Alisa B. Lin

Feminist productivity and time management author, Associate Professor at the Ohio State University, mama of three

ACADEMICS

I am an associate professor in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures at the Ohio State University, with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts. My latest book is Theatrical Consciousness: The Actor’s Mind in Russian Modernism. I am now writing a book on intersections of theatrical performance and Christian practice in Eastern Europe, as well as a close study of the complete works of Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky. In my teaching I value active, inclusive learning and introducing students to little-known cultural texts from Eastern Europe as we work on deepening our critical thinking and writing skills. My academic CV is here.

WRITING

For twenty years I have been studying and self-experimenting with productivity practices. But when I became a working mom, much of the advice in mainstream writings on time management no longer applied to me. Since late 2023 I have been been channeling my fascination with productivity, how we work, and how we perceive our time into a popular weekly newsletter called The Tending Project. My newsletter advice works with the realities of our busy, stressed-out lives and presents work productivity as inseparable from the caregiving we do at home. My book We Who Tend: Realistic Productivity for People with Busy Lives is under contract with Rutgers University Press, represented by Leigh Eisenman of Wolf Literary Services.

I am open to speaking and workshop engagements on productivity, as well as to media inquiries.

“Tending to knowledge work means not insisting on large uninterrupted chunks of time to work, but doing what you can, in the conditions you have, all while trusting that you’re moving forward.”

— Alisa B. Lin, The Tending Project

Personal stuff

(which is never separate from work)

I’m a proud wife and mama to three awesome little kids. Spending time with them is the best.

I also love reading cookbooks, cozy mysteries, and fashion history. I have dreams of quilting. I work out to feel strong. I’m always happy to cook an elaborate meal.

And I do quite a lot of laundry.