I've been thinking a lot about productivity and perfectionism. And let me be someone who can reassure you: not every day needs to be (or even can be) a superhero day ... go easy on yourself.

Learn more about what the Medieval Studies Research blog and the role I've been delighted to play in its development.

How do we carve out legato time when the world seems designed to keep us in staccato mode?

Do you make New Year's resolutions? I don't—hear me out.

How did I get to this week of peace and a little Christmas magic? In large part, I went by feel (a classic HSP tool).

One of my absolute favorite books about conquering procrastination is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, by L. Michelle Tullier, Ph.D.

Anyone stressed as the holidays kick into high gear? My hand is raised.

May you take a quiet moment this week to reflect on the beautiful harvest you've gathered to yourself.

I've really taken some lessons forward from my time off, and I want to share those gentle reminders with you.

When overwhelm threatens, remember that one of your best defensive responses is delegation!

Sometimes if we try a little something outside our norm, some fun things will probably happen.

For the sake of our sanity, my dear overwhelmed overachievers, we need a fall break.

"The most dramatic, effective way to boost your productivity is to completely avoid e-mail for the first hour of the day."

You know that feeling when you wake up in the morning with good intentions, and then suddenly it's 1 a.m. and you're still working? Yeah. I've been living that reality for longer than I care to admit. And a couple Mondays ago I ran myself into a brick wall at 90 miles an hour like a 1980s crash test dummy.

When students take a literature class, they often expect the familiar routine: read, analyze, write essays, repeat. But what happens when we shake it up and ask them to step creatively into the voices of the historical figures they’re studying? The results, as I’ve discovered in my teaching, can be transformative.

Henry Rollins—musician, writer, and all-around creative— wrote this back in his 2012 column, "Summer Be Gone!" when he was ready to wave...

Yes, that Kris Jenner. Of the Kardashians. Are you surprised to see her name pop up on my blog? Well, confession time: I've watched the Kardashians for years, from way back in the Keeping Up days. But anyway, I find them endlessly fascinating—Kris in particular. And yesterday a clip from Kanye West's just-released documentary started making the media rounds. I started watching through my fingers with squinted eyes, but I quickly sat up straighter as I watched Kris at the h

I've developed a fresh appreciation for my favorite topic: overwhelm. Though I'm not sure it's the field test I wanted, I'm smack in the middle of taking my own advice. My best friend has been my GPS system. You've heard me talk about this before: Gather, Prioritize, Simplify.

You know exactly what you need to do. The task sits there on your list, staring at you with judgmental eyes. But somehow, you just... can't start. Welcome to the peculiar purgatory of the overwhelmed overachiever: knowing what needs doing but feeling mysteriously unable to do it. This paralysis isn't a character flaw—it's a predictable pattern with predictable solutions.

It's 2 AM and you're lying in bed, mentally composing emails while planning your grocery list and worrying about deadlines. Welcome to the overachiever brain—that magnificent, exhausting organ that never learned how to turn off. Here's how to harness that spinning energy instead of letting it drain you, starting with the game-changing difference between ideas and action items.