Posts tagged productivity
What To Do When You Have Too Many 'Open Loops'

How do we move stalled projects from in-process to completed? How can we focus and see something through to "done" before starting something new? And when you're a parent who's managing not just your own work and life but the lives of your family and your home, how much choice do you have in whether or not you start new things before finishing what you've already started?

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Getting 'Caught Up' Is Not the Goal

Do you ever open up your inbox in the morning and vow that this is gonna be the day you get caught up Getting to inbox zero would be like sitting on top of the world. EVERYTHING else would be easier. Nothing would slip through the cracks. Your mind would finally be at ease. Let's pretend dreams do come true and you actually read, respond to, and file every email in your inbox. You get caught up! Woohoo! 🎉 But, because email is a conversation, all of those emails you send get responses. And tomorrow morning there will be more emails to read and respond to. And they'll continue coming in... today and the next day and the next. Now, this is the moment where you choose one of two camps…

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Trying to 'Figure Out' Life as a Working Mom?

"I need to figure it out"

It's a phrase I hear frequently and I want to talk about it because it's sneaky and often drains your mental energy.

How? Because it's not specific.

It creates open loops and unanswered questions that your brain desperately wants to close. And that constant scanning and thinking in the background takes extra energy that most of us don't have to spare.

Here's what you should say instead.

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Coasting Versus Leaning In

Coasting at work or quiet quitting is getting a lot of air time these days. But the truth is, working parents have gone in and out of phases of coasting for years as we navigate returning from parental leave, co-parenting with a partner's demanding work schedule, or just daycare illness season each fall/winter. It can be necessary at times and life/career-saving too. But what if you're stuck coasting because you think you don't have the time or energy that "leaning in" to your career will take? And what if the truth is, it doesn't take that much more?

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