Honing In

Something shifted in Helen Betya Rubinstein when she read The House on Mango Street as a kid. It was the first time she read a text that didn't center a family that was white and well-off, and the cultures that went with it. This, Helen thought, is power. Since then, Helen’s approach to writing and teaching has evolved to uphold and further explore that thesis.

Helen is a writing coach in ongoing practice with writers across genres. She is the author of Feels Like Trouble: Provocations on Writing, Teaching & Power and The Case Against Rubinstein: An Anti-Fiction (forthcoming in 2027), as well as a booklet of lyric fictions, Because Sex Is a Story & Sex Is a Song.

Today on Honing In, we talk about the connection between writing and power. We dive into Helen’s experience as both a student within an MFA program, as well as her role as a facilitator and educator, and how both of these experiences helped her to see the power structures inherent within academic institutions that need to be acknowledged, challenged, and shifted towards conscious compromise.

Tune in for a conversation that will leave you feeling empowered to pick up a pen and stand in your power.

Together, we hone in on:

• The benefits of putting boundaries around projects.
• Screen-free writing and the magic of putting pen to paper.
• Understanding the difference between one's own power and the power they wield over others.
• MFA experiences and the power dynamic between directors, professors, and students.
• Being genre-agnostic in writing.
• Helen’s upcoming book, and why nothing is truly non-fiction.
• The case for coaching, especially for writers!

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Poetry is Not a Project by Dorothea Lasky
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
• Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses
• The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop by Felicia Rose Chavez
• Da State of Pigeon Address by Lee A. Tonouchi

More from Helen:

• Website: http://www.helenbetya.com/coaching 
• @helenbetya on Instagram
• @helenbetya on X
• @helenbetya on Bluesky

More from Kate:

• ⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry
• 💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter
• 📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner
  
  

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Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter.

Stoicism is a school of philosophy that has long been preserved by archival texts and “bros” explaining its tenets to other men. But what about those of us who find ancient texts unapproachable and don’t enjoy bro-coded content? Enter Luise Jacobs, the creator behind Blussomly, where she makes Stoic philosophy accessible and, in her own words, “soft.”

Luise translates the ancient ideas of Stoicism into practices that can actually be applied in real life, and as one of her students, I can confidently say that her Soft Stoicism approach works. Today on Honing In, Luise and I discuss how she became drawn to Stoicism and how her personal interest in the philosophy became the catalyst for her career as a content creator and educator.

Tune in for a FUN chat about Stoicism! (I’m not being sarcastic; Stoicism really can be fun.)

Together, we hone in on:

• What Stoicism is and how Luise became a student of it
• The parallels that Stoicism has with modern forms of therapy
• How practicing Stoicism can support us in emotional and nervous system regulation
• Creating content across various mediums and the pushback Luise got on her first viral video
• Balancing creating “soft” content without undermining the intelligence of women or excluding men
• Why Luise believes that Stoicism is meant to be practiced in community

More from Luise:

• Website: https://stan.store/blussomly
• Instagram: @blussomly
• Tiktok: @blussomly
• YouTube: @blussomly
• Stoic Girl Collective Community
• The Stoic Girl Starter Pack Workbook 

More from Kate:

• ⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry
• 💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter
• 📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner

Never miss an episode of Honing In! Sign up HERE to get new episodes delivered to your inbox.

Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter.

As a lover of coffee, books, and creatives who dare to share their work with the world, today’s guest is a literal dream come true! Morgan Eckroth, a Portland-based barista and creator who has amassed nearly 8 million fans sharing coffee tutorials, inventive drink recipes, and barista stories online, is here today to talk about their new book, Coffee, For Here.

After landing a job at their local coffee shop as a teen, Morgan fell in love with both coffee and the hospitality involved in becoming a beloved neighborhood barista. Eventually, Morgan would take their talents out of the coffee shop and onto the stages of the world of barista competitions, winning the title of U.S. Barista Champion, 2022 World Barista Runner-Up, and two-time U.S. Barista Runner-Up.

Knowing that not everyone can dedicate their life to learning the art of a perfect pour-over, Morgan wrote Coffee, For Here, a practical handbook and a guide to building real coffee skills at home. Today, Morgan joins me to talk about tender memories of coffee, what it takes to go from barista to content creator to published author, and how they have distilled their love of coffee into a blooming career. 

You’re going to want to brew a fresh cup for this one!

Together, we hone in on:

• Morgan’s ever-evolving content journey, starting with their signature Barista sketches
• How the COVID Pandemic impacted their experience in the service industry, and eventually moved their work online
• Deciding which parts of their process are for the public, and what should be kept private
• The barista competition track and making it all the way to the global stage
• Behind-the-scenes details about their book-writing process, especially the extensive recipe testing process
• Why their new book, Coffee, for Here, is about so much more than coffee itself

More from Morgan:

• Instagram: @morgandrinkscoffee
• TikTok: @morgandrinkscoffee
• YouTube: @morgandrinkscoffee
• Website: https://morgandrinkscoffee.com
• Newsletter: Coffee for Here on Substack
• NEW BOOK: Coffee, for Here

More from Kate:

• ⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry
• 💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter
• 📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner
  
  

Never miss an episode of Honing In! Sign up HERE to get new episodes delivered to your inbox.

Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter.

It’s my 40th birthday this week! I couldn’t reach a milestone like this without wanting to hone in on its deeper meaning. Luckily, my friend, bee scolnick, a writer, witch, and weirdo who makes meaning out of mess, is here to help me unpack the numerology of it all.  

We talk about the significance of turning 40 both numerologically and personally. We also explore the paradoxes and portals we traverse throughout life. And of course, share a list of things that we used to give f*ck about that we have since let go of completely. 

Tune in for a fun chat between friends that I hope will inspire you to get curious about the cards (and numbers!) you’ve been dealt. 

Together, we hone in on:

• The energetics of birthdays, and especially turning 40
• Kate’s 13-year sobriety milestone
• How embracing paradox can free us from the binary of choice
• Learning to embrace curiosity (instead of shutting down) when considering the state of the world we’re living in today
• An overview of “the holy trinity” in Numerology 
• Personal meaning-making and thoughts about vanity

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Join Dr. Kate for the workshop, Will This Work For Me? Experimental Approaches to Scholarly Life. Friday, October 16, 12 - 3 pm EDT. Register HERE [$55]
•  Blog Post: Giving a F*ck is a Personal Resource

More from Bee:

• bee’s website: https://www.beescolnick.com
• bee’s instagram: @beescolnick
• bee’s newsletter: common denominators
• Book: The Witch’s Book of Numbers: Enhance Your Magic With Numerology
• Book: Marriage by the Numbers: Planning Your Wedding Using Numerology
• Podcast: Call Your Coven: Practical Advice for Nonsensical Times

More from Kate:

• ⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry
• 💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter
• 📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner

Become a Honing In VIP! SIgn up HERE to get new episodes sent to your inbox.

Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter.

When we think about agriculture, we often consider the foods that we eat and the farmers who cultivate them, but before plants emerge through the soil, there’s already a world of collaboration taking place. Artist, writer, plant enthusiast, and Associate Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University, Keitlyn Alcántara explores these unseen worlds and distills her knowledge so that we can grow alongside the plants.

Keitlyn’s love of nature and attention to detail fueled an early passion for creative writing, one that was later diminished by the hypercriticism of academic writing. In her new book, An Archaeology of Milpa Cultures: Maize and Ecological Worldbuilding in Central Mexico, Keitlyn brings these two forms together, combining rigorous research with personal stories, playful asides, and her own hand-drawn illustrations.

Today on Honing In, we talk about Milpa Cultures, an agricultural practice that has fostered collaboration and coevolution between humans and plants for thousands of years. Keitlyn explains how the biodiversity of the Milpa allows it to adapt to changing conditions, and what it can teach us about interdependence, resilience, and creating alternative worlds.

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to take research beyond the confines of academic standards, you’ll be delighted by Keitlyn’s work.

Together, we hone in on:

• How deadlines, expectations, and responsibility can change our relationship with creative projects
• How the hypercriticism of graduate school can diminish creativity in writing
• Keitlyn’s choice not to give her “whole self” to academia
• Reclaiming creativity through writing, art projects, and illustrating her own book
• What Milpa cultures can teach us about connection, collaboration, and adaptability
• Expanding our understanding of knowledge beyond traditional academic structures

More from Keitlyn:

• Keitlyn’s Website: www.keitlynalcantara.com
• Keitlyn’s Instagram: http://instagram.com/sazon_dondesea
• Keitlyn’s Bluesky: @keit-lyn.bsky.social
• Keitlyn’s Book: An Archaeology of Milpa Cultures: Maize and Ecological Worldbuilding in Central Mexico
• Food as Resistance Documentary: https://www.keitlynalcantara.com/comida-como-resistencia
• The Healing Garden: https://www.healinggardeniub.com/
  
  

More from Kate:

• ⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry
• 💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter
• 📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner

BECOME A HONING IN VIP! Sign up HERE to get new episodes sent to your inbox.

Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter.

Cody Cook-Parrott is your small business owner’s favorite small business owner. The vulnerability that they bring to every aspect of their work has inspired thousands of students, colleagues, and peers, myself included! Writer, artist, and movement practitioner who builds simple structures that help artists make work, Cody’s focus is attention, creative ecosystems, and research, so your practice becomes a scaffolding to grow steadily, online and off.

Today we talk about the various seasons of life that impact business (we’re looking at you summer lull!), How to Not Always be Working, earning a MFA, and where Cody is putting their attention these days. 

Together, we hone in on:

• The dichotomy between being a teacher of their own classes and workshops, while also being a student working towards their MFA
• How classical pilates has informed Cody’s writing practice 
• Writing publicly, writing in private, writing behind a paywall, and how Cody differentiates between the three
• Feeling “unmoored” and how to navigate being in a liminal space in life and work
• Cody’s new book, The Practice of Attention
• Exploring how to measure “enoughness” in ways that go beyond financial stability
• The importance of movement and its impact on Cody’s mental and physical wellbeing 

Tune in for a fun conversation between friends that’s full of takeaways you didn’t know you needed.

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Podcast Episode: Frameworks for Community and Creativity with Cody Cook-Parrott
• Cody’s Newsletter, A PMDD Miracle

More from Cody:

• Cody's website: https://www.codycookparrott.com/ 
• Cody's newsletter: https://www.codycookparrott.com/newsletter 
• Creative Advising with Cody: https://www.codycookparrott.com/creative-advising 
• Cody's books, including The Practice of Attention and How to Not Always Be Working: https://www.codycookparrott.com/books 
• Landscapes Writing Group: https://www.codycookparrott.com/landscapes 

More from Kate:

• ⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry
• 💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter
• 📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner
  
  

Podcast editing and support by Softer Sounds Studio.

Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter.

If our websites are our homes in this vast digital landscape, then jess herrera, a Venezuelan graphic designer, writer, and restless creative, is an architect. Informed by their experience moving through the immigration process, farming, and being in tune with their own humanity, they build human-first digital spaces for real needs.

Together jess and I unpack the “user experience” when it comes to navigating online spaces, along with examples where the experience is overridden by a need to streamline and systematize. jess also shares the various ways that tending to the fields as a farmer has guided them towards centering ease and care into every aspect of their work. If you’re looking for the complete opposite of “tech bro culture,” this episode is it.

Together we hone in on:

• How jess identifies projects across personal and professional work 
• What makes something a “human-first digital experience”
• How the immigration process has informed jess’s approach to building truly inclusive online spaces
• The various ways that farming has given jess insight into the “user experience” and has helped them center human-first care
• jess’s art expressions of writing, collaging, and screen printing as ways to explore their queer identity and Venezuelan culture

Mentioned in this Episode:

•  Queer Liberation Library 

More from jess:

• jess’s website: https://sundogcowboy.com
• jess’s Substack: https://onbeingalive.substack.com 
• Article: National Identity Document
• jess’s Instagram: @sundogcowboy
• jess's newsletter package offer
  
  

More from Kate:

• ⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry
• 💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter
• 📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner
  
  

Podcast editing and support by Softer Sounds Studio.

Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter

Have you ever made your morning beverage and sat down at your desk, only to find yourself utterly confused about which task needs your attention the most? The next thing you know, you’ve spent an hour “cleaning up” your inbox, and you’re left feeling like every task is somehow urgent and can wait a little longer. I can describe this so well because before I started researching productivity in 2018, I found myself stuck in this exact loop almost daily.

Now, as a Productivity Coach who helps clients finish their most meaningful projects with an individualized human-first approach, it's essential that I offer myself the same care and support. 

If you’re curious which tools and approaches a Productivity Coach uses for her own projects, gather round! Today, I’m talking through the tools that have been supporting my prioritization, time management, and focus for almost a decade. 

Let’s hone in on:

• The Eisenhower Matrix (and its limitations)
• How the Must-Do Method helps me schedule my week, manage overlapping priorities, and prioritize rest 
• The ways I utilize gamification professionally and personally to increase focus/measure progress
• Gretchen Rubin’s 4 Tendencies and understanding different accountability styles 
• How body doubling increases my ability to follow through on my goals
  
  

Resources mentioned:

• Sarah Knight’s Get Your Shit Together (The Must-do Method)
• Blog Post: “The Productivity Tool that Changed My Life”
• Article: “The 5 Productivity Practices that Helped Me Finish My Dissertation”
• Newsletter: “How to Play the Game: tools that prompt action”
• App: Forest Pomodoro 
• App: Finch (for self-care)
• Gretchen Rubin’s, The Four Tendencies
• Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies Quiz
• Newsletter: “The Buddy System, But For Productivity”

More from Kate: 

• ⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry
• 💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter
• 📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner
  
  

Podcast editing and support by Softer Sounds Studio.

Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter.

We’ve all heard the term “coach,” but what happens when we challenge the structure of a coaching container and invite it to be a truly collaborative experience? These curiosities are the inspiration for the collaborative coaching project of Interval Paper. Founded by coach, certified somatic practitioner, and writer Erica Ando, PhD and coach, interdisciplinary artist, writer, and End-of-Life Doula Michelle A M Miller, Interval Paper helps people step out of “Never Enough Culture” and build more fully engaged lives.

In today’s conversation, Erica and Michelle share how their work has evolved as a result of being in an ongoing collaborative relationship. They also share how they “named their villain” (Never Enough Culture) and how that inspired them to create a resource that counters cultural conditioning called the Good Enough Guide.

We talk about the pressure of academia, the health consequences that follow, and the ultimate decision to reject external pressures and to honor internal care. You’ll also hear about their upcoming summer retreat with an exclusive discount for listeners!

Together, we hone in on:

• How Erica and Michelle lean on projects to create discrete boundaries in their work
• The origins of Interval Paper and the many benefits of being in ongoing collaboration
• The Good Enough Guide and how it counters the cultural conditioning of never enough
• Why “one percent change” is an effective and gentle approach to setting goals
• Moving past academic success to honor lived experience and internal success
• How somatic practices help to stay grounded in both personal and client work

More from Interval Paper:

• Interval Paper Website: https://intervalpaper.com
• Summer Retreat - Get $100 off with code HONING100 
• Workbook: The Good Enough Guide
• Free Resource: 5-Minute Permission Slip
• Blog post: “Good Enough is the most radical practice”
• Blog post: “Exhaustion Isn’t a Personal Failure” 
• Erica’s website: https://www.ericaando.com/ 
• Michelle’s website: https://www.wisemortal.com/ 

More from Kate:

• ⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry
• 💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter
• 📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner

Podcast editing and support by Softer Sounds Studio.

Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter.

When we talk about publishing, it’s usually the finish line for any aspiring author. For Emily Larned, Associate Professor and the incoming Director of Graduate Studies in Art at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, publishing is an artistic practice within itself. She’s been publishing since 1993, when she made her first zine. Currently, her imprint Alder & Frankia publishes new collaborations from feminist archives. 

Today on Honing In, we talk to Emily about how her start in the Zine subculture at age 16 taught her to value community-oriented, socially engaged artistic practices. We also talk about Impractical Labor in Service of the Speculative Arts (ILSSA), a union for artists and makers that Emily started with her friend Bridget Elmer in 2008. 

Throughout our conversation, Emily graciously walks us through the various feminist projects that have informed her work and shares what we can continue to learn from them. She also shares her endeavors to create beyond economic compensation, time constraints, and the pressures to “produce.”

If you’re interested in feminist art, creating without time pressure, and moving individual projects into the social sphere, there is much to learn from Emily today.

Together, Emily and I hone in on:

• The distinction between “platforms” and “projects”
• Publishing works as a social act that builds community
• The origins of the Impractical Labor in Service of the Speculative Arts (ILSSA)
• How time and materials can transform a work of text into an immersive experience
• The various feminist projects and texts that inform Emily’s work
• Emily’s personal goal of working less and moving slowly
• The importance of bringing a fluid, humane approach to academic work

More from Emily:

• Emily’s Website: EmilyLarned.com
• ILSSA: https://impractical-labor.org/
• Emily’s Instagram: @emilylarned
• Emily’s Substack: Till & Drift
• Emily Current Exhibition (in Connecticut until Jan. 10, 2027)

More from Kate:

⭐ Productivity Coaching with Dr. Kate Henry

💌 Sign up for Kate's free newsletter

📚 Download Kate's free Sustainable Productivity Planner

Podcast editing and support by Softer Sounds Studio.

Theme song by Melissa Kaitlyn Carter.