Reliable Information Sources about the Russia-Ukraine War

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Drive for about fours hours from my Romanian hometown, and you are in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Drive for about three hours, and you are in Chisinau, Moldova (another country I fear might be attacked). I never witnessed such grief beyond belief so close to my birthplace. And so, hypocritically, I admit, I am horrified by this war and its unmeasurable loss of human life, although there were and still are gruesome conflicts spread all across this messed up world. For the last few days, I …

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First Night of War

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Darfur. Iraq. Iran. Yemen. Georgia. Nigeria. Lybia. Syria. And the list goes on and on for wars that began from merely 2003 onwards.  But to see tanks and fights and bombs in the heart of Europe?   William Faulkner said it best in Requiem for a Nun: The past is never dead. In fact, it’s not even past. And this resonates profoundly with a quote from Svetlana Aleksievich’s book The Unwomanly Face of War that described how a Soviet woman soldier during WWII felt decades after the war: what …

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Lillian Gilbreth: When Emancipation Starts In the Kitchen

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I hate housework. You make the beds, you wash the dishes, and six months later, you have to start all over again. Joan Rivers  Wiping, hoovering, polishing, dusting, washing, scrubbing. Shopping, prepping, cooking, cleaning. Repainting, redecorating, decluttering, repairing. Housekeeping is not like other types of work: we can’t put it on our CV, we get no recognition for not letting things fall apart, and it’s a Sisyphean work, as it must be done over and over again.  And yet, our generation has access to some …

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What I Wish I Knew Before Having My Child

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While creating the outline for an article about preventing parenting burnout, I kept thinking about what I wanted to know before I had a child. So, I asked my husband and some of my friends what they wish they knew before their first newborn. In random order, and under the guise of anonymity, here are some ideas:  Breastfeeding  One of the biggest myths about breastfeeding is that it is easy, billions of mothers have done it before us, and it only takes a bit of …

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How Ideas Cross-Pollinate to Advance Diverse Disciplines

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I always advise my people to read outside your field, every day something. And most people say, ‘Well, I don’t have time to read outside my field.’ I say, ‘No, you do have time, it’s far more important.’ Your world becomes a bigger world, and maybe there’s a moment in which you make connections. Nobel prize winner Oliver Smithies in dialogue with writer David Epstein in Epstein’s book Range  One of the things that surprised me as a parent was how much I benefited from …

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Talking about Relationships with Our Children

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While reading Between: A guide for parents of eight to thirteen-year-olds  (a great read full of practical advice), I came across a crucial topic that caregivers need to discuss with their children. What should our children look for in a positive relationship, and what red flags they must check? Positive signs for a healthy relationship  Both people trust, respect and support each other.   Both people enjoy spending time together and having fun. There is honest and open communication between both people.  Being with that partner brings …

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How to Introduce the Pomodoro Technique to Children

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The Pomodoro technique is a simple, yet efficient study method, developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. This method consists of alternations between 25-minutes of work with five or ten-minute breaks.   First, we turn off all distractions (phones, blocking sites on computers, etc). Then we set a timer for about 25 minutes. Cirillo used this method with a tomato-shaped kitchen timer (Pomodoro means “tomato” in Italian). Next, we focus as intently as possible for those 25 minutes. Naturally, our mind will wander, but we will gently …

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How Women Find Time for Their Work Projects (part 2)

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Articles in this series: The Limitations of the Deep Work Hypothesis – Introduction How Women Find Time for Their Work Projects (part 1) How Women Find Time for Their Work Projects (part 2) This article will present other techniques that women (who usually experience gender stereotyping or/and are caregivers) choose to follow in their work aspirations. As in the previous article, most of this research is based on Mason Currey’s excellent books, Daily Rituals and Daily Rituals: Women at Work.   Hidden in plain sight   Costume designer Edith Head created the …

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