Wendy Syfret

Dec 23, 2024 | theguardian.com | Wendy Syfret

Last year, on a hot afternoon just before Christmas, I was picking my daughter up from childcare. That in itself is usually a pretty stressful situation. But on this day my seasonal anxiety was compounded by a toddler’s sleep regression and a family fight that, after decades of simmering tension, was at last boiling over. Out of respect for involved parties – and fear of setting off round two – I’ll skip the details.

Dec 17, 2024 | smh.com.au | Wendy Syfret

Freelance writer December 18, 2024 — 7.30pm December 18, 2024 — 7.30pm, register or subscribe to save articles for later. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The holiday season marks its arrival in many ways: the sound of cicadas, the appearance of mince pies in bakery windows, a Netflix romcom in which a successful career woman falls in love with an anthropomorphic chimney or snowman. But for me, the holidays begin in the most magical place of all – my inbox.

Dec 10, 2024 | smh.com.au | Wendy Syfret

Freelance writer December 11, 2024 — 7.30pm December 11, 2024 — 7.30pm, register or subscribe to save articles for later. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Last month was my birthday, and pretty much no one remembered. The social silence was a distinct departure from the old days when I’d be woken at dawn by a ricocheting messages from everyone I’d ever met. Despite the quiet, I didn’t take the lack of well-wishes personally.

Aug 5, 2024 | smh.com.au | Wendy Syfret

Opinion Save Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it What does it take to be good at a job? Is it dedication? Creativity? Organisation? It's a hard question to answer because so often it is dependent on an individual's personality, circumstances and expectations. Perhaps a better question for the modern work environment is what does it take to look like you're good at your job? This is a question I can answer with some authority.

Jun 1, 2024 | smh.com.au | Wendy Syfret

As a teenage boy, he wasn't a direct beneficiary of her treasure trove of post-modern garments. Rather, he displayed subtler signs of advantage. She didn't lend him those Tabis, but she did donate her understanding of personal style and attention to detail. Despite being imprisoned in a school uniform for most of the week, he somehow figured out exactly how his pants should hit his sneakers and the ideal length of a T-shirt.