GRIN & BARE IT
Read (and subscribe to) Grin and Bare It, my daily blog on storytelling, productivity, current events, teaching, my family, and other musings.
I have been posting to this blog every day since 2005.
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Phone advice for parents and kids
A parent and teacher recently asked me, “How have you managed to avoid giving your children phones?” My answer was admittedly snarky but accurate: “We Read More
Resolution update: March 2025
Every month, I record my progress on my yearly goals to hold myself accountable and occasionally seek help and advice from readers willing to offer Read More
Man in the Arena
One of my clients recently forwarded me half a dozen reviews of my book “Storyworthy” from Amazon and other places online. They were exceedingly kind Read More
Best decade is your decade
The pollsters at YouGov asked 2,000 adults which decade had the best and worst music, movies, economy, and more. A total of 20 different measures. Read More
Think first. Then act.
Thinking about your goals changes how you see the world. It also dramatically increases your willingness and ability to accomplish those goals. Case in point: Read More
Educational priorities set straight
After 27 years of teaching, I can say with absolute certainty that reading, writing, and mathematics are critical to a child’s success. Science, social studies, Read More
You never know where your words will go
I write a lot. Ten published books and another coming out this year. Five currently unpublished books, plus about a dozen unpublished picture books and Read More
Eating vs. working
The next time you’re in a restaurant and a server looks at your nearly finished plate and asks, “Are you still working on that,” the Read More
Choosing the right strategy
When determining the best strategy in a competition of any kind — sport, game, business, or a simple verbal argument — it’s often best to Read More
Exercise can change your life. Excuses might kill you.
It’s been well-known for many decades that exercise benefits our health. We knew from studies in the 1950s comparing London bus drivers and London bus Read More
Sleep and the power of positive thought
A recent study on the placebo effect of sleep-tracking devices — often called “orthodontia “— has shown that sleep trackers can influence people’s perception of sleep Read More
The sign of a coward
The Pentagon—under the orders of the Secretary of Defense—removed references to the military careers of Jackie Robinson, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers, Vietnam-era Read More
Stupid dress codes
My friend’s golf club, which I may want to join one day, has a stupid rule: You must wear a belt and tuck in your Read More
Kindergarten dumbness
In exchanging emails recently with my former kindergarten teacher, she wrote: “I taught for 35 years, and towards the end, they made us do away Read More
First dates gone awry
Sometimes, data can show you how your life and the lives of most people differ in ways you did not expect. Case in point: A Read More
Owl and Pussycat
The #1 song on the Billboard charts on the day I was born was a good one: “One Bad Apple” by the Osmonds. Fitting, it Read More
How we spend our time
Frightening numbers: 6 months spent at stoplights over an average lifetime 8 months spent opening junk mail 1.5 years spent looking for lost items 5 Read More
Ted was right and wrong
I took a short Uber ride from the airport in Boise, Idaho, to my hotel in downtown Boise. The driver, a man named Ted, and Read More
Delay made good
My connecting flight from Chicago to Boise is delayed by about 25 minutes. The plane arrived late, so the cleaning and safety crew needed time Read More
Smart twin mom
I am teaching the better half of four sets of twins in my class this year. “The better half” because I always like my students Read More
