Time Spent Newsletter

Time Spent is a collection of writings that delve into the reasons behind reading the news and other meaningful ways to utilize our time. I am also in the process of writing a book on this topic.

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#79: how to design a deep work sprint

2 weeks ago | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Good morning,Can you believe it’s already April? February and March were busy months—a move, an international trip, finding our footing in a new neighborhood, and taking on more freelance work. In this season, I gifted myself my first-ever secretary desk, a beautiful teak piece that’s nearly 60 years old and now lives in the center of our home. I love having my work centered but not visible, since secretary desks allow you to fold the workspace closed when not in use.
#78: how many times can you do the thing you love?

2 months ago | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Hard to believe it has been 1 year since I started writing about writing and perhaps more importantly, since I moved writing from the margins of my life to the center. This year, I want to focus the monthly writer’s note on things I want to remind myself when I next feel lost. I hope you find it helpful, too. Good morning,I am writing to you from the sunny corner of a local lunch spot that’s attached to my local grocery store.
#77: good morning, happy new year

Jan 14, 2025 | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Good morning,today is my first day at my desk since early December asin the last 4 weeks:we hosted baby’s first holiday seasonby the seawith both sides of the family(and felt like the grown-ups). we took a road trip through Utah’s otherworldly expanses,felt the simultaneous sovereignty and isolation of Navajo Nation,visited 5 national parksred and browndesert and canyon,with baby and dog(who shared oatmeal and peanut butter and bananas on the way).
#76: monoliths vs. ambiguity

Nov 25, 2024 | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Good morning,My friend Kate recently wrote an incredible essay about friendship, or rather, the relationships in our lives that mean more than the words available to describe them. Here, she describes what it was like to explain that she needed time off to help a close friend and roommate going through a psychotic break:Continuously, I found myself lacking a vocabulary for the situations I found myself in. Standing in the hospital room with L.’s partner, parents, and doctor: Who was I, exactly?
#75: parts of my job

Nov 18, 2024 | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Good evening,Today we have our monthly writer’s note, November edition. For those new here, once a month I try to reflect on my processes as a writer, worker or caregiver. Some favorites from the archive are on designing a sabbatical, structuring research as a writer, identifying what season you are in, and investing in practice.
#74: soft skills for a hard world

Nov 11, 2024 | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Good afternoon,I’m back from a few days in Southern California, where I had the chance to bask in some much needed conversation about… the future. One thing I’ve learned about time is that when the present needs you to take a second, but you’re hungry for words and perspective and action, looking to a farther future is helpful. If I had to assign a single question to the “far” future, both as a parent and a professional, it would be: what do I want to protect, refine and invest in?
#73: ok let's talk about AI + feelings

Oct 28, 2024 | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Good morning,My mind is on AI this week because on November 7 I’ll be moderating a panel on AI and the future of work/education with a stellar line-up: tech journalists Kevin Roose & Casey Newton from the NYT Hard Fork podcast and data scientist Hilary Mason of Hidden Door.
#72: public spaces inside the home

Oct 21, 2024 | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Good morning,Last week I introduced my constellations project. This week, I completed an outline and started writing. Because I’m in the phase of building my care team as I transition back to work outside the home, I decided to start thinking through that constellation. Contrary to what I expected, building a care team goes far beyond hiring help. It’s a slow set of emotional processes: 1) letting go, 2) building trust, 3) claiming space. Here are some visuals of things I’ve been noticing.
#71: knowledge systems and other ways to write

Oct 14, 2024 | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Good morning,The week before giving birth, I found someone to organize our home library (it felt like I would never have the chance again) who spent about 3 days sorting and labeling our 1500+ books by category. It was imperfect, quick, followed no official system and he left us with a sea of post-its that we turned into little labels (I’m sitting in front of science fiction and information theory as I write this).
#69: june writer's note

Jun 30, 2024 | jihii.substack.com | Jihii Jolly

Good morning,It’s the last day of June, which means the year is half over. How quickly time moves. I’m currently in what some call “the fifth trimester” (months 4-6 post birth), which is when most women transition back to work. And what a wrought journey that can be. In the words of author & advocate Lauren Smith Brody:The first three trimesters (and the fourth—those blurry newborn days) are for the baby, but the Fifth Trimester is when the working mom is born.