What I’m working on:
At the moment I’m hunched over a mildly cluttered desk snacking on grapes and chicken nuggets and ignoring dozens of open browser tabs in hopes of planning next steps for a longform feature that must be drafted soon and needs more reporting. Like several of my recent stories, this one explores how a complex disease eludes mainstream medicine. I’m really excited about this piece, and will soon immerse myself in hours of interview audio while pondering the story’s structure. I’m also finishing revisions and fact-check annotations for another feature and sending interview requests for a listicle-style piece that was commissioned after an editor saw a knee-jerk question I tweeted last fall.
Outside of journalism, I’m building websites for freelancers, musicians, and music nonprofits and learning to play the drums! The novelty and pace of these activities offer a refreshing counterbalance to longform writing.
Where I work:
I work from home in Pleasanton, a suburb about 40 miles east of San Francisco and 30 miles north of Silicon Valley. My office has cheery blue walls, a large standing desk, and a sleeper sofa (for occasional naps or guests). When I’m sick of staring at screens, I tap rudiments on a drum practice pad or play the glockenspiel (concert bells that I borrowed from music teacher friends to practice songs for a community band I joined over the summer).
Daily routine:
Wake between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m., seven minutes on the indoor rower or FitDeck cards (sit-ups, lunges, and other bodyweight exercises), coffee and breakfast while playing Wordle and NYT Connections, scanning emails and news headlines, replying to texts, browsing social media, and reviewing or writing a to-do list. Occasionally a super-early interview will derail this routine, but the cup of strong morning coffee is non-negotiable.
Now that our kids (11th grader and college freshman) feed and drive themselves, my daytime hours are flexible and varied. Most days I’m ostensibly working until 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. Evenings are a blend of music, walks, and work I procrastinated earlier.
Most productive part of my day:
In this nest-emptying season, there’s more time to dream and ponder and try new things (websites! drumming!), so overall I feel less productive than I did as a new freelancer squeezing work into predefined school/childcare blocks.
That said, my mind feels freshest and least cluttered in the morning so that’s generally the most productive part of my day.
Most essential ritual or habit:
Walks. My husband and I take nightly neighborhood strolls, debriefing work and parenting and whatever else is on our minds—a habit that began during COVID shutdown. Last fall I reconnected with a college friend, and we enjoy a long-ish morning walk about once a week. Walking is great for an introvert who processes aloud, needs exercise, and loves one-on-one conversation!
Favorite note-taking techniques/tools:
I do most interviews on Zoom—easy to record and schedule, and being on video makes me feel more engaged in the conversation. Phone interviews are done on Skype and recorded with Piezo. I type interview notes and draft stories on Google Docs, track assignments and payments on Google Sheets, and log calls and assignment deadlines on Google Calendar (alongside doctor’s appointments, coffee dates, school concerts, music lessons, etc.). I’ve tried numerous times to block off writing days well in advance of deadlines, but this trick never seems to work.
How I keep track of my to-do list:
Google Keep is my second brain. It’s where I make to-do lists, jot story ideas that come to mind on walks, save links to tweets and stories and cool recipes that pop up in my Facebook feed. Entries can be color coded, shuffled around, shared with other people, copied into Google Docs, and easily accessed on phone or computer.
Essential software/apps/productivity tools:
Google Docs/Sheets/Calendar/Keep (see above)
OneLook.com (online thesaurus that I use a million times while drafting stories)
Favorite time waster/procrastination habit:
Drumming videos on YouTube
My reading habits:
I scan news from emails and Twitter/LinkedIn/Bluesky on my phone while having breakfast. During the early stages of reporting, I’ll walk to Peet’s Coffee with a stack of papers. Whenever I remember, maybe several times a week, I visit websites of outlets I write for (or would like to pitch) and read recent stories. My book habits are abysmal. I hardly read outside of work and when I do, I often don’t finish. A couple titles I’ve recently enjoyed (and mostly finished): Fragmented: A Doctor’s Quest to Piece Together American Health Care; Surgery, the Ultimate Placebo: A Surgeon Cuts through the Evidence. And for my weekly drum lessons and band rehearsals, I am reading jazz charts and concert music. 🙂
Sleep schedule:
I’m usually in bed before midnight. I have the gift of conking out in minutes, even while my son is practicing trombone.
