Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley
Finding the Throughline: Conversations about the Creative Process invites you into the minds of writers and other creatives as they open up about their process, their doubts, and what kinds of changes they’re thinking about making. The questions are mildly invasive, honestly, and the answers are unvarnished…and so refreshing!
Whether your creative work is writing, painting, making music, parenting, or simply living, Finding the Throughline can help you get—and stay—inspired. Invigorated, even.
For detailed show notes on each interview, visit katehanley.substack.com. And if you’d like to hear these interviews in one ad-free episode (as opposed to broken up into three shorter episodes with a few ads sprinkled in to keep the lights on), become a paid subscriber once you’re there.
.
1026
Be a River, Not a Pond EP: 53
Today’s tip can nudge you into feeling more generous, which isn’t something you hear about nearly as much as you do about gratitude. Gratitude is focusing on what you have or what you get. And generosity is focusing on what you can give to others....
5 min
1027
Soak Your Stress Away, For Real EP: 52
Today’s tip delivers self-care in all kinds of ways, helping you tend to your physical health, your mental health, and even your psychic health.
3 min
1028
Write a Thank You Note EP: 51
Imagine how tickled you’d be to pick up your mail today and see a handwritten note from someone thanking you for something you did or said. It would make your day, wouldn’t it?
4 min
1029
Give a Better Compliment EP: 50
There are many ways that compliments don’t end up being all that complimentary. Especially when they are related to appearance, compliments can get loaded, quick.
5 min
1030
How to Truly Help Someone You Love EP: 49
Of course you want to swoop in and fix things for someone you love if it’s possible for you to do so. But I want to plant the seed in your mind that fixing things for other people is in no way guaranteed to actually be helpful.
4 min
1031
Take an Objective Look at What You Eat EP: 48
While you might spend a fair amount of time thinking about what you’re going to eat, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you don’t spend a lot of time observing what you eat.
4 min
1032
Find Your Power Hour. Protect It With All You’v...
Everyone has a time of day where they are most likely to be operating at full capacity. I like to call that time of day your power hour. It’s kind of like you get to be a super hero for only one hour a day—what hour would you choose to don your...
4 min
1033
Do What You Can While Can EP: 46
My mother in law raised 5 boys, she worked full time as a Spanish teacher and she had dinner on the table every night at 5:30. Once I asked her how she did it and said well, you just do what you can while you can.
5 min
1034
Bless and Release EP: 45
We all have heard that to forgive is divine, and it is. But it can also feel like a pretty tall order sometimes. The desire to forgive may not come for a while, but there is a half-step a long the way, and that’s what I want to talk to you about...
4 min
1035
Make One Thing Reusable EP: 44
I recently read that every single piece of plastic that’s ever been made—which adds up to 8.3 billion metric tons—is still on this Earth. Some plastic is recycled, sure, but, according to National Geographic up until 2015 only 9 percent was...
6 min
1036
See the Fingerprints on Everything EP: 43
Today we’re talking about a way to look at the things you buy and consume as more than mere things. And that is to think about all the many, many people that went into creating those things.
3 min
1037
Catch Them in the Act EP: 42
This is a little different than my previous tip to give someone a high five, although it’s definitely related. Giving a high five is about celebrating. This is more about training yourself to notice and call attention to something that’s positive,...
3 min
1038
Somewhere You Would Normally Drive EP: 41
I’m not talking about getting more steps on your Fitbit, although this can help you do that and that’s a perfectly lovely thing to do. It’s really just about interrupting the impulse to do things the no-brainer way.
4 min
1039
Re-Motivate Yourself EP: 40
A powerful way to get re-motivated is to really think about the difference your work is making for people. You don’t have to be working for a nonprofit that’s saving the world in order to do this. Here’s how.
5 min
1040
Build Your Boredom Tolerance EP: 39
At some point today, you’re going to be somewhere where for a few moments you have nothing in particular to do. And I’m willing to bet that after about, oh, 10 seconds of waiting, you’re going to get this great idea that says, I could check...
4 min
1041
Check in With Yourself EP: 38
It’s easy to get in to the habit of checking in with everyone else in your household or on your team at work to see what they think, prefer, and need. But it’s really damn hard to remember to do the same thing for yourself.
5 min
1042
Make a Difference Day EP: 37
Make a Difference Day has been a national holiday since 1992. I’m sure you can easily find several volunteer opportunities you could do in your city or town today, and I hope you’ll do that! But I want to suggest another way you can make a...
4 min
1043
There’s More Where That Came From EP: 36
When you start thinking “there’s more where that came from”, you shift your focus FROM the money you no longer have and TO the additional money you could invite into your life.
4 min
1044
Don’t Be an Interrupting Cow EP: 35
Getting interrupted is so frustrating. It impedes your train of thought, for one. Worse, it can feel like you’re being silenced and that what you have to say doesn’t matter. And it’s something we can do to other people even when we have the best...
5 min
1045
Get in Bed When You’re Tired EP: 34
Falling asleep is a little bit like re-entry of a space shuttle – there are certain windows you need to hit for best results. Here’s a dead simple way to make sure that you’re in the right place at the right time for falling asleep.
3 min
1046
Give a Feedback Sandwich EP: 33
One of the trickier things about working with other people is that you often have to give them feedback on how they’re doing. And few people actually enjoy getting feedback, especially when that feedback contains something that could be...
3 min
1047
Celebrate Others’ Successes EP: 32
You know how when you see someone doing something really cool, sometimes you get jealous? Or maybe even think, “That bee-yotch!” C’mon, you can admit it. Today’s tip is here to help you shift out of that mentality.
3 min
1048
Soothe Yourself to Sleep EP: 31
It can be hard to sleep on Sunday nights when you’re thinking about the things you want to and need to get done that week. To help us all get more zzzzs tonight, I’m sharing 2 simple DIY things that help you get to sleep.
4 min
1049
Let Someone Else Go First EP: 30
Being in a hurry makes it easy to wish everyone would just get out of your way already. It’s a little bit like, how dare you slow me down, can’t you see I’ve got important things to do here! I mean, right? Here’s a simple way to step...
3 min
1050
Make an Extra Monthly Debt Payment Every Year w...
If you’re a homeowner, financial gurus and advisors (and my Dad) will tell you to make one extra mortgage payment a year. I say, that’s a great idea! The problem is, it’s not exactly easy to find extra money just lying around waiting...
3 min