Mindfulness is key to unprogramming precrastination anxiety — This month I increased my freelance workload to levels it hadn’t hit since my third son was born last year. I’m working with new editors and new publications. I’m learning new systems. I’m unlearning something too. For as long as I can remember, I’ve used the discomfort of a job…

There’s a better way to summer. — It’s summer in Minnesota. That means it’s time for my annual attempt to convince my kids — who are 7, 4, and almost 1 — that the impossible is true: No, the sun won’t set for two more hours, but yes, you really have to head toward bed. These long…

Greet the edges of your understanding with awe, not angst. — Growing up, on the second Sunday in May, you could usually find my family outside, planting flowers for my mom. On Mother’s Day last year, my husband, kids, and I stuffed our in-ground planters with seedlings: basil, mint, strawberries, and tiny tomatoes you can pop in your mouth come August…

When your brain feels crowded, focus on the wisest voice — One Sunday afternoon, while walking along the river path near where I live in Saint Paul, I wandered off the pavement to a clearing where the bluffs swing out over the Mississippi. I watched the wind push a pocket of snow from its perch in an oak to the cold…

Insights on mindfulness and compassion inspired by a toddler and a tube of chapstick. — I looked up at my toddler, who stood at the top of the hard, honey stairs. His dimpled hands balled up at his sides. One clenched a yellow cap. The other held a matching tube. A breath later, I smelled mint. “One, two, three, come with me,” I beckoned. …

When you feel irritable, leverage curiosity’s effect on the brain to feel good instead. — My six-year-old is in that phase where he loves magic tricks. He learned one of his favorites from a Netflix show called Brainchild. It’s purportedly a physics lesson, but I think it’s also a fantastic psychology lesson in disguise. The trick goes like this. My son has me stack my…

What research reveals about sighing and how you can harness your breath to feel good anytime — If you breathed a sigh of relief when you saw the Associated Press call the presidential race for Joe Biden on November 7, 2020, you weren’t alone. Sighs of relief were heard around the world. The New York Times reported that “Biden Victory Brings Sighs of Relief Overseas,” while The…

Life can be difficult, but knowing what to say to your child doesn’t have to be. — Miscarriage. Deaths. Medical diagnoses. Health emergencies. Pandemic. Police murder. Evacuation. Infertility. Burglary. These are all hard things. In the last year, each of these has touched my family, and I have talked my little kids through every one. My children, who are currently almost three and five years old, have…

A reflection on the value of living in an urban area — in spite of everything — This weekend, my family and I escaped the city. We zipped our suitcases, buckled our seatbelts, and drove away from Minneapolis, where we live. …