Recent Posts
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.
The Iterative, Incremental Method for Improvement
When you look at your life, you might see big problems. Big problems need drastic solutions, right? Not necessarily. Through observation, action, evaluation, and iteration, we can improve almost anything in our lives!
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!
Book Review: A Field Guide to Grad School: Uncovering the Hidden Curriculum by Jessica McCrory Calarco
To succeed as a grad student, you need to know lots of stuff that isn't explicitly taught. This stuff is 'the hidden curriculum'—and it's all explained in this book.
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.
Why Self-Awareness and Experience Are Better Than Data
Many people are enamored of quantified self apps. But being aware of your body and what you need—rest, exercise, food, water—is a crucial part of being an embodied being. How can we use both subjective experience and objective data to iterate and improve?
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?
Book Review: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Raw and honest, this book is packed with useful advice about writing and humorous commentary on the writer's life. Lamott understands the depths writers can get into; she has sympathy for imposter syndrome, hating and loving feedback, and more.
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?
Why Homemade Gifts Are My Goto
The best gifts truly delight the recipient—whether you give something homemade or not. Here are examples of gifts I've given and ideas you can use.
Bedtimes with Young Children: How We Skip the Battle and Encourage Sleep
Are bedtime battles inevitable? While they're a staple of evening life for many families, we don't war over sleep—here's what we do instead.
Book Review: Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It by M. Nolan Gray
You might expect zoning to be a boring topic, but M Nolan Gray makes a compelling case for why you ought to care about zoning, explaining what it is, where it came from—and why we should abolish it.
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?
How I Planted My Suburban Yard Garden, How It Grew, and What I Learned (Gardening, Year 4!)
A long, cold spring; a late first frost; new spaces, new flowers, new tools—here's how this year's garden grew!
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.
Tutorial: How to Make a Braided Rag Rug From Old Sheets or T-Shirts
Upcycle old shirts and sheets into wonderfully colorful braided rugs in 6 simple steps! Minimal or even no sewing; easy-to-follow instructions; lots of photos!
Why Idaho Needs a Victory Garden Tax Credit
Global supply chains are fragile. We need supply chain resilience—especially food independence. To that end, we propose a “Victory Garden” tax credit, which, like its namesake in WWII, will prompt people to grow some of their own food. Dig for Victory!
What You Gain From 2 Years of Writing a Weekly Blog (5 Key Lessons)
What makes writing a blog worth it—especially when you're starting out and traffic is low? How do you analyze your content, build an audience, and keep up the motivation to write every week?
A New Interest-Led Learning Initiative: North Idaho Sudbury Co-op
We're attending a new homeschool co-op on a local farm. It follows an interest-led learning or self-directed education philosophy. So what does that mean? And how does it play out in practice?
What Is Localism?
Localism prioritizes the local above the distant, the organic above the centrally planned, insisting that local communities be stable, sustainable, and relatively self-sufficient. Here are seven ways localism benefits our communities.
How I Made A Linen Wrap Skirt With Rainbow Embroidered Flowers
Women's clothing is so often function or pretty—but rarely both. This project was my attempt to bridge that gap by making my own wrap skirt and learning embroidery to decorate it!
Book Review: A PhD Is Not Enough! A Guide to Survival in Science by Peter J. Feibelman
While this book is a fast, easy read with straightforward advice, it also suffers a lack of depth and a datedness that diminish its helpfulness.
Looking Ahead: Here's This Year's Preschool and Kindergarten Homeschool Plan (Fall 2022)
Our kids have reached the age where people ask me what we're doing for school. Answer: lots of play, nature groups, a Sudbury co-op, music, reading, crafts, and more!
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.