One of my best friends from childhood told me recently that she remembered me always carrying around a book with me at school. I honestly don’t recall that, but I’m not surprised! I do love a good read. I guess it makes sense that I now work in libraries…and that I like to keep a […]
Work
5 Things about Writing Your Teachers Didn’t Tell You
I’m pretty sure we all learned how to write essays the same way—by using boring rules for wordy paragraphs and formulaic sentence structure. Unfortunately, boring rules = boring writing. And sometimes boring writing doesn’t get the intended message across. Uh-oh. Is your writing boring or hard to read? Marketing guru Ann Handley has some easy-to-implement […]
Get Back to Work: Considering A World Without Email
Are you Team Inbox Zero? It might feel like you’re Getting Stuff Done, but managing email is NOT REAL WORK. Holding back the tide (or tsunami!) of messages gets in the way of what we’re really supposed to be doing at work. Truth: It can be misery-inducing to the point of making us hate our […]
What’s Your Story? Three Ways to Build Your Brand
When I used to think about branding or a brand, I would think about design and logo, and a tagline. But since I’ve recently been given a new role as marketing and outreach coordinator for the library system I work for, I’m thinking about it a lot deeper. This month, I’ve been poring over The […]
Need Some Inspo? 5 Ways to Boost Your Creativity
We can’t all have high ceilings, an epic view, or a private studio, but creativity architect Donald M. Rattner’s book, My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation, has some dynamite ideas for generating inspo in whatever space you’ve got. Luckily for nerds like me, it’s all scientifically explained, […]
Go Ahead, Do Nothing: It’s Okay
My brain is not a steel trap. I am not good at remembering things. When a new task or idea strikes, I write it down immediately in my notebook so it isn’t lost forever. Maybe that’s why I’m a planning freak. My bullet journal is sacred to me, and I feel more productive, optimized, and […]