Hillary Rettig's Blog, page 3

We're All Done With Pandemic Shaming!

Happy to report that there's been a swift and strong pushback on the whole "use your pandemic time productively" push. From the meme world...                 From the New York Times...   ...and from J.K. Rowling herself! No quote tweeting, but if you're a 'life coach' who's on here […]

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We’re All Done With Pandemic Shaming!

Happy to report that there’s been a swift and strong pushback on the whole “use your pandemic time productively” push. From the meme world…                 From the New York Times…   …and from J.K. Rowling herself! No quote tweeting, but if you’re a ‘life coach’ who’s on here […]

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Focusmate: a Productivity App That Really Works!

So I don’t recommend products or apps very often, and when I have, the results have been mixed. (Libro.fm IS a good indie-bookstore-supporting substitute for Audible, but CBD oil as a sleep aid is probably an expensive placebo at best.) But I have NO hesitation in recommending Focusmate, an inexpensive app that gives you a […]

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How About We Not Be Perfectionist During a Pandemic?

Sorry I’ve been quiet: I’ve been finishing my latest book, Productivity is Power: 5 Liberating Practices for College Students. I’ll have more to share on that shortly. I’m compelled to write now, however, because there’s been a spate of posts by people who seem to think that shaming others for their supposed underproductivity during a […]

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How to Cope With Clueless Questions, Crass Comments, and Crazy Conjectures

Note: I’m re-upping this one from 2013, as it seems a useful follow-up to the Robert Caro post. Also see this piece on Advice for Academic Couples (excerpted from my book The 7 Secrets of the Prolific.) – Best, Hillary Oh, the things people say to writers! “What do you do?” “What do you write?” […]

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Biographer Robert Caro on How It's All About Perspective

Most books (and many theses and other projects) take years to produce, and that's a simple fact. And yet, the "When will you be done?" question can bedevil new writers in particular. (Even worse when it's phrased disrespectfully, as in: "What? Are you still working on that thing?") That's why this anecdote from Caro's autobiography […]

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Biographer Robert Caro on How It’s All About Perspective

Most books (and many theses and other projects) take years to produce, and that’s a simple fact. And yet, the “When will you be done?” question can bedevil new writers in particular. (Even worse when it’s phrased disrespectfully, as in: “What? Are you still working on that thing?”) That’s why this anecdote from Caro’s autobiography […]

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A Big Part of Time Management is Learning How to Decline Unwanted Invitations...

...which writer Harold Pinter knew how to do LIKE A BOSS.

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A Big Part of Time Management is Learning How to Decline Unwanted Invitations…

…which writer Harold Pinter knew how to do LIKE A BOSS.

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RIP Billy Dawg 2003? - 2019

We lost our cherished Billy Dawg last week. He died at home, surrounded by love. Here is a picture his dogsitter sent us. She captioned it: "Here he is motivating me to complete my senior project!" (Like mom, like pup!) Billy was (we think) at least sixteen years old with some of the usual senior […]

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