Recent Posts
PUBLICATION DAY: Grad School Life: Surviving and Thriving Beyond Coursework and Research
Publishing a book can be a long road—but here we are at the destination! Read about my book: How to thrive in graduate school while keeping a healthy personal life!
Journaling to Set and Achieve Writing Goals
When I was a foil fencer, I kept a meticulous journal to track progress, practice, and goals. Now, here's how I'm applying what I learned to writing.
Book Update #5: Grad School Life: Publication Day is March 19, 2024 + Cover Reveal
Exciting news: I have a book cover and pub date! Plus, details on the rest of the book production process, receiving page proofs, and figuring out book promotion.
3 Years Blogging: Why Write a Blog? How Do You Balance Blogging with Life?
Time flies like an owl! Here's why I continue to write a blog, and why—even when scaling back to fit blogging better in my life—it's still worth it.
Switching the Blog Schedule to Biweekly
With all the other projects I'm working on, this blog will be taking a backseat. I'll still be writing here, just a little less often!
Book Update #4: Chugging Through Copyediting
How is a book edited and produced? Here what's happening with my book on the slow road to publication.
Book Review: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
Habits are the backbone of daily life. How do you form new habits and create better habits? In this book, Duhigg explains how habits work—for individuals, organizations, and societies.
How I Built A Career From Strengths and Interests—And How Your Kids Can, Too
What will your kids do when they grow up? Who will they be? And how can you help them? The key: People build lives and careers out of what they love, not what they hate.
Book Update #3: Revisions Complete, Entering Production!
I'm inching my book from idea to final product! Here's what the review and revision process was like, and my next steps as the book moves into production.
How Autonomy Will Help You Flourish
Most people don't have enough autonomy. They feel controlled, like they don't have much choice in how their life goes. Here's why that matters and how you can get more autonomy—and a better life.
Book Review: Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz
No one reads, but everyone skims. How do you write shorter and smarter to reach your audience? This book shares the secret.
How to Be More Creative
Being creative can give you an edge, help you solve problems, express yourselef, and accomplish more. Plus, it's fun. Here are three ways to be more creative, today.
Book Review: Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
'People don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.' This fast-paced marketing and business book will help you better understand and brand yourself and your company. What is your WHY?
How to Level Up At Anything: Using Science to Approach Mastery
When you're not improving in your skills or craft, you're miserable. We all need a sense of progression and competence in our work. Here's how to efficiently improve—using intentional practice and outside input.
How Do You Write and Publish a Nonfiction Book?
Drawing from a recent panel discussion held by the Ronin Institute on book publishing, I answer questions about how to develop ideas, find an agent and publisher, and what the whole publishing process is like.
How to Procrastinate Less by Increasing Your Motivation and Decreasing Temptations
We all procrastinate. It's a problem, because then we're not doing the things we know we ought to do. By using the science of motivation and self-discipline, we can learn to procrastinate less and get more done!
How Do You Decide What Projects to Work On as a Scholar?
How do you know you're working on the right projects and not wasting your time? Here are ways to know whether you've taken on the right work, and ways to improve daily task management, too.
What Does it Mean to be a Scholar?
Drawing on the insights of a Ronin Institute Women IG+ discussion, I explore what ties us researchers and writers together. What makes a scholar a scholar? Is it a title, or a state of mind?
How Women Scholars Manage Stress, Goals, and Self-Care—and How You Can, Too!
Is stress from work and life inevitable? How do you reframe goals and success? What do you do when decisions are mutually exclusive and mutually desirable?
Productivity and Balance as a Parent: Challenges, Ideals, and Strategies
Balancing work with family life presents unique challenges for mothers and primary caregivers. How do we do our research, writing, and other work while also giving enough time and attention to our families?
Book Review: Is Graduate School Really for You? The Whos, Whats, Hows, and Whys of Pursuing a Master's or Ph.D. by Amanda I. Seligman
A practical, informative question-and-answer book about the culture, expectations, and experiences of graduate school.
Why I Went to Graduate School
Ten years ago, I started grad school at the MIT Media Lab. Why'd I attend? Because it was going to be fun. Here's how I made that decision, and why you should consider the fun factor in your own decision-making.
Book Update #2 (A Complete Manuscript!)
I've finished the first draft of my book on thriving in grad school while staying healthy and happy! Read about my writing process and the next steps: Feedback, reviews, and revisions.
The Incremental Method to Achieving Long-term Goals and Getting Things Done
There's always that one weird trick, right? Here's the method you need to write a novel, get in shape, and accomplish your long-term goals!