After years of consulting as a content designer and UX writer, there’s one main lesson I had to learn the hard way — content design is about saying no. — Well, the answer is not always no. But more often than most of us are comfortable with. Here’s why. Quick, cheap fixes don’t work in the long run. Content designers are often brought in to fix burning issues cheaply. Fast. With a few tweaks to the copy. When I first started working with clients as a content designer I…

a poem I’ve spent countless evenings sitting with the computer on my lap, staring into the abyss of its white glow. …

Everything is as hollow as it seems. I walk from the bed to the kitchen, water boils, dogs are let out, I sit down, mug in hand. One deep breath before I open the device that has far too much power over me. Can you believe someone just like you invented it? Nothing is as hollow as it seems. I walk from the bed to the kitchen, a fire crackles, dogs play in the garden, the cool breeze brushes against my skin. Spring is here. Tiny hairs stretch out their necks to catch the warmth of the sun. One deep breath before I open my eyes.

It was one of my recent restless nights. I woke up and tried to get back to sleep to no prevail. The anxiety was overwhelming. Breathing didn’t help, my heart was still pounding in my chest like it was ready to finish a race. …

There are two types of people. Those who read books and those who don’t. Being in the first group, for many, is a constant struggle. Isn’t it so much easier to watch something on Youtube or scroll through the endless comments on a social media post? There are Instagram and Twitter. There are news sites catered to the needs of those that have exactly…

The keyboard feels almost foreign to me. For the first time in what feels like a lifetime, I’m looking at it without pressure, without anything in the back of my head that needs to get typed out for someone. I’m not writing copy or an email or a proposal. I’m just writing. I’m trying to recognize my old friend in the dust between the keys, some of them faded. I squint at the screen, suddenly much more intimidating than it has been in a long time.

How grief feels and what it could mean There is something powerful in grief. Like no other experience it rips your world in two and removes you from everything and everyone else. When you experience grief, you feel truly alien to your surroundings. …

The other day I bought a peony. She was a bright, heavy burgundy. After I positioned her in her new home (an old glass jug on my dining table), she rewarded me by opening up a tiny bit more every day and as she opened up and grew in size…

Why you need to stop asking others what they get paid and discover your own value instead. Freelancer or not, everybody wants to get paid what they’re worth, right? Wrong! According to my experience of asking all my friends and family what they earn and have earned throughout the years…