20 articles in this topic
Quiet hours only stuck after we put them on the team page, not in a Slack topic — I keep a 'killed darlings' file that is longer than some issues from a Manchester spare room that doubled as an edit bay in 2025, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis…
I took Friday afternoon off the chat apps and finished the piece I had been nibbling at — I keep a 'killed darlings' file that is longer than some issues from a Manchester spare room that doubled as an edit bay in 2023, which is where this piece actually started — not with a…
I stopped answering Slack after seven and Tuesday's deploy still shipped — I keep a 'killed darlings' file that is longer than some issues from a Manchester spare room that doubled as an edit bay in 2021, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but…
My wrists hurt after two long edit days, so I swapped the mouse and set a timer — I keep a 'killed darlings' file that is longer than some issues from a Manchester spare room that doubled as an edit bay in 2022, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis…
On-call paged me for a disk alert that a log rotate would have prevented — I keep a 'killed darlings' file that is longer than some issues from a Manchester spare room that doubled as an edit bay in 2024, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but…
Attention research pushed shorter notification windows — I send a messy voice memo to myself on the walk home from a Toronto coworking loft with bad coffee and good light in 2025, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a syndication deal…
Quiet hours became measurable OKRs for remote desks — I start from the sentence I am avoiding and work outward from an overnight ferry where the Wi-Fi died on purpose in 2020, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a draft I loved that did…
On-call rotations for publishing stacks got humane caps — I keep a 'killed darlings' file that is longer than some issues from a Manchester spare room that doubled as an edit bay in 2018, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a search…
Trauma-informed editing notes spread after major incidents — I ask one skeptical friend to read before any colleague does from a Mexico City rooftop after the rain in 2019, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a subscriber who mailed a…
Standing desks alone did not fix editor RSI spikes — I print the piece and mark it with a red pen like it's 2009 from the back table of a Nairobi cafe that let me stay for hours in 2017, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a workshop…
Seasonal rhythms in creative work — I ask one skeptical friend to read before any colleague does from a Mexico City rooftop after the rain in 2023, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a subscriber who mailed a marked-up printout with…
Movement breaks during long editing sessions — I keep a cheap reporter notebook in the bag pocket that used to hold chargers from the quiet stacks of the Brooklyn Public Library in 2017, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a comments…
Anxiety and public comment sections — I reread yesterday's ending before I make coffee from a Berlin courtyard office that smelled like toner in 2018, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a launch we shipped on a Friday and spent…
Sleep and creative output — I still write first drafts longhand from a borrowed desk at a Lisbon newsroom in 2024, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a 2,400-word feature that lost most readers at paragraph three. I had been circling a…
Therapy-informed feedback cultures — I start from the sentence I am avoiding and work outward from an overnight ferry where the Wi-Fi died on purpose in 2024, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a draft I loved that did not survive a…
Nutrition for sustained concentration — I send a messy voice memo to myself on the walk home from a Toronto coworking loft with bad coffee and good light in 2020, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a syndication deal that looked…
Community care in remote editorial teams — I print the piece and mark it with a red pen like it's 2009 from the back table of a Nairobi cafe that let me stay for hours in 2021, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a workshop where nobody…
Grief and writing as processing — I keep a 'killed darlings' file that is longer than some issues from a Manchester spare room that doubled as an edit bay in 2022, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a search spike from a bad paraphrase…
Mindful notification design — I outline on index cards, then ignore half of them from a Chennai balcony at 5 a.m. before the heat arrived in 2019, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with an editor who asked 'what changed in the reader'…
Digital sabbath for people who publish online — I time first drafts with a kitchen timer I bought in Osaka from a night bus between Accra and Kumasi in 2025, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a headline test that 'won' clicks and…