I’m Megan Walbert, Parenting Editor of Lifehacker, and This Is How I Work

Every week, we share shortcuts, workspaces, and productivity tips from our favorite experts. This week we take a look behind the scenes at Lifehacker. I’m Megan Walbert and this is how I work.

Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Current job: parent editor for Lifehacker. Current computer: I have an iMac that my dad gave me and a 13-inch MacBook Air. I work from home, so I jump back and forth depending on my mood / technical difficulty / location. Current mobile device: iPhone 7. One word that best describes the way you work: remotely.

First of all, tell us a little about your past and how you got where you are now.

My experience in journalism and media relations. I received my degree in journalism and mass communication from Kent State University in Ohio and moved to Arizona for my 22nd birthday to work as a reporter for the Republic of Arizona newspaper. After several years mainly devoted to education, I left to work in media relations; first to a vocational school and then to a private university.

A couple of years after the birth of my son, my husband and I moved back to the East Coast to be closer to our family. We became foster parents, and I spent the next few years as a freelance writer, from articles in local newspapers and marketing copywriting to a series of foster parenting essays for the New York Times. Last fall, I replaced the former Lifehacker parenting editor when she was on maternity leave, and continued to work on the site as a freelancer when she returned in February. She left recently to get another opportunity and I was hired by her full time. I have been working for exactly 16 days while writing this.

What are your job responsibilities?

I write the bulk of the content for the parent vertical Lifehacker, Offspring . I also assign and edit freelance parent parts and manage our parent group Offspring on Facebook. ( Join us ! There are over 4000 members in total and they are full of ideas. It is in this group that I recently got this genius hacker hacker hacker ).

Take us through a typical business day.

I take my son to school at 8:50 and sit at my desk and work right at 9. I start by checking a few major news sites to see if there is any sensational news that might affect parents or children, such as a big a review or news event that might raise the question, “How can I talk to my kids about this?”

Then, if I don’t finish my morning post, I spend some time browsing the list of sites I read for inspiration, I suggest story ideas in Slack, and I get approved stories scheduled on my calendar. I usually try to work half a day ahead, so any day I write a message for that day and a message for the next morning.

In between pitching and writing, I edit and schedule freelance work as it comes in, or ask a question to the Facebook group to keep the discussion going and ideas evolving. I usually end my day looking at my email, which I tried to ignore all day, before picking up my son from the long-term care unit at 5:00 pm.

How is your workplace arranged?

Last year I turned my second floor guest bedroom into a home office, and it made a huge, huge, huge difference. I used to work at the dinner table, which was uncomfortable and severely affected my lower back.

On the wall above my desk, I’ve hung a set of dry erase sheets, a calendar, and a corkboard to help me organize story ideas and reminders. I also have the coveted coffee warmer, a pencil holder for Ohio’s license plates, and a couple of Teeth that my son designed for me: an M for Mom and an L for Lifehacker.

What apps, gadgets or tools can’t you live without?

Since I work remotely, Slack is my lifeline for my colleagues (and, in fact, any human contact) throughout the day. Google Docs is also the key for me to keep track of ideas for stories and other vital information as I tend to switch between computers.

Also, I’m really a paper and pen girl. I have a diary that says EVERYTHING (my work dates, my son’s football schedule, my volunteer squad and other important dates). I like to have everything written / color coded in one place so I can see what my full day looks like. I also keep the reporter’s notebook and stack of notes next to my right hand so that I can take small notes to myself when needed.

What’s your favorite shortcut or hack?

I have two kitchen sponges, one in use now and the other in the dishwasher. When I empty the dishwasher, I change the sponges. A dirty sponge comes in, a clean sponge comes out. Since I run the dishwasher almost every day, I never wonder how dirty my sponges are.

Tell us about an interesting, unusual, or challenging process you have at work.

I fully format the message before I write the content. I write a header, assign a date / time, add a footer, links to related stories and tags before I write one word.

I find that this way I’m less likely to forget some of the formatting, but it also helps me to dig deeper into the topic, especially if it is noon and I wildly switch from something heavy and important to something lighter and more fun (or vice versa ).

What’s the biggest mistake you made at work and how did you deal with it?

When I was new to education, I misspelled the source name in the newspaper. He was not only a source, he was one of my main sources because he was the representative of the school district that I covered. I met him several times and spoke to him on the phone at least a few times a week. And his name was not difficult. It was Tim. But for some reason I called him “Tom” in the story.

I only found out about it when he called me that morning, I answered the call and he said, “Megan … what’s my name?” “Uh, this is Tim, hahaha … Hi Tim.” “Then why am I in the Tom newspaper today?”

I was damn embarrassed and suggested correcting, but he insisted that I not bother. But this experience is so memorable to me that to this day, almost 15 years later, I am obsessed with double-checking the spelling of names.

How do you keep track of what you need to do?

Basically my bullet magazine. Honestly, if this thing disappeared, I would miss all the deadlines, meetings and events for the foreseeable future. So if I don’t come for something, you know why.

How to recharge or relax?

I leave the office – i.e., I go down to the kitchen – for lunch. I listen to a podcast and / or read the local newspaper (support local journalism guys!) While I eat. If I’m feeling particularly energized by the silence around me, I can hop out to work from Panera or Starbucks for half a day.

What’s your favorite side project?

As a former foster parent, protecting the interests of children is very important to me and my family. I have been involved in foster care in many ways, but for the past year and a half, I have been a member of the board of directors of One Simple Wish , a wish-fulfilling non-profit organization. children in foster families. It was incredibly helpful. My son even joined their “junior council” to help plan Wish parties and organize activities with other children that help raise awareness about foster families.

What are you reading now or what do you recommend?

Now I am re-reading the Harry Potter series, this time with my son. I bought this gorgeous illustrated version which is perfect for adult and child reading together.

He’s nine, so he definitely doesn’t need me to read to him anymore, but it was so much fun sharing this story with him and spending a little extra time together every night. His dad has spent most of his evening reading over the past few years, but now that I’ve returned to full-time work, I’m looking for ways to include more free time in our schedule.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Give parenting 75% of your efforts. That is, if you want your children to like you, and you want your children to like them, do not go all out. This is not possible anyway, and the more perfect you try to be, the more stressful and unpleasant life becomes. Choose your battles, and then lower your standards in the things that really do not matter.