current motivations

Sometimes your next

halting step

is more powerful

than the grandest vision.

​

All a leaf knows

about building a tree

is to turn towards the light.

​

​ "How to Build a Tree" from my poetry book, The Wilderness That Bears Your Name​

An approach where the goal is not an outcome with a distinct finish line. Instead, a goal could inform the process or system I’d need to commit to that would typically precede reaching my goal. So, instead of having the goal to save $10,000, I’d commit to saving 20 percent of every inflow... indefinitely. And when I did this, I tended to exceed... See more

The real reason you're tired all the time: It's not your workload. It's your open loops. The text you haven't answered. The apology you owe. The decision you're avoiding. The conversation you keep postponing. These run in the background of your mind all day, draining your battery. Close your loops. Watch your energy return. Mental clutter is more... See more

At one point during the panel, I said the fact that I am a woman is — I think — the least interesting thing about me, and that I would love us to collectively reach a point where that was reflected in the external world

Advice for big, daunting projects: do something right away. When a major project lands in your lap, perhaps with a deadline weeks or months away, make it your business to take some kind of concrete action on it as soon as you can, even if you won’t get to the majority of the work until later. The longer such a project sits on your plate without... See more

Doing something on your own terms can feel better than doing the exact same thing when someone else is peering over your shoulder, telling you what to do, guiding you along .