We are building a tree fort in the backyard for the little people in our family. When I say “we,” I mean my husband, John, is doing all the planning and labor. I am providing a second set of hands when needed, along with encouragement and opinions.  His first step was to have the boys draw a picture of the kind of tree fort they would like. I’m not sure if he was procrastinating or truly wanting suggestions, but I think he promised someone a punching bag. At this point, posts are secured into the ground with cement and the basic framing is up. Now he needs decking, which was the reason for our recent trip to the hardware store. On the way, we discussed how to get up to and down from the platform.       “I may go with stairs,” John announced.           “Wouldn’t a ladder be easier? And maybe a rope. A tree fort needs a rope hanging from somewhere,” I said.          " But someone could fall from the ladder.” ...

I love reading social media profiles.  Elevator speech? That’s nothing. The ability to describe yourself in only a few words is truly a gift. And to pare yourself down to simply a hobby, career, likes, dislikes, or “dad to 3 girls”…the choice of words is fascinating to me.   I recently spotted this one on LinkedIn:  “Motivational Seaker.”  I was immediately embarrassed for the person who placed that unfortunate error at the top of his page that went on to extol the virtues of his skill as a motivational speaker.  (I may or may not have also experienced the horror of returning to my own LinkedIn page after a few months and finding a typo.) But as is our habit in a digital world, I scrolled on to the next distraction. Throughout the day, though, I kept thinking about that “motivational seaker.” When read out loud—as you may have already done—it doesn’t seem so terrible after all. Motivation is the reason we act or behave in a certain way in order to meet a s...

Is writing on your task list this week? A letter to a client maybe? A report on a study your team just completed? Or what about an update to your project plan? If there’s a technical writer on your team, your practice might already involve passing it along to them first. (I use this term generally--of course a tech writer writes, but they can also be skillful proofreaders and editors.) I’m often the only writer on my team and am asked frequently to polish presentations, instructions, and marketing collateral prior to a deadline. My edits involve anything from reordering steps to making sure subjects and verbs agree to correcting the spelling of the boss’s name. Whether it is part of my official job role or not, this type of editing is a welcome opportunity to help out a teammate—and to evangelize for the serial comma. Editing ourselves, though, is hard and a second set of eyes is always best. But not everyone has the luxury of working with a writer or editor. No worries. I’ve compiled...

I wouldn’t call myself a confident person, but I frequently find those words running through my head. I’ll often see a new recipe, a cute DIY project, or some other adventure that seems doable and give it a try--without always considering my actual abilities. I once reupholstered a chair; I don’t sew. I’ve hiked in Peru without having camped or hiked more than five miles in a day prior to the trip. I once made gnocchi from scratch.  None of that was easy; parts were thrilling. I even learned some things about myself, like how buying a new chair is doable too. To this day I can recall what didn’t go quite right and where the flaws are, so I have to remind myself that the point is that I tried and followed through with something new.  Now I’m writing a blog. But this time the words I’m hearing are CAN I do that?   In a world where there seem to be many talkers and so few listeners, why on earth would I want to add to the noise? Legit question. To answer it, I keep returnin...