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| Discover Act Create ConnectDepartmentsPresident’s Page The Editorial We Letters Take It from Me |
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| Illustration: Keith Neigley |
TAKE IT FROM ME
How to Start a Perennial Garden
Take stock. Find out what climate zone you’re in by visiting planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. Buy a test kit (available online or from your local agricultural extension center) to learn whether your soil is sandy or dense, acidic or basic. Note whether your site is damp or dry, and whether it gets full sun, half sun and half shade, or full shade.
Make a plan. Impulse garden buying is costly, so peruse the web, local nurseries, and catalogs and make lists of plants you like that thrive in the conditions you have. Sketch out your future garden on graph paper. Keep your lists and your sketch with you as you shop.
Think like a designer. Start with, say, three to five small shrubs of the same variety and five to seven each of two types of perennials, one that blooms early and one late. Consider how foliage and shapes look together. Use odd-numbered groupings of plants, arranging them in clumps or triangles, not rows.
Be patient. Shrubs and perennials can take five years to reach full size. Keep them watered, apply one to three inches of mulch for moisture retention and weed control, fertilize annually, and wait. Fill empty spaces with annuals if you must.Hiring a Literary Agent
Don’t pay up front. A reputable agent works on commission. The commission, typically fifteen percent, is well worth it, because most of the time the agent will get you at least fifteen percent more than you could get on your own and also provide other services.
Consider connections. An agent connects an author with the editors the agent deals with, as well as other authors and independent publishers. To get a sense of what connections particular agents have, check their websites or directories such as the “Who Represents” feature on publishersmarketplace.com.
Count on coaching. An agent serves as a sounding board for new ideas, and then helps you craft a proposal to show to publishers. Later, when a book is about to come out, the agent helps you promote it through traditional social media.
Expect shuttle diplomacy. After a contract has been signed, an agent may occasionally resolve conflicts during the editing or marketing of a book.
Effective Résumé Reading
Pace yourself. Even the strongest brains will wilt after too many résumés. Read just a few and then move on to something else. Don’t even dream that you can intelligently review dozens at a single sitting.
Insist on chronology. In recent years, job candidates have begun to submit résumés that are “skills based” rather than chronological. Some such candidates are trying to hide career gaps, while others simply possess an unusual career trajectory, but in either case resumes formatted in this way are unacceptable. They’re like big bowls of mush—it’s impossible to make sense of them quickly, if at all.
Remember the job description. Create a form with “must have” qualities on the left side and blank space on the right for notes, and fill it out as you read each résumé. That way, you’re more likely to judge them all by the same objective standard.
Look for quantifiable achievement. The best indicator of future success is past success, and if, for example, you see that a candidate has “improved sales by fourteen percent” in a past job, you might want to give that resume special attention. Another good sign is upward mobility, especially within a single company.
Keep the interview in mind. You can’t evaluate a candidate from the résumé alone. You can only make an educated judgment about whether to move to the next step. So jot down concerns to be discussed during the interview. There may, for example, be sound reasons for frequent career moves.Sports Nutrition Savvy
Get your timing down. Avoid eating for the thirty minutes before your workout. The reason is that if you do eat during this window of time, your muscles and your gastrointestinal tract will compete for blood flow. The result could be cramps, nausea, or, at the very least, an inability to reach your exercise potential.
Stay hydrated. You need adequate fluid. Otherwise your blood won’t deliver oxygen to your muscles as effectively, and your body won’t regulate its internal temperature well, either. Drink eight to twelve ounces of water one to two hours before you begin your workout. Then, after your first hour of exercise, drink four to eight ounces every twenty minutes.
Pack a snack. If exercising longer than an hour, bring along a carbohydrate source that is easily digestible, such as a small banana, pretzels, or a sports bar or gel, to help maintain your blood sugar. A bonus is that during exercise, refined carbohydrates won’t cause the blood-sugar spikes and falls that lead to diet-sabotaging hunger.
Don’t go overboard with sports drinks. If you exercise for less than an hour, you don’t need anything beyond water.WE NEED YOUR ADVICE. What are you an expert on? Share your life-enhancing tips with “Take It from Me” (tuftsmagazine@tufts.edu or Tufts Magazine, 80 George Street, Medford, MA 02155). If we publish your submission, you will receive $50.