How to Fall Asleep Faster Using the Science-Backed ‘K-9 Trick’

How to Fall Asleep Faster Using the Science-Backed ‘K-9 Trick’

Follow these four strategies to get more rest and increase your productivity. Every night, millions of people are faced with the battle of falling asleep-and staying asleep.  And until about six months ago I was one of those millions. Before finally learning how to fall asleep faster, sleep was a nightly battle that made my day to day life something of a nightmare. It’s no secret that sleep plays a critical role in our overall health-and lives. It impacts our daily lives and the longevity of our lives. From our energy levels, attention span, critical thinking skills, productivity, creativity and even our ability to procreate-sleep affects our personal lives, our […]

6 Ways to Come Back Ready for Work After a Vacation

6 Ways to Come Back Ready for Work After a Vacation

You aren’t alone if you’ve ever felt like you needed a vacation from your vacation. I’ve found 6 strategies to help you push past that post-vacation dread and get you back on track. Source: Inc You finally took a break from work and went on a well-deserved vacation. Days or weeks of relaxation, foreign foods, and a comfy hotel bed have you wishing that it would never end. But, going back to work is inevitable. That thought alone makes your stomach churn. No one wants to think about emails, deadlines, and managing finances or meetings after an amazing holiday. I know I don’t. However, it can’t be avoided, especially if you want to […]

How Does Emailing After Hours Create Burnout and Impact Your Mental Health?

How Does Emailing After Hours Create Burnout and Impact Your Mental Health?

Employee burnout is a real problem affecting many modern workplaces. Learn why sending after-hours emails can contribute to employee burnout and what you can do about it. Source: Discover Many American workers have heard that familiar ding just as they sit down to dinner or plop in front of the television. A glance at their smartphone shows a preview of a work-related message. A co-worker has a “quick question” or is “just circling back” to an earlier discussion. Technically, the worker is off the clock and not required to respond. But people admit to engaging in email during their off time. Twenty-eight percent of American workers said they check their […]

4 Breathing Exercises Scientifically Proven to Calm Anxiety, Fight Stress, and Help You Focus 60 seconds is all you’ll need.

4 Breathing Exercises Scientifically Proven to Calm Anxiety, Fight Stress, and Help You Focus 60 seconds is all you’ll need.

What’s one simple thing you can do anytime, anywhere that is scientifically proven to reduce your stress level, improve your mood, and make it easier for you to concentrate? A breathing exercise. Scientists have shown that by slowing and controlling your breath, and in particular, making your exhalations longer than your inhalations, you can automatically slow your heartbeat. And doing a breathing exercise for 60 seconds is long enough to achieve these benefits. Source: Inc Health.com recently put together a list of nine breathing techniques for reducing anxiety. I’ve tried most of them myself, among many others. Any of them should create a feeling of calm and clear your mind to help you tackle […]

A company replaced all of its managers with coaches. Employees became 20% more productive–and much happier

A company replaced all of its managers with coaches. Employees became 20% more productive–and much happier

There’s a crisis developing in workplaces everywhere. According to an annual survey by Gallup, employee engagement dropped to a seven-year low in 2022. Only a third of workers reported feeling engaged at work, while almost a fifth (18%) described themselves as “actively disengaged.” Source: Forbes Gallup’s measure of engagement is made up of several elements, which employees are asked to rate. Those that have declined the most include: clarity of expectations, opportunities to learn and grow, connection to the purpose of the company, opportunities to do what employees do best, and feeling cared about at work. Employee engagement began to fall in 2021, the same year the “great resignation” was coined as […]

4 Clear Signs That You May Be Smarter Than You Think

4 Clear Signs That You May Be Smarter Than You Think

True intelligence extends beyond the acquisition of knowledge. Conventional wisdom may point to smart people with advanced cognition, creativity, or high IQ. Still, if you ever wondered whether you belong with the brainy bunch, these four signs may confirm what you already know. For others, it may be a pleasant surprise that you are, indeed, smarter than the average bear. Source: Inc 1. You’re highly curious Harvard Business Review reports that people with a higher curiosity quotient (CQ) are more inquisitive and generate more original ideas, and that this thinking style leads to higher levels of knowledge acquisition over time. CQ, the author states, “is the ultimate tool to produce simple solutions for complex problems.” Now imagine a corporate […]

Drop those bad remote work habits now!

Drop those bad remote work habits now!

Workers seem to love remote work. Too bad it may be killing them. On the one hand, it rescued many from pointless commutes, helped them to crank up productivity, and gave them a new form of work-life balance. On the other hand, it led to some hunching over laptops on the couch for long stretches, damaging their physical health, mental health, and sometimes even relationships. Source Welcome to the “It’s complicated” love affair between employees and remote work. Like many complicated relationships, this one kicked off with a bang. Overnight, the proportion of the US population working from home increased from about 15% to upwards of 60%, according to research published by Queen’s University in Ontario, […]

TOP 10 DESK ACCESSORIES TO CREATE A DESK SETUP THAT SUPPORTS + ELEVATES YOUR DAILY PRODUCTIVITY

TOP 10 DESK ACCESSORIES TO CREATE A DESK SETUP THAT SUPPORTS + ELEVATES YOUR DAILY PRODUCTIVITY

Whether you’re working from home, or in a corporate office, the one thing that’s pretty much consistent in both these scenarios is a desk! A desk is probably one of the most important pieces of furniture in our modern lives, only because we spend the majority of our day on it. You may be typing away to glory, munching away on a snack, or simply fidgeting with a random object – you do end up spending hours on your desk. And hence, it’s really important that your desk be neat, tidy, and uncluttered. Not only will this improve your work routine and productivity, but it will also help you maintain […]

3 Steps CEOs Need to Take to Support Employee Mental Health

3 Steps CEOs Need to Take to Support Employee Mental Health

How to prioritize employee mental health from the top down. Now that we’ve passed the three-year mark of the pandemic, it’s clear that employee mental health and well-being have been significantly strained — and by extension, so have American workplaces. At the height of quarantine, businesses enthusiastically implemented initiatives that assisted their employees in these areas, but in some instances, those programs seem to have fallen by the wayside in a rush to return to “normal.” Source: Inc However, some businesses have continued with these pandemic-motivated programs and are continuing to see much success. In a recent episode of my top-ranked podcast, Keith Nealon, CEO of Bazaarvoice, the product review and user-generated content solutions provider, shared […]

Why Do Bosses Try To Get Workers Back To The Office? They Don’t Know How To Build A Culture Of Remote Collaboration

Why Do Bosses Try To Get Workers Back To The Office? They Don’t Know How To Build A Culture Of Remote Collaboration

Organizations have to pivot their corporate culture if they wish to survive and thrive in the world of virtual collaboration after the pandemic. To adapt to the hybrid and remote future of work, leaders need to benchmark and adapt best practices based on external research, as I learned from my interviews with 47 mid-level and 14 senior leaders I guided through the transition to the future of work. Source: Forbes Why Did Corporate Culture Suffer During the Pandemic? Culture refers to the social and emotional glue that bonds employees together into a community of belonging, motivates employees, and protects against burnout. It includes the norms and practices that determine how people collaborate. It also involves the values that guide the community of […]