Emily Yaskowitz
@emilyyaskowitz.bsky.social
Writer of the Friday Filter. https://emilyyaskowitz.substack.com/
Starting this today. I’ve heard good things about it 🙌
January 28, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Starting this today. I’ve heard good things about it 🙌
Trying to get inside the character of Walter White in Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston needed to understand Walter. Walter was brilliant. He could have done anything he wanted in life. He started the company Gray Matters Technology with a friend, only to give it up and become a teacher. But why?
January 27, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Trying to get inside the character of Walter White in Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston needed to understand Walter. Walter was brilliant. He could have done anything he wanted in life. He started the company Gray Matters Technology with a friend, only to give it up and become a teacher. But why?
If we don’t monitor our thoughts, we become vulnerable to their influence and control. We can end up living in the worst way: unconsciously. Lusting for money, worshiping material things, seeking power, thinking you’re the center of the universe…
January 26, 2026 at 2:55 PM
If we don’t monitor our thoughts, we become vulnerable to their influence and control. We can end up living in the worst way: unconsciously. Lusting for money, worshiping material things, seeking power, thinking you’re the center of the universe…
Bob Dylan is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time. With a career spanning more than 6 decades, he’s still writing, recording, and performing. He’s become an object of study: where does his creativity come from?
January 23, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Bob Dylan is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time. With a career spanning more than 6 decades, he’s still writing, recording, and performing. He’s become an object of study: where does his creativity come from?
“What is healing, but a shift in perspective?” -Mark Doty
January 22, 2026 at 2:35 PM
“What is healing, but a shift in perspective?” -Mark Doty
“If you can see all of the consequences of your actions, then your actions are of no consequence. All great things are happening in slow and inconspicuous ways.” -Leo Tolstoy
January 21, 2026 at 2:04 PM
“If you can see all of the consequences of your actions, then your actions are of no consequence. All great things are happening in slow and inconspicuous ways.” -Leo Tolstoy
Sometimes we can loosen the grip of a sadness or a fear simply by naming it, by tracing its outline and examining its contours.
“What we call depression,” Alain de Botton said, “is in fact sadness and anger that have for too long not been paid the attention they deserve.”
“What we call depression,” Alain de Botton said, “is in fact sadness and anger that have for too long not been paid the attention they deserve.”
13 things I've learned from keeping a journal
Each weekday morning, I sit down and write 3 pages in my journal first thing.
open.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Sometimes we can loosen the grip of a sadness or a fear simply by naming it, by tracing its outline and examining its contours.
“What we call depression,” Alain de Botton said, “is in fact sadness and anger that have for too long not been paid the attention they deserve.”
“What we call depression,” Alain de Botton said, “is in fact sadness and anger that have for too long not been paid the attention they deserve.”
“Montaigne may not have felt a great desire for faith, but he did feel a strong aversion to all human pretension—and the result was the same.” -Sarah Bakewell
January 19, 2026 at 7:19 PM
“Montaigne may not have felt a great desire for faith, but he did feel a strong aversion to all human pretension—and the result was the same.” -Sarah Bakewell
Distinguished writer Richard Ford was giving a talk at a bookstore in Washington, D.C., and it was time for Q&As. A middle-aged man stood up. He said he had a lot in common with Ford: they were about the same age,
January 19, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Distinguished writer Richard Ford was giving a talk at a bookstore in Washington, D.C., and it was time for Q&As. A middle-aged man stood up. He said he had a lot in common with Ford: they were about the same age,
In Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Years, Anne Lamott writes about a time she was fixated on a married man—someone she adored and who adored her back. She confessed to a friend, a recovering addict and alcoholic, that she was constantly tempted to call him . . .
January 16, 2026 at 3:27 PM
In Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Years, Anne Lamott writes about a time she was fixated on a married man—someone she adored and who adored her back. She confessed to a friend, a recovering addict and alcoholic, that she was constantly tempted to call him . . .
Morning pages are one of the most important things I do each day
January 15, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Morning pages are one of the most important things I do each day
You have no responsibility to be what they expect you to be
Emily Yaskowitz (@emilyyaskowitz)
After four intense years working on the atomic bomb in Los Alamos, Richard Feynman accepted a teaching position at Cornell. Top universities were competing for him, offering higher salaries and presti...
substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:49 PM
You have no responsibility to be what they expect you to be
If you're stuck, you need to read this
Tiny-but-real decisions
Tiny-But-Real Decisions
emilyyaskowitz.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:25 PM
If you're stuck, you need to read this
A great way to live:
January 8, 2026 at 8:37 PM
A great way to live:
Famed basketball coach George Raveling, Holiday writes, “wakes up each morning, sits on the side of the bed, and gives himself two choices. ‘George,’ he says to himself, ‘you can either be happy or you can be very happy.’”
Read more of the best stuff I got from my 2025 reading:
Read more of the best stuff I got from my 2025 reading:
Emily Yaskowitz (@emilyyaskowitz)
Famed basketball coach George Raveling, Holiday writes, “wakes up each morning, sits on the side of the bed, and gives himself two choices. ‘George,’ he says to himself, ‘you can either be happy or yo...
substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Famed basketball coach George Raveling, Holiday writes, “wakes up each morning, sits on the side of the bed, and gives himself two choices. ‘George,’ he says to himself, ‘you can either be happy or you can be very happy.’”
Read more of the best stuff I got from my 2025 reading:
Read more of the best stuff I got from my 2025 reading:
Ooo this is good
Emily Yaskowitz (@emilyyaskowitz)
Ooo this is good
substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Ooo this is good
Got so many good writing tips from this
Emily Yaskowitz (@emilyyaskowitz)
Got so many good writing tips from this
substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Got so many good writing tips from this
One of the reasons David McCullough never wrote about Picasso was that his life was uninteresting. “There’s an old writer’s adage: keep your hero in trouble,” McCullough said. “With Truman, for instance, that’s never a problem, because he’s always in trouble.”
December 31, 2025 at 7:49 PM
One of the reasons David McCullough never wrote about Picasso was that his life was uninteresting. “There’s an old writer’s adage: keep your hero in trouble,” McCullough said. “With Truman, for instance, that’s never a problem, because he’s always in trouble.”
Soo good
Emily Yaskowitz (@emilyyaskowitz)
Loving this
substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Soo good
Donald Miller said, “A good movie has memorable scenes and so does a good life.” I’ve been thinking about this lately, especially when I'm out with family and friends. What's a little extra something we could do to make this more memorable?
December 29, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Donald Miller said, “A good movie has memorable scenes and so does a good life.” I’ve been thinking about this lately, especially when I'm out with family and friends. What's a little extra something we could do to make this more memorable?