I didn’t grow up listening to my gut. I’m sure it’s partly because my culture values a collective over an individual. Listening to your gut means you are putting yourself first and acknowledging your feelings as valuable. Neither are things I was taught to do. It’s a skill (does it…

The technique for excavating things from your brain I call it the brain dump, and I even have a note with the same name on my phone. But “brain drain” rhymes and is probably more attractive sounding than “brain dump.” The brain drain is when you set aside some time…

I have a running list of office pet peeves that might become a larger article but for this essay, I’d like to focus on those meetings and calls that should’ve been emails instead. — A study was recently published about this, comparing the various communication types. From the study: “Excessive use of text-based communication — including email and instant messaging — for complex tasks such as negotiating, decision-making or problem-solving, can lower a person’s interest and performance on work started after the conversation is…

A few years ago, I wrote about imposter syndrome and I still remember the intense, paralyzing feelings of anxiety I had while attempting to write the piece. It was overwhelming. While some would say that it was writer’s block, I would disagree. To me, writer’s block is when I can’t…

I live a lot in my head. I have full conversations and play out multiple scenarios for anxiety-inducing events. When people think about writing as work, they usually think about the time when you put pen to paper or fingers on the keyboard. They don’t count the time you spend…

“Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Singer Marc Anthony has said this but variations of it date back to 1982. Are people still spouting this motivational bullshit? …

Today, I want to share a tip that I read about and have kept for several years now. It’s easy, it’s passive, and has great mental health benefits when you need them. Think of it as a power booster in your mental health self-care toolkit. A kudos document is an…

I would like the opportunity to be mediocre. I would like to be able to fail and not suffer any consequences. Like, be average and underwhelming and just middling in work performance. This is a sentiment that I have generally felt for at least the last half-decade. If it were…