Season one preview
Chronodex, by Patrick Ng
Something new is afoot. My first season of reference posts is only a week away!
I lean on my background as a researcher and educator to share ten posts that teach various methods to balance being productive with enjoying the process. And pen stuff.
Why seasons? My work-life calendar affords a large window of writing time during the summer. Slower summer months offer the time to prepare thoughtful reference posts that I hope folks will find useful. Blog-writing time is harder to come by during the other three seasons.
Writing seasonally also helps me avoid the dreaded ‘blogging burnout.’ I get to prepare ten more substantive walkthroughs and tutorials over the course of a few months. Sharing these bonus posts in a contained season also keeps my editing schedule balanced healthily alongside my family and work obligations. Priorities.
So: I’m excited to share deeper writing with you all this fall. All while my ongoing weekly reflections continue. Huzzah.
Seasonal posts fall into three categories. You can safely expect a mix of all three each year.
Reading & Writing Strategies — I lean into research on schooling and my background as an educator to share worthwhile ways you can be productive, and enjoy the process. How-to walkthroughs to help improve how you read, take notes, and write.
Zen & the Art of Pen Maintenance — The tools we use should bring us joy. The ways we use our tools should work for us — not the reverse. The pen and paper you use for notes in a meeting. The app you use to save your notes for later. And how we care for these tools. Walkthroughs abound.
Interviews — I speak with creators and thinkers of all types to learn how they work. My background as a qualitative researcher helps us to explore what tools they use, how they use these tools to find joy within their workflows, and how they rise to meet their productivity challenges.
Post 1 — Reading for future you: highlighting in two colors
S1:P1 — October 7, 2021. Using two highlighter colors to take more organized, more useful, and easily searchable notes in books, essays or articles. And a hotlist of the tools I currently use.
Post 2 — Tour of the toolbox
S1:P2 — October 14, 2021. An object-by-object tour of the tools I use to maintain and enjoy my fountain pen hobby. Welcome, friends, to a tour of my stationery toolbox.
Post 3 — Coordinating ink samples
S1:P3 — October 21, 2021. Walking through how I organize ink samples. My system makes it easy to locate exactly the ink sample I want – and get back to writing more quickly.
Post 4 — Bold and beautiful meeting headers
S1:P4 — October 28, 2021. How research methods shape the notes I take during meetings. My system uses headings to make my notes more searchable, and so reference-able.
Post 5 — Deep cleaning a piston filler fountain pen
S1:P5 — November 4, 2021. A tutorial on deep cleaning a piston-filling fountain pen – for those times when a regular flush just isn’t enough. Or for when tinkering is called for.
Post 6 — Handwritten lesson plans
S1:P6 — November 11, 2021. My lesson plans are process writing. A window into how handwriting lesson plans helps me think through what I want to teach, and how best to do it.
Post 7 — A favorite tool for cleaning pens: the syringe
S1:P7 — November 18, 2021. Syringes make cleaning stubborn inks from pens easier. So you can get back to writing and fun stationery shenanigans more quickly. A how-to on using syringes for excellent pen hygiene.
Post 8 — Weeklies for teaching
S1:P8 — November 25, 2021. A core part of the bullet journal method adapted to suit the craziness of schooling — from the educator’s side of the desk. Later is not never.
Post 9 — Flossing your tines
S1:P9 — December 2, 2021. A step-by-step tutorial on how to remove tiny paper bits and dried ink from your fountain pen’s nib. Remember kids: flossing is important.
Post 10 — Interview: how Justin Gold writes
S1:P10 — December 9, 2021. Exploring the habits, routines, and tools that help folks bring joy to what they do. This season I pester Justin Gold, a screenwriter and fiction writer.
