Subscribe to Work Life Get stories like this in your inbox Subscribe You know those days at work when there are a million things on your to-do list, but somehow, you’re not getting the important stuff done?  It’s the opposite of the “flow state” – you can feel your cortisol spiking out of control. At the end of the day, you’re left feeling depleted, because you didn’t have the mental space to focus on what truly matters.  That feeling doesn’t mean you’re lazy or unqualified. According to Stanford Professor Huggy Rao, it could mean the wrong things are demanding too much of you ..read more

Another year has come and gone—perhaps, like me, you’re procrastinating on taking down holiday decorations or dreading what resolutions to set for the New Year. However, goal setting is one of the most powerful exercises for achieving success in your personal life, your career, and with your team at work. Sure, life gets crazy, but the unexpected doesn’t have to take you off track if you have goals and intentions to help keep yourself steady throughout 2024. And while it’s helpful to set goals for the New Year, it’s also important to first reflect upon what you’ve accomplished or overcame this ..read more

Subscribe to Work Life Get stories like this in your inbox Subscribe Have you heard the riddle about two coins that equal thirty cents, but one of them is not a nickel? What about the one where a surgeon says they can’t operate on their own son? Those brain teasers tap into your critical thinking skills. But your ability to think critically isn’t just helpful for solving those random puzzles – it plays a big role in your career.  An impressive 81% of employers say critical thinking carries a lot of weight when they’re evaluating job candidates. It ranks as the top competency companies c ..read more

Subscribe to Work Life Get stories like this in your inbox Subscribe Imagine you and your team need to decide how (and if) to respond to a recent negative customer review. Somebody makes the case for leaving it unanswered. Another team member feels strongly that you should defend yourselves. Somebody else thinks you should keep it simple with a generic, “Thanks for your thoughts!” comment. Another person thinks you should have your senior leadership team respond. You go around and around and you end up with plenty of choices, all of which have their pros and cons. But when you reconvene the ..read more

Subscribe to Work Life Get stories like this in your inbox Subscribe What should you eat for breakfast? What email should you answer first? Who should take the notes in your team meeting? What project will your team prioritize next? Which candidate are you going to hire? What route are you taking home?  Trivial or consequential, we make a lot of decisions – some sources estimate as many as 35,000 choices every single day.  That level of control can sometime feel freeing, but it can also be incredibly taxing. Constantly making selections (whether they’re big or small) can leave you ..read more

Subscribe to Work Life Get stories like this in your inbox Subscribe Two (or more) brains are better than one, right? That’s true – unless all of those brains end up thinking the exact same thoughts at the exact same time.  That’s groupthink: a collective phenomenon that can hinder your team from benefiting from all of the diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas you should be tapping into. But what exactly is groupthink? Why is it bad? And most importantly, how can you prevent it? Here’s how to stop the mind meld and encourage independent thinking on your team.  What is groupt ..read more

Subscribe to Work Life Get stories like this in your inbox Subscribe Inspirational quotes never go out of style, whether you need a quick hit of wisdom to get you out of a motivation rut or a quippy musing to round out a presentation at work. Here, we’ve rounded up our favorite productivity quotes hand-picked to get you in the right mindset to harness your full potential. First, though, a friendly reminder that productivity is about much more than the number of crossed-out items on your to-do list. Instead of judging ourselves on the sheer volume of output we can muster, we should think of ..read more

In June 2019, Greta Thunberg gave a speech at the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm. “Here is some big-picture thinking for you: If you … are living a high-carbon lifestyle, that means you have used up countless people’s remaining carbon budgets … that they will need in their everyday life for generations to come,” she said. “Everyone and everything needs to change.” Thunberg’s speech exemplifies her big-picture thinking skills – she looks beyond everyday energy use to see the long-term impact that it will have on our planet and future generations.  Research shows that successful en ..read more

Subscribe to Work Life Get stories like this in your inbox Subscribe Everyone has days when, under the pressure of a tight deadline or a big project, the stress is acute and their nerves are frayed. But when the feeling of being completely overwhelmed at work persists, it can spiral into burnout — an epidemic with serious consequences for your health and your career. What is burnout? It’s when you feel completely mentally, physically, and emotionally drained and depleted. You’re tapped out. You’re exhausted. You’re running on empty. It’s a big deal.  Such a big deal in fact, that in 201 ..read more

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