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Life Tips from an Author: 4 Ways To Handle Feeling Unproductive

July 19, 2022 Leave a Comment

As an author, I constantly feel behind because there’s so much to do, and I want to do so much more. Once I finish one thing, I’m trying to do the next…and phew, it’s some kind of exhausting. But I’m doing this with every area of my life, and sometimes, I just feel like I’m SO UNPRODUCTIVE.

Sometimes this means that burnout has stepped into the room, and at this point, it’s time to re-evaluate your processes, to-do lists, and more.

Do you relate? If so, I wrote this for you and for me.

4 Ways To Handle Feeling Unproductive

1. Take a Deep Breath and Note What You’ve Done!

I get so wrapped up in what I haven’t done and everywhere I’ve dropped the ball. And yet, I’ve still managed to do many very necessary things. Some people call it a thankful list, but I see it as my to-do list slowly scratched off.

2. Do One Small Task Towards Your Dream

Today, that’s writing a newsletter, and tomorrow, it will be filling out more paperwork to release Notes on Being Human as an audiobook. Yes, slowly but steadily, Notes on Being Human will be released as an audiobook.

3. Rest. Really. Just Take a Break.

Sometimes your bandwidth is so, so, so small. That’s when you should truly just hit pause because rest will help you create better when you get back to it. So take that rest and try your best to steer your feelings away from guilt or whatever icky feeling accuses you of being lazy. UGH my brain.

(Fiona, my Korean Jindo pup, hates the wig I wore for my sister’s bachelorette)

4. Check to See if You Can Outsource!

Have you ever used Fiverr? When Take a Right at the Mistletoe was released, I was frantic because my website had crashed, and I didn’t know why. My partner suggested I check Fiverr and hire someone to find the problem and fix it. Friends, my Fiverr consultant fixed it so fast! Fiverr offers so many different levels of assistance!

Often when I feel unproductive, it’s just a feeling and nothing more than that. Sometimes I need to sit down and write down everything I’ve accomplished for the day. And that’s when I realize that I’ve done so much so I can sit down and chill for a second.

Do you have additional tips for handling feelings of unproductivity? I’d love to know!

5 Tips to Find Your Next Read

July 12, 2022 Leave a Comment

Do you ever struggle to know what to read next? I can’t be the only one! So I’m going to share a few of my favorite ways to figure out what to read next. And I’d love it if you’d share your favorite tip too!

1. Grab a Friend’s Book Recommendation!

My best reads almost always come from friends who recommend their favorite books to me, and so I feel like you can’t go wrong. But the best friend to ask for a recommendation is the friend who rarely reads. That friend has REALLY high standards.

2. Check Book Availability on Libby App

I’m obsessed with the Overdrive App, Libby. This Library app makes eBooks and Audiobooks so easily accessible, and I’ve read most of my books with the help of this easy app! I love checking to see popular titles that are available now.

3. Visit a Bookstore or Library

Nothing can replace that feeling of walking through a bookstore or library, perusing the shelves of books, and seeking that perfect story amongst the collection. It’s a great way to find a new favorite.

4. Scroll Instagram / TikTok for the Rave Reviews

While I don’t always like following the crowd, the books that take TikTok and Instagram by storm are usually just as good as everyone is raving. I’m currently reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas*…and I get it.

5. Read a Book from my TBR Pile

Hilarious this one is last, but I have to say that sometimes I’m just not excited by the books that I’ve amassed in my TBR pile. But listen, sometimes I look through and I get excited again. Are we friends on Goodreads?

*Amazon Affiliate link

Bonus Tip: Search The Top 100 Books in your Favorite Genre on Amazon!

If you purchase via Amazon often, the algorithm is likely to suggest great book options to you, but you can also search for the top 100 books. I do this often to check out the romance section, and it’s a great way to see what’s trending or add to your TBR pile.

Do you have additional ways that you discover your next read? I’d love to know! Leave me a comment!

Book Spotlight: Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd

April 19, 2022 1 Comment

Do you have an author you trust to tell a great story?

I do! The list is long, but one of those authors is Sandra Byrd.

Her books and stories routinely touch my heart, challenge me, and bring tears to my eyes. Whether it’s her French Twist series or her Anne Boleyn book, I love Sandra’s writing.

Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd

Time-split novel: Post-WWII & Modern Day

Two widows form a special bond and friendship (one native to the area and one foreign)

Two granddaughters seek to forge their own ways while remembering their grandmothers

Second chance love (for everyone)

Family Dynamics & Loyalty

Conversation/history around disability

TW: infant death (this one had me sobbing on my couch, if you didn’t know, I lost my niece around the same age as this baby)

Once again, Sandra Byrd shares a gorgeous story, and she retains my trust as a storyteller. And if you want to know, I’d compare this story to Korean barbecue (because it’s a little bit about how you choose to assemble the meal).

Heirlooms is available for preorder now!

RELEASES JULY 5, 2022

Answering a woman’s desperate call for help, young Navy widow Helen Devries opens her Whidbey Island home as a refuge to Choi Eunhee. As they bond over common losses and a delicate, potentially devastating secret, their friendship spans the remainder of their lives.

After losing her mother, Cassidy Quinn spent her childhood summers with her gran, Helen, at her farmhouse. Nourished by her grandmother’s love and encouragement, Cassidy discovers a passion that she hopes will bloom into a career. But after Helen passes, Cassidy learns that her home and garden have fallen into serious disrepair. Worse, a looming tax debt threatens her inheritance. Facing the loss of her legacy and in need of allies and ideas, Cassidy reaches out to Nick, her former love, despite the complicated emotions brought by having him back in her life.

Cassidy inherits not only the family home but a task, spoken with her grandmother’s final breaths: ask Grace Kim―Eunhee’s granddaughter―to help sort through the contents of the locked hope chest in the attic. As she and Grace dig into the past, they unearth their grandmothers’ long-held secret and more. Each startling revelation reshapes their understanding of their grandmothers and ultimately inspires the courage to take risks and make changes to own their lives.

Set in both modern-day and midcentury Whidbey Island, Washington, this dual-narrative story of four women―grandmothers and granddaughters―intertwines across generations to explore the secrets we keep, the love we pass down, and the heirlooms we inherit from a well-lived life.