How Tim Herrera went from dreading writing to being a writer and editor for the New York Times - podcast episode cover

How Tim Herrera went from dreading writing to being a writer and editor for the New York Times

Jun 19, 201942 minEp 89Transcript available on Metacast
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Episode description

My guest today is Tim Herrera. Tim is the founding editor of Smarter Living for the New York Times, where he edits and reports stories about living a better, more fulfilling life. Before coming to The Times, he was a reporter and editor at The Washington Post, where he wrote about digital culture.

I am a regular subscriber to Smarter Living and I thought that surely the person editing this section of the times must have some awesome practices in his own life for living smarter. And Tim totally did. He has thought a lot about how he works and I think you’ll find a heap of really practical ideas in this interview.

We cover:

  • Tim’s favourite piece of advice from editing Smarter Living at the New York Times
  • Why Tim refuses to go to meetings
  • Why Tim prefers receiving messages on Twitter instead of email
  • Tim’s methods for managing his inbox
  • How to create a great story pitch to the New York Times
  • Common mistakes people make when pitching their ideas
  • How Tim works in bursts of productivity
  • Tim’s approach to managing his time on social media
  • The role Twitter plays in Tim’s work life
  • Tim’s advice for becoming a better writer
  • Common mistakes Tim sees writers make
  • How to craft a great headline
  • How Tim reframed the way he thinks about his own procrastination
  • Creating habits to eliminate the need for willpower


You can find Tim at Smarter Living, subscribe to Smarter Living here, and you can follow Tim on Twitter.

Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co

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