I’ve been working toward separating my work from the rest of my life and on allowing myself to shut my work brain off… in the spirit of protecting my work brain.
A lesson in writing: It’s okay to like working. Right?
I’ve been working on three things:
Checking my inbox less often
Doing my best to stop working after 5pm
And taking actual no-work weekends.
Sometimes I do actually rest. I step away from the writing. Those are the times I know I needed a break. Other times, I work anyway, but I don’t feel bad about it. Since I enjoy it, I still feel like I’m letting myself rest.
Then on one recent Saturday morning I caught myself replying to a work email and thinking, “I love this.”
I worried I had become what I had avoided for so long: a dreaded work-aholic. I wondered if I needed reform. Self-discipline. But I settled on having simply found that allusive place in between what you do and what you love
Some things I’ve written recently:
A woman came up to me in the grocery store. The first time I took my son shopping as a newborn. She told me something I still think about to this day, and I have basically wanted to write about it since that day. Last week, someone shared a link with me to the same piece that had been picked up by another publication and translated into German. It’s always really neat when that happens, but it feels way better when it’s about something that really rocked me to my core.
I stumbled upon an article in the Miami Herald about a Miami-based social worker and caterer Syerra Donaldson and immediately wanted to know more about her. I am so glad I ended up getting to interview her. It felt really good just to talk to someone from back home, too. Check out her beautiful story on Beyondish.
I like getting pushed out of my comfort zone with this piece for The Report, where I got to share my experience with the University of Central Florida as a single mom finishing up my English degree solely through online class offerings.
What I’m reading/watching/listening to:
Here are three reasons why I’m reading Finlay Donovan Is Killing It:
I found this book in a little free library. I do not question fate.
I found this book after I just finished realizing that every time I say, “I’m killing it,” I had better watch out. Instant jynx.
This was a book recommended by a Lynx employee, after I had already found it in the little library and was struck by the kismet “killing it” in the title.
I simply do not mess with three total signs from the universe.
I am re-watching The Affair on Paramount, which had struck me the first time I encountered it, but I’m realizing the second time around just how much I love this story. It is a masterclass in telling the same course of events through very different perspectives.
I've been falling deeper and deeper into Tom Petty‘s deep tracks. There have been artists at different times in my life that have really gripped me. Jim Morrison is one example. Right now, it’s Tom. I really love Harry Green; it might be one of my favorites of his.
And here’s a little writing opportunity that the doubles as a prompt:
The Taco Bell Quarterly is accepting last-minute submissions until August 31; Send submissions to tacobellquarterly@gmail.com.
I know it’s quirky, but that’s probably exactly why I would really love to be published there. I’m not sure if I’ll get to the deadline in time, but I was thinking about what someone’s order says about them…
Write on,
Ashley