on the list 📲
Rosie Spinks on writing a book and not being reachable 24 hours a day in every time zone by everyone
Rosie Spinks is the author of the bestselling Substack of What Do We Do Now That We’re Here, an exploration that asks how to live a meaningful life in a chaotic and unstable world. Rosie and I first met when she was an ambitious and successful journalist who fulfilled her dream of writing for The New York Times, until she realised it wasn’t what she wanted at all and pivoted her entire life. She is now writing a book entitled How To Build a Village, which will be published in 2027. I’ve always wondered how someone so type-A (the opposite of my type-B approach to life and business) makes it all happen, so here we go:
What’s on your to-do list today?
The short answer is way too many things. But chiefly: some interview outreach for my book, promoting a Substack Live I’m doing for paying subscribers this week, doing some research/reading (this book is fascinating), and hopefully striking a couple of things off of an unending list of admin tasks that I never get to the bottom of.
What’s one thing you’ve already crossed off?
I’ve done a good amount of outreach for one of the final chapters of my book, which is a relief because I’d been avoiding that by writing another, more pressing chapter. I only have seven weeks left before my deadline so there is no time for avoidance now! I also read some of my book and managed a walk in the woods this morning after my son went to nursery, which was a good way to start a Monday.
Do you write lists on paper, in notes, in your head, or not at all?
I love this question because I have a pretty elaborate approach to lists. My spiral-bound reporter’s notebook is my security blanket. I buy them in packs and have been using the same ones for years — it’s almost always on my person. This is where I write my daily to-do list (always with these Muji pens!) as well as any notes from calls, or other random thoughts or lists I need to write down related to my work. I aim to write tomorrow’s list before the end of the day prior, so it’s ready in the morning. In addition, I love those big yellow legal pads that, for some reason, you can only buy in America. I also buy packs of those and use them for my weekly to-do list, which is separated by: Work, Admin, House/Garden, and Misc. I try to write this weekly list every Sunday. If I start Monday without the weekly list written, I feel a low-grade panic until it’s done, which probably isn’t healthy.
In addition, I keep more haphazard lists in my Notes app. But the more serious I am things getting done, the more they need to be written on paper.
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
I have a three year old who wakes up very early, so my mornings are the opposite of aspirational or calm. This morning I dealt with a toddler bathroom drama (I’ll spare you the details) and cleaned up the remnants of a dismembered mouse my cat proudly brought in last night. All before the sun was up! The only silver lining is that my partner and I trade off mornings, so tomorrow it will be his turn.
What’s always on your bedside table?
I do not sleep with my phone next to me, and I can’t believe that some people do! My nervous system can’t handle it. I have a dim light for reading, my glasses, tissues, a glass of water, and then I have a dedicated bedtime bookshelf which I really recommend.
How do you like your mornings to feel?
Right now I am counting down the days until my son turns four, at which point I will feel like it’s not neglectful parenting to let him go downstairs by himself and watch TV when he wakes up. So ask me this question again in roughly 5 months. It’s been a long four years lol.
What’s in your mug or on your plate today?
I typically write in the library and I always bring a thermos of tea with me. It started as a way to be frugal — one less thing to spend money on — but now it’s a kind of writing ritual that I love and keeps me hydrated. I alternate between Pukka’s Vanilla Chai and the Three Mint. I’ve also been meal-prepping breakfast burritos (eggs, black beans, peppers, and maybe some cheese) because I am bad at eating like a grown up in the mornings if it requires any effort of me. I wrap them in foil, freeze them, and then heat them up in the air fryer before I leave. I’m always very pleased with my former self when I manage to do that.
Something you’ve stopped doing and don’t miss?
I no longer feel stressed out about failing to text or DM people back. The expectation to be reachable 24 hours a day in every time zone by everyone I’ve ever met is not something I ever consented to! I text people back where it matters, and if we’re making an IRL plan I will text you back promptly. But I do let a lot of messages slide, and I just decided to switch off the part of my brain that feels guilt over this.
What are you working on that excites you right now?
I’m working on my first book! It’s called How To Build a Village and it is about how to regain the physical, in-person support and kinship that our ancestors expected to have by default, but the age of convenience and modernization has systematically drained from our lives. It comes out in 2027, but the final manuscript is due in early April. I am working like a mad-woman and can barely think about anything else.
How do you know you’re in alignment in your work?
This is an interesting question because my work has taken so many forms over the years. I think if any part of my work — paid work, unpaid creative work, or something in between — makes me feel genuine connection to other humans, then I’m doing something right. Writing to an engaged audience is an obvious way to attain that, but I find it via interviewing people as well. I’ve really been enjoying that aspect of working on my book because it’s been a while since I was a working journalist who was speaking to lots of experts, interesting people, or academics about their work. Sometimes you do an interview where you really connect with the person on an intellectual level — where there’s this mutual appreciation of how the other person is thinking. I absolutely love that feeling.
How do you rest or recharge during the day?
Hmmm, I wish I had a better answer here. The reality is that when you’re a parent with extremely limited free time, you very often are choosing between rest/downtime and all the other things you could be doing to make your life nourishing or functional: working out, cleaning your house, prepping healthy food, seeing your friends, hobbies etc. When I do have free time, it’s a constant battle of really asking myself the best way to spend it. Sometimes that may just be lying in bed and doing nothing, but it doesn’t happen often enough. I’m sure other parents will relate.
How do you like to end your day?
My brain becomes completely inert the moment my child goes to sleep (which, blessedly, is around 7:15pm) so I stop looking at my laptop and phone completely around that time. I usually watch something with my partner, and then I try to read a little bit before bed. I stopped reading work-related or cerebral non-fiction books before bed, and it’s nice to unwind with something that has no relation to my life or work. I also turn on my heating pad to pre-warm my bed, because that is true luxury. We force ourselves to do lights out by 10pm to survive the early starts.
What’s currently on your desk / playlist / altar?
On my desk at home I have this print of the English folk wheel, which I learned about from Chloe George’s Substack. I love the idea that every six weeks the wheel of time is turning, no matter how frustrating and stagnant life can feel sometimes. I often need the reminder, especially in late winter.
Thank you for sharing your list with us.
Last question ~ what links can people find you at?
You can subscribe to my Substack here. And I’m on Instagram here.