Category: Growth

Focus, Growth, Peace, Personal, Productivity

How to quit

by KatLeave a Comment on How to quit
How to quit

I haven’t signed into my Twitter account since June 4. “I need to be on Twitter” is one of the stories I’m testing out during my #40StoriesProject, a yearlong attempt to learn which of the things I’m telling myself are outdated. The plan for this particular story was to stay off Twitter for three months, but having hit that milestone a few days ago, I don’t see myself going back. I was better informed when I was doomscrolling every day, but about what? If I want to know what’s happening in the world, I get the important stories elsewhere—newspapers, texts from friends, even Instagram. I don’t miss being extremely online, and my reduced exposure to, well, everything has freed up a lot of space and energy, which I’m putting toward personal projects after a lengthy creative drought during the pandemic. Even the alleged value of Twitter for someone interested in a writing career seems largely negated by how bad being on Twitter makes me feel about writers and writing.

Continue reading “How to quit” →
40 Stories Project, Growth, Personal

#40StoriesProject

by KatLeave a Comment on #40StoriesProject
#40StoriesProject

Ten days from now, on my 39th birthday, I’m launching what I’m calling the #40StoriesProject. During the year leading up to my 40th birthday, I’ll be testing out 40 stories I hold about myself to see whether they’re actually true. 

Some of these experiments will be in service to larger goals. For example, “I hate rejection” will force me to write and submit more. “I’m messy” will help me figure out a sustainable way to keep my apartment clean. Others are smaller ways to force myself out of my comfort zone, e.g., “I can’t dance” and “I don’t like to look foolish.” Some will be minor things, such as “I don’t like red” and “I am a latte drinker” and “I have no interest in the SAW franchise.”

I have a full list ready but I’m sure many will change throughout the year as my priorities do. I’ll be using the #40StoriesProject hashtag to track progress in my Instagram stories and mark goal “completion” (whatever that means) on my feed, as well as on this blog.

Creativity, Growth, Personal, Productivity, Spirituality

Start here ⬇️

by KatLeave a Comment on Start here ⬇️
Start here ⬇️

This week, I migrated all the posts from my old blog to this one, and in the process of going through my archives to make sure nothing was amiss, I discovered that, actually, I like a lot of my old writing! So I decided to make a post of posts. It’s like a fund of funds, except I’m not going to come to your Investment Committee meeting and explain what all is in it, I’m just going to share the links below.

Here are a few of my favorite older posts that should give you a sense of whether you’re going to hate-read or love-read this blog:

Continue reading “Start here ⬇️” →
Growth, Peace, Spirituality

Spiritual band-aids vs. sustainable change

by KatLeave a Comment on Spiritual band-aids vs. sustainable change
Spiritual band-aids vs. sustainable change

Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s recent New York Times article on Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop ends with Brodesser-Akner being stuck on a bus, desperately having to pee. This incident, fortunately resolved without catastrophe, nonetheless leaves the author unable to regain the feeling of zen she’d accessed just a few hours earlier at the In Goop Health wellness summit, described earlier in the piece: Continue reading “Spiritual band-aids vs. sustainable change” →

Growth

The best podcasts for running, by distance

by KatLeave a Comment on The best podcasts for running, by distance
The best podcasts for running, by distance

(Full disclosure: As I was pulling together this list, I realized that my podcast rotation is VERY white. I’m fixing that, but if you have specific recommendations for podcasts hosted by people of color, please share them in the comments.)

I’ve spent the past two years accidentally becoming a distance runner. Continue reading “The best podcasts for running, by distance” →

Growth

2018 Goals: Strategic abandonment

by KatLeave a Comment on 2018 Goals: Strategic abandonment
2018 Goals: Strategic abandonment

I set ten New Year’s Resolutions for 2018. Now that we’re halfway through the year, it’s time to shave some of them off the list and refocus on what I still think would be valuable to accomplish this year. My friend Sarah calls the act of consciously giving up on goals that no longer make sense “strategic abandonment.”

First, here’s what’s staying: Continue reading “2018 Goals: Strategic abandonment” →

Flow, Focus, Growth, Peace

Plan a DIY creative retreat for this weekend

by Kat1 Comment on Plan a DIY creative retreat for this weekend
Plan a DIY creative retreat for this weekend

A few weekends ago, I cleared my schedule and holed up in my apartment  for a DIY creative retreat. The main goal for this weekend was to catch up on the writing schedule for my novel, which meant writing 21 pages over the duration of the weekend. There were other things I wanted to get done — two blog posts, a visual rebrand for my blog and social media accounts, and an editorial calendar for my blog through the end of April — but all were secondary (and tertiary, etc.) to the main goal.

During the weekend, I reached my desired page count, wrote two blog posts, and made incremental progress on my other goals. Want to do something similar? Here are some tips. Continue reading “Plan a DIY creative retreat for this weekend” →