Monday Morning Coffee
Lead with Optimism, Even in Difficult Times
Even in dire circumstances, you can still lead with optimism, helping your team and your customers stay resilient amidst uncertainty. The first step is to be a role model. Lip service alone won’t work. Also, keep in mind that a positive outlook is easier to adopt as a group, so help employees foster a sense of connection with each other. This can be as simple as celebrating when a team…
Set Clear Boundaries When Working From Home
Balancing work and family has never been easy, but the global pandemic has led to a whole new set of challenges. If you’re struggling to be productive, consider setting boundaries for yourself and your kids. For example, you can make it clear to your family when you’re on and off the clock, trying to stay out of your office area during your “home” time. If something urgent comes up (and…
Set Clear “Communication Hours” For Your Team
When your team is working remotely — and possibly on different schedules — people can feel like they’re expected to be online all the time. But this lack of distinct downtime isn’t good for you or your team. As a manager, it’s your responsibility to establish communication norms while encouraging people to continue to work flexibly as needed. Define clear “communication hours,” for example, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.,…
Make a “To Don’t” List
If you aren’t reaching your goals, the solution probably isn’t to take on more work. Instead, consider what you might stop doing. You’ll have more time for what really matters if you eliminate unnecessary busy work. Here’s a simple exercise to make that happen. First, identify a specific goal or an area of your work that you’d like to improve. Then, take a piece of paper and divide it in…
Step Away From the Screen Every Once in a While
It’s exhausting to look at a screen all day. And yet, if you’re working remotely, it may feel unavoidable. To maintain your energy throughout the workday, try to proactively disconnect from screens whenever you can. Remember that video calls aren’t necessary for every meeting: Try a regular phone call every once in a while to mix things up. Also, choose physical over digital when you can. Brainstorming ideas for an…
Do You Retain Enough of What You Read?
We’re consuming more information than ever before — but retaining all that knowledge is another story. If you find yourself struggling to use what you read (or even just remember it), you probably aren’t learning productively. To be a more efficient learner, try three things. First, focus your reading on a single topic for several months. The deeper you go into a subject, the stronger a foundation you’ll have for…
Yes, Your Phone Can Help You Build Better Habits
We often blame our phones for our worst habits, from multitasking to poor spelling. But our phones can just as easily help us build better habits, by triggering a desired behavior. Start by considering when and where you want the habit to happen. For example, if you want to start flossing your teeth every day, decide when you’ll do it (after dinner or before bed?) and where (bathroom or kitchen…
Use If-Then Thinking to Change Your Behavior
We all have habits and behaviors we wish we could change. But just being aware of a bad habit isn’t enough. To truly fix it, start by considering your goal (say, “I want my team to know that I trust them”) and the obstacles you expect to face along the way (“I struggle to delegate”). Next, frame what you will do about the obstacles as if-then statements. To address the…
To Deal with Distractions, Retrain Your Brain to Focus
Focusing is hard — especially during a pandemic! Blaming not being able to focus on the constant distractions around us is easy. But trying to get rid of distractions isn’t enough to fix the problem. We also have to retrain our brains to concentrate. For example, when your work is interrupted by email, the real issue isn’t email; it’s that being tethered to your inbox makes you expect an interruption…
Want to Read More Books? Read Your Phone Less
Maybe you think you don’t have enough time to read books. But consider how many texts, emails, and tweets you read each day — and how much time you’d get back by cutting some of that out of your life. Making your phone less addictive can help. Move all apps off the main screen so that your phone is blank when you open it. Use Do Not Disturb to quiet…
Stop Zooming Out in Zoom Meetings
When you’re in a virtual meeting, it’s easy to find your mind drifting away — especially if it’s your fifth one of the day. To make sure you’re as engaged as possible, take a few moments beforehand to understand the meeting’s purpose and what value you can add. What is the most critical information you have, and what do you want to contribute? Jot down these points. If you don’t…