Katrina Alcorn's Blog

I spokeon a panel a few weeks ago at the Bay Area Book Festival. The panel was moderatedbylocal literary icon,Michelle Tea. (If you need an escape, her latest book, “How to Grow Up” will make you laugh out loud.)

The authors on the panelrepresenteda range ofgenres (from children’s books to literary fiction tonon-fiction) but we all had twothings in common: love for our kids, and a burning desireto write.

Most of us had never met until right before we tookthe stage, but that didn’t stop us fro...

* We’re giving away 2 copies of Kamy Wicoff’s new book, “Wishful Thinking.” *
* Enter to winby leavinga comment at the end of this blog post. *

Six years ago, I left my full-time jobbecause work stress and chronic busynesscombined withthe exhaustion that comes with raising very young children was making me sick. Then I started working for myself and found out that self-employment gave me the control I needed over my schedule. I could help support my family and still make time to chaperone th...

It’s easy to find examples of what companies are doing wrong—micromanaging employees, burning out workers, stifling innovation, the list goes on. . .

But now I’m looking for examples of what companies are doing right.

I’m setting up short (30 min.) phone interviews with managers at companies that

Foster innovation and creativity Make employees happy and engaged Usespecific methods or management “hacks” to improve collaboration, motivation, and morale

This is all part of a project I’m invol...

Funny 2-min scene from Portlandia to get your Monday off to a good start. An all-male group sets out to “fix feminism.” (Hat/tip to my buddy, Sean.)

* * *

In other news…

We have 5 winners for “The Sweet Spot” book giveaway(Erin, Anna, Heidi, Angela, and Champagne). If you didn’t get an email from me, I guess that means it’s time to buy the book.

I’m speaking at Lead OnWatermark Silicon Valley conferencetomorrow in Santa Clara. If you are attending the conference, come say hi! Our session is at10:...

* We’re giving away 5 copies of Christine Carter’s new book, The Sweet Spot. *

* Enter to winby leavinga comment at the end of this blog post. *

Whenwe don’t have the support we need from family, coworkers, and friends, (and policymakers), trying to work and raise kids can be impossible. But when we do have the support we need . . . it can still feel really hard.

That’s where Christine Carter’s new book—just released today!—comes in. What I love about The Sweet Spotis that it goes beyond the sup...

EveryNew Year’s Eve, after the kids go to bed, Brianand Iread to each other from our journals. We’ve been doing this for 13 years. It’s a way of reflecting on the past year, and thinking about what we want to do in the year ahead. (I know what you’re thinking. Your husband keeps a journal?Yup…he’s cool like that.)

Our annual ritual was cut shortthis year. We have teenagers now, and they go to bed late, (and we’re old, and we don’t want to stay up until midnight) but we read enough to see that...

You guys! I need your help.

Can you answer one question to help to me prepare for a conference I’m speaking at next week? Here’s the question:

What is the single best piece of advice you’ve received on balancing work and family?

Please leave your answer in the comments below. (Or you can tweet it to me at @kalcorn or leave your comment on my Facebook page.)

Why I’m asking you this

Months ago I was invited to speak on a panel for a series of three conferences called The Conferences for Women—togeth...

Like most people of my Generation (GenX), I’ve had a lot of different jobs.

In high school I worked as a babysitter, a housecleaner, and a box office ticket takerfor a local theater. In college I waitressed at Denny’s to earn tuition money. When I spent a year abroad, I earned my keep as an English language teacher in Chile.

After college, I held jobs as a union organizer, a freelance writer, and a media specialist for a health care reform campaign. When the campaign ran out of money, I joined...

About six years ago, while I was busy “maxing out” at my full-time job in San Francisco, a friend of mine started freelancing for a company that sounded like a working mom nirvana.

It was a small web design firm in Silicon Valley called Sliced Bread. The owners (Julie Stanford and Ellen Siminoff) were good friends who had bought houses next door to each other. They set up a large shared office in the downstairs of Julie’s house, and because they had kids about the same age, they decided to sha...

The talk I gave atTEDx Montereyin Aprilis now available online! “Maxed Out: Changing the Conversation About Women and Work.”

If you like it, please share it.