school. For almost all of 8th grade, my dad drove me to school each morning. I wasn’t a particular fan of my classmates on the bus that year, and my mom liked…
Technology
In this age of Covid, I have participated or otherwise engaged in a number of Zoom meetings and webinars. Many people who might not have attempted using the format have jumped in to learn it to the best of their ability, and I applaud those efforts. …
I’m a member of a number of Facebook groups for writers, and one topic that came up recently in one of them was how to get your book in the public library. I’ve worked at a number of public libraries, all but the most recent in collection development (buying new…
One of my favorite shows of all time is Mad Men. It scratches every itch I tend to have with my entertainment and pop culture. One of the many aspects I love about it is how main character Don Draper is so entrenched in media. Being an advertising executive, he’s…
