Featured Work

Covering various topics helps keep my work interesting, exciting, and challenging. But I have a few sweet spots and areas I can write in as a subject matter expert. I love writing about the career world, whether that's a piece on developing leadership skills, effectively setting goals, or integrating your career into your life meaningfully. And I'm slightly obsessed with time management and productivity tips because time is the only thing we can never get back, so we might as well make the most of it, right?

I was a subcontractor for various freelance writers in the project management and software spaces (and unfortunately, you can't see that work, but know that it helped me practice!) I've collaborated with technology and software companies like G2 and Clockwise and have written career-related features for The Everygirl, Babes Who Hustle, and more. You might also see my name appear in other writers' pieces on Zapier and Trello (which is pretty neat if I say so myself). 

Below are some of my favorite pieces I've written to give you a taste of my writing style and content. You can find more of my work in my full portfolio on Authory.

How to Politely Decline a Meeting Invite | Clockwise

Picture this: you’re merrily tapping away at your keyboard, cruising your way through your to-do list, crossing items off left and right with your favorite color highlighter when an invitation for a “Project Sync” pops up on your Google Calendar. You pause for a moment, feeling distracted and caught off guard. The meeting is in a few hours, and you need to be in the loop on the project your teammates will discuss, but is there a better way? You’re left pondering whether this is a meeting you nee

How to Streamline Email for Effective Communication | Clockwise

These are the types of emails that send me spiraling like Ron Swanson from the hit series Parks and Recreation:

Maybe this example is exaggerated, but you get the point.

I searched high and low for recent statistics on the number of emails the average knowledge worker receives daily, and I kept running into a McKinsey study from 2012. At the time, McKinsey reported that knowledge workers spent 28 hours each week writing emails, searching for information, and collaborating internally.

Code Like a Boss: Personal Productivity for Software Engineers | Clockwise

The most effective and successful software engineers have one thing in common—they’re personal productivity pros! The engineering field has distractions, competing priorities, growing to-do lists, too many meetings, and other sneaky time thieves.

Insanely productive software engineers move things forward in magical ways. If you’re an engineer looking to improve your personal productivity skills, we’ve got you covered.

7 Tips for Improving Time Management Skills | Clockwise

On an episode of the television series “Shameless,” Lip Gallagher works in a kitchen restaurant while going to school. He asks his boss if he can leave early to study for his literature exam, but he denies his request. In a moment of tough love, Lip’s boss tells him that he sees other students struggling to balance their priorities all the time, and they get there with the help of three words — time management skills.

What is Your Bus Factor & How to Improve It | Clockwise

Have you ever written important information down or sent it an email at work with the note, “Here’s some information you may need, in case I get hit by a bus!”? Or maybe you’ve put together a plan with critical information to share with your colleagues pre-vacation or post-resignation so they could carry work forward without you. All of these scenarios describe the idea of the bus factor (also known as the truck factor or lorry factor).

The Surprising Trait That May Be Affecting Your Productivity

Do you ever feel like no matter how many productivity hacks, time management tips, or The Everygirl desk essentials you buy, you still aren’t operating at your peak productivity levels?

We’ve all heard the same advice from productivity experts everywhere, “Wake up an hour earlier!” or “Have you tried [insert time management strategy here]? It’s a total game-changer.” We live in a world where productivity is always top of mind, but sometimes, something still feels off no matter how many strategi

Context Switching: The High-Cost Productivity Killer | Clockwise

What would you say if I asked you to describe how your typical workday goes, start to finish? Not the perfectly smooth and organized day you plan on paper when you get to your desk first thing in the morning, but how your day actually looks.

I’ll start. I first look at my calendar and make a daily to-do list while I clean out my inbox. The day often begins quietly, and sometimes if I’m lucky, I’m able to dig into a project before I attend my first meeting.

More Than a Job: The Underlying Reasons Women Stay in Positions

Last October, a rise in commotion crossed headlines as paid family leave was slashed from President Biden's framework for the Build Back Better plan. The provision included 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave before the administration cut it from the bill entirely. This news followed an already challenging conversation around women in the workforce, with activists like Reshma Saujani spearheading the Marshall Plan for Moms, which champions paid family leave, affordable childcare, and more

How to Maximize Your Time with the Pomodoro Technique

As goal-getters, big dreamers, and visionaries, it seems like we could all use just a little bit more time in our day. In a world full of commitments, busy schedules, sprinkled with distractions and interruptions, maximizing one's time is no easy feat. Fortunately, we can savor and take advantage of as many of those precious minutes as possible with Passion Planner and an effective time management strategy such as the Pomodoro Technique.

Lifestyle Clips

As an added bonus, here are a few of my favorite lifestyle pieces I've written. Enjoy!

These 12 Kauai Wedding Venues Are Truly Breathtaking

These wedding venues in Kauai are sure to wow.

The island of Kauai, also known as the Garden Isle, is a tropical paradise filled with natural beauty, magnificent beaches, native plants and wildlife—and some truly spectacular Kauai wedding venues. Sitting northwest of Oahu, the island of Kauai is the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands and is home to Waimea Canyon State Park and the Na Pali Coast State Park. Not to mention the heavenly Hanalei Bay makes for incredible scenery.

Features

Here are some of the pieces I've been featured or quoted in. 

Gratitude Plus Leader, Alyssa Towns — Gratitude Plus

What inspired you to be in the wellness world?

I suppose I fell into the wellness world, not necessarily by choice (but I'm so grateful I did!) In 2015, I unexpectedly lost one set of my grandparents, ten weeks apart from one another. My grandmother and grandfather were in their early/mid-sixties, and grief shook my world. My only living grandfather passed away from esophageal cancer in April of this year at age 64. Why do their ages matter? I've thought long and hard about the kind of life I w

Meet Alyssa Towns | Freelance Writer & Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alyssa Towns and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alyssa, what role has risk played in your life or career?

Growing up, I was never a risk-taker. The mere idea of taking risks and stepping outside my comfort zone was a concept I was unwilling to explore. I enjoyed operating and, more specifically, excelling within the confined bounds of my comfort zone. After college, I worked at a desk job that I loved but felt unchallenged by. For the first