How do I make creativity my job?
Quite a few people have shared with me that they long for creativity to be their central, sustaining effort. My sense is that folks are feeling transactional and burned out in their current employment. Much of traditional work, and employer-employee relationships more generally, aren’t working for them. They’re looking for something more balanced, respectful, human-centred, […]
How and where to start writing
A client once shared with me that when she thinks about writing something new she feels dread. (yes, DREAD!) As a seasoned professional, internationally renowned with decades of experience under her belt, she uses writing as a regular part of her work – grant writing, project proposals, website copy, among so many other things. And […]
Sometimes ‘less is more’ when designing a good presentation
I was chatting with a former student recently about giving a guest lecture. As a new grad student, he was in the throes of preparing to give his first and was asking for advice (so exciting!). My big overarching message to him: Less is more. For reals. I see a whole lotta “more is more” […]
Some Thoughts on Leaving Academia
Possibilities on The Other Side I get a lot of questions from folks considering leaving academia about what work will be like on The Other Side. The crux of what they seem to be asking is: “Will I continue to be independent? Will I have agency?” When I was contemplating leaving, these were some of […]
Design a session that will knock their socks off
You’ve been invited to give a guest lecture/workshop/presentation (yay!) but the prospect causes you to break into sweats (ack!). The good news is that people think highly of you and value your expertise – they have invited you to share your awesomeness! And the other good news is that you don’t have to cram all […]
Burnout is not an individual problem: it’s cultural
The way we think and talk about burnout needs to change. As individuals we feel it. And we often think the solutions need to be individual too (more resilience training, anyone?). But it will take a cultural shift to really address burnout, and create sustainable workplaces that are integrated and even connected parts within our […]