How to build community in an isolated job (w/ Curtis Sittenfeld)
Nov 13, 2023
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Bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld discusses the challenges of isolation in writing and the desire for community. The speakers explore work-life balance and emphasize the importance of self-care, gratitude, and connection.
Work encompasses more than financial needs; it includes intellectual engagement, curiosity, creativity, and social connection.
Curtis Sittenfeld finds it challenging to balance her highly productive but isolated writing process with her need for more human connection in her work and life.
Deep dives
The Needs We Meet at Work
Work goes beyond financial needs and includes intellectual engagement, curiosity, creativity, and social connection.
The Isolation of a Solo Writing Career
As a full-time fiction writer, Curtis Sittenfeld experiences the isolation of working alone on her novels for extended periods of time.
The Tension Between Productivity and Human Connection
Curtis feels torn between being highly productive but isolated as a writer, and craving more human connection in her work and life.
Finding Ways to Foster Community
Curtis explores the idea of scheduling regular social moments and experimenting with different activities to nourish her need for connection outside of her solo writing career.
How do you balance what works professionally with other goals and needs? Curtis Sittenfeld is the bestselling author of Prep and Romantic Comedy. Though she has found great success as a full-time writer, Curtis wants more interpersonal connection than what she often gets from her very isolated approach to writing. In this episode, Anne and Frances talk to Curtis about how she can build more community in her day-to-day life without abandoning the most important part of her writing process. They also explain how we can all be more deliberate about work-life balance and make our jobs emotionally sustainable.