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You’ve heard the phrase, “you need a vacation from your vacation.” Many times it applies to the packed schedule, late nights, and overall fatigue of traveling. But it is also felt when you return to work. The projects that were put on hold in your absence now require you to work late hours to get back on track. You have endless phone calls and emails to respond to and your weekly meetings eat up so much of your time during the day, any rest you had on vacation is long forgotten. You’re more ...

Many people found joy and ease that came with working remotely, getting to experience a refreshing work-life balance. However, others are counting down the days when they can work in their office, who find it easier to “leave work at work” when their work is separate from their home. As leaders navigate a hybrid work solution or bring their employees back to the office full-time, it’s critical to retain your best people and elevate employee satisfaction.

Whether you are commuting to the office or working from home, establishing clear boundaries between home life and work life is key. Here are seven ways you can maintain a healthy work-life balance and increase your capacity to be productive and present in all areas of your life.

If you dug through the files in your brain that recorded performance reviews, you will most likely find two categories: “Keep” and “Shred.” You want to shred the memories associated with a bad performance review. But interestingly enough, you received some negative feedback over the years that you’ve filed into the “keep” folders. What makes you want to shred certain memories is not actually the review itself, but the way you received it—the way it made you feel. You felt embarrassed whe...

March 2020—when everything changed. You don’t need a play-by-play. You lived it. You can probably remember the shock, the uncertainty, the adjustments, the frantic search for toilet paper, of all things. You remember redecorating your house to create a usable office space and a classroom. You remember organizing your day so that you could do your work and help your children with theirs. You remember the endless days at home. The initial, “Okay, we’ve got this!” feeling soon drifted into, “...

It’s a beautiful sunny day, and you’ve decided to take your morning jog to a nearby park rather than circling your neighborhood like always. You pass a child, wobbling on her shiny pink bike, white-knuckled, and determined. Her father walks patiently behind her, one hand on the seat, the other on the handlebar, steadying his daughter as she pedals without the confidence training wheels supplied. You remember the freedom you felt as a kid, soaring around on your bike with your buddies. As you m...

Have you ever taken a spin class? Whether at home on a stationary bike or in a mirrored room filled with people, you know this form of exercise is going to be hard work. The initial pedaling feels like you’re moving the bike through thick mud. You apply so much effort to get the wheels spinning, pressing hard to catch up to the instructor’s speed. Then, once you get moving, the momentum propels the wheels to spin faster with less effort on your part (until the instructor changes the incline). ...

You know that feeling you get when someone reads something over your shoulder? (Maybe it’s been a while since we’ve all been practicing social distancing for nearly a year!) You instantly become distracted. Your eyes dart, trying to politely discern that someone is in fact invading your personal space. Then you turn, a confused and frustrated look on your face—is this really necessary you wonder? You couldn’t wait until I was finished reading, or finished writing, to read what is on my scree...

Have you ever discounted someone by their communication style? We analyze tone, decipher honesty, and interpret motives when we hear others communicate, especially those in authority. Whether it’s a news reporter, social media influencer, parent, or manager, we quickly decide who is trustworthy, who is authentic, and who is relevant in just a few minutes. If you want to build a team of men and women who trust your leadership, it may be time to adjust your communication tactics. By adopting thre...

There’s an episode of the TV show Friends where Phoebe helps Joey make a decision by playing a word association game. She asks Joey a series of simple “would you rather questions” and tells him to answer as quickly as possible. Without time to think, he can express his true feelings and easily make a decision. She starts by asking random things like, “Would you rather eat egg whites or peanut butter?” before asking him the question he’s really trying to answer. As always, it’s comical, bu...