60+ years of a whole lotta “was”, “been”, and now “am” I’ve been writing in some form since my early teens. Journals, poetry, and short stories for the most part. I even studied poetry under Jack Myers at Southern Methodist University. I remember him telling me that, if I am…

Talking about mental health is good for everyone — The thought behind the title of this article has helped me more than anyone will ever know. When it comes to mental illness, it can often be difficult to find the support that you need. Whether you are struggling with depression, anxiety, or thoughts of suicide, it can feel like…

September Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Shadows” — Quaffing red wine among the trees When my wife and I travel, we always search out places for wine tasting. We found ourselves in Rhode Island this past summer and discovered not one but two vineyards close by. We selected this one because, in the distance, beyond the vines, is the summer camp that my wife…

Your life in order, without an app — Sometimes you’re just tired of looking at screens. I get itchy eyes from staring at backlit screens along with aching shoulders because, well, hey, you’ve gotta look down into that screen in your hand, right? There’s got to be a better way! Journaling meets productivity The power-off, tactile feedback from a paper journal…

He pulled together your unravelling — The aglet is split on your toddler’s sneaker. Small piece of a small person’s short shoelace will cause you trouble for weeks: the tying, the eyelet lacing, the loose-end tripping. He tripped into your life without warning amidst the filth and fury of a tenuous marriage, borne across the unstruck years after your…

All heat, light, and flame — You sit in your room. It’s in flames. Your desk awash with conflagratory waves no smoke, just raw heat, heavy light shattering windows disintegrating walls. Ceiling gone. All heat, light, and flame. The world, now caught up in your hurricane torrents, fire mountains lap up oceans, leveling cities roaring itself to a climax the…

A 7-step checklist to clear your inbox and keep it clear. — Technology is a good servant but a bad master. ~ Gretchen Rubin I recently polled my newsletter readers for what their most difficult productivity challenge is. One reader said they have an inbox full of emails from over the years. Now, if you intentionally manage your email inbox contents (for…

Managing expectations is the secret to loving timeshare travels — “Show me how I can rent a canal boat in England using your timeshare plan and we will buy it.” This was the gauntlet my wife threw down for the young sales guy across the desk from us. His response caused both our jaws to drop. You probably know the…

Good for any budget and artistic level (2023) — When I started my productivity journey using the Bullet Journal, I didn’t know how involved I wanted to be with supplies. Was this going to become an artistic venture with colored pens, stencils, and stickers? Did I just want to track my projects, tasks, and meetings in black and white…