

Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley
Kate Hanley
Finding the Throughline: Conversations about the Creative Process invites you into the minds of writers and other creatives as they open up about their process, their doubts, and what kinds of changes they’re thinking about making. The questions are mildly invasive, honestly, and the answers are unvarnished…and so refreshing! Whether your creative work is writing, painting, making music, parenting, or simply living, Finding the Throughline can help you get—and stay—inspired. Invigorated, even. For detailed show notes on each interview, visit katehanley.substack.com. And if you’d like to hear these interviews in one ad-free episode (as opposed to broken up into three shorter episodes with a few ads sprinkled in to keep the lights on), become a paid subscriber once you’re there..
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 18, 2023 • 9min
[5-Minute Self-Care]: This Used to Get You in Trouble in School, but it Helps You Think, Recharge, and Heal, Ep. 983
During this back-to-school, when it may feel like time is at a premium, I’m focusing on sharing EASY, FAST, and MEGA-POWERFUL ways to show yourself some TLC. First up is something that refreshes your eyes, brain, and spirit and has even been shown to help patients recovering from surgery get out of the hospital faster and be less crabby to their nurses. No, seriously. Study on benefits of a natural view for post-surgery patientsStudy on natural views reducing depressive symptoms during COVID lockdownsThis episode sponsored by: HelloFresh – Use promo code 50BETTERPERSON to save 50% and get free shipping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 15, 2023 • 15min
[Maintain Your Brain]: Surprising Brain Health Hacks that Work, Ep. 982
A recent survey found that sixty-four percent of all Americans say that their biggest fear about growing older is that they will suffer from dementia. I share that fear!So this week I’m diving into some evidence-based strategies you and I and everyone can implement to take great care of those beautiful brains of ours, so that it can take care of us now and well into the future. Today are three of the more surprising brain-health hacks I’ve discovered in my deep dive into the topic as part of my work on a book called Reversing Alzheimer’s with Wednesday’s guest, Dr. Heather Sandison. The book will be out in 2024 but you can get a preview this week. This episode sponsored by: HelloFresh – Use promo code 50BETTERPERSON to save 50% and get free shipping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 13, 2023 • 23min
[Maintain Your Brain]: Things To Do Now for Better Brain Health Later (from a Dr. who specializes in dementia care), Ep. 981
Today I'm interviewing Dr. Heather Sandison, who is the founder of the Solcere medical clinic and the Marama residential elder care facility in Southern California–the first memory care facility to have the goal of returning its residents to independent living. Heather is working on a book where she details her evidence-based approach--full disclosure, I am helping her write that book and as we've been working on it I've gotten so excited by her stories of folks who have made incredible gains in their brain health that I had to have her on to share the things we can all do now that will help us have better brain health, memory, and cognition in the future. Wait til you hear the stories of her patients who have gotten better! You’ll want to do what they’re doing. Marama at Home digital courseSolcere medical clinic websiteThis episode sponsored by: HelloFresh – Use promo code 50BETTERPERSON to save 50% and get free shipping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 11, 2023 • 14min
[Maintain Your Brain]: The Attitude That Keeps Your Mind Open and Brain Sharp, Ep. 980
A lot of people think they can do their beloved crossword or sudoku and keep their brains strong. But what I’ve been learning by working on a book called Reversing Alzheimer's with Dr. Heather Sandison (it will be out in 2024), is that doing what you’ve always done in terms of activities or hobbies isn’t enough to prevent to dementia. They are great, you can still do them, but unless you are in the moderate to severe stage of dementia, your brain really thrives on novelty. Come get heaps of ideas on how to keep your neuroplasticity humming–all by following your natural curiosity!This episode sponsored by: HelloFresh – Use promo code 50BETTERPERSON to save 50% and get free shipping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 8, 2023 • 12min
[Find More Time]: How to Feel Better About Those Annoying Time Sucks, Ep. 979
Learn how to find more time for the things you value and enjoy. Explore cognitive reframing to transform perspectives and improve time management skills. Discover how HelloFresh saves time with pre-portioned ingredients. Reframe mindset to find value in everyday activities. Find fulfillment and maximize time by analyzing how it's spent.

Sep 6, 2023 • 23min
[Find More Time]: Why Saying “There Aren’t Enough Hours in the Day” Is Harmful, Ep. 978
Do you regularly feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day? That feeling has a technical term--it's called 'time poverty,' and it's something we're going to learn how to reduce in today's episode.I'm talking with Ashley Whillans, assistant professor at Harvard Business School, a leading voice in time and happiness research, and the author of the excellent book, Time Smart. I enjoyed this book so much--it's succinct, it's practical, it's educational. I turned down multiple corners of multiple pages and got out my special notebook so I could do the exercise Ashley outlines. I really recommend it, and I'm so excited to have Ashely here today to help us all feel more time affluent.Ashley's websiteAshley's book, 'Time Smart'This episode sponsored by: AirDoctor – Use promo code BETTER to save up to 39% or $300 HelloFresh – Use promo code 50BETTERPERSON to save 50% and get free shipping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 4, 2023 • 12min
[Find More Time]: Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time, Ep. 977
Time isn’t just this tangible thing that you can parcel out and have it behave in predictable ways. So let’s stop trying to make it our b-i-t-c-h, whaddya say? The thing is, when you are feeling good and in a groove, mentally, physically, and spiritually, you cut through tasks like a hot knife through butter. It’s better, then, to stop trying to manage your time, and focus instead of managing your energy. This is not just some woo-woo thing that I personally believe. The Harvard Business Review article that describes the Energy Project study I mention in this episodeThis episode sponsored by: AirDoctor – Use promo code BETTER to save up to 39% or $300 HelloFresh – Use promo code 50BETTERPERSON to save 50% and get free shipping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 1, 2023 • 12min
Friday, September 1: [Find More Time]: How Can I Stop Frittering Away a Whole Day?, Ep. 976
We’ve all been there–you had the whole day open to do as you pleased, and you had all these things you wanted to get done, but by the time 5 o'clock rolls around, you haven’t done squat. Today’s episode is about how to avoid frittering away the day.This episode sponsored by: AirDoctor – Use promo code BETTER to save up to 39% or $300 HelloFresh – Use promo code 50BETTERPERSON to save 50% and get free shipping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 30, 2023 • 25min
[Find More Time]: Make More Time for Happiness, Ep. 975
Today I’m talking with Dr. Cassie Holmes, professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, social psychologist who researches the intersection of time and happiness, and who teaches a wildly popular MBA class on how to change the way you think about time in order to boost happiness. She generously shares her evidence-based strategies for changing your approach to time and making more space for the things that really matter to you. I love this episode!!Dr. Holmes’s book, Happier HourTime tracking sheetTime crafting canvasThis episode sponsored by: AirDoctor – Use promo code BETTER to save up to 39% or $300 HelloFresh – Use promo code 50BETTERPERSON to save 50% and get free shipping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 28, 2023 • 12min
[Find More Time]: Weed Out Those Annoying Time Sucks, Ep. 974
The dumb little things you have to do repeatedly can eat up your time and drag your energy down. Since this week is all about ways to take better care of the intersection of time, energy, and happiness, finding solutions for these minor aggravations is the subject of today’s episode. I don’t know about you, but I find teeny little changes ridiculously exciting, which means I’m ridiculously excited about this episode. This episode sponsored by: AirDoctor – Use promo code BETTER to save up to 39% or $300 HelloFresh – Use promo code 50BETTERPERSON to save 50% and get free shipping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices