HeyJaredThe Desk of Emily
Weekly posts from a former biologist and project manager tackling her biggest adventure yet: becoming a novelist. Follow along as we travel the messy terrain of building a creative life.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 13
- Latest publication
- Oct 1, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 9, 2026
Latest issues
Dear Portland (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="1092" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gesA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4417a225-ed99-405b-9a84-e70bc29f8e96_5712x4284.
Memento: "Routines” (opens the original)
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I always used to blame myself, and lack of motivation, for starting projects and not finishing them. Or when I would stay stuck in a familiar pattern at work, not able to get anywhere. Then, I learned that it wasn’t about pushing myself harder—it was about finding solutions that actually work.<div class="i
A Reflection on Procrastination (opens the original)
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I was supposed to write this on Wednesday. And here I am, late Friday afternoon, writing a post about procrastination as the last thing that I do before I close up for the week. How telling.We often blame procrastination on perfectionism, that sneaky inner critic that tells us that it’s better to not do something at all, rather than do it poorly. But this didn’t feel like that. It felt like something else. But what?<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/
September Monthly Update (opens the original)
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Here We Go Again: Restarting Your Writing Part II (opens the original)
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I had high hopes for this summer. It would be easy, I told myself, to complete my out-of-state move, sell a house, buy a new one, fix it up, all while making progress on my novel’s manuscript. But now as the leaves on the trees are turning, falling, and crunching under my feet, I am face to face with the very real prospect of returning to my untouched manuscript after months of being away.It fills me with so much dread that I can hardly bear it.<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="
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