Mental Health Mistakes, I’ve Made a Few
October 10 is World Mental Health Day. Does the idea of being mentally well make you laugh sadly or bitterly? Or maybe you're thinking, What, mental health? In this economy? Fortunately, there are rituals and routines that can help you take better care of your brain, which improves your mental health.
Does Your Office Promote Productivity?
We’ve all parked ourselves in front of the computer, ready to attack the day. But as soon as you look up over your monitor, you see a load of laundry just sitting there, ready to be put away. Or you realize your desk is a mess. Or your phone beeps a notification at you…
How I Can Help You “Get a Life”
Why do I do the work that I do? I’ve had a variety of experiences that have led me to helping business owners get a life.
DEI Improves Performance
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Day is on the 17th of September. While the current political regime has made DEI departments political, research shows that firms with diversified leadership perform better than those that don’t.
Oh The Humanity!
Does it seem like you’re busy all day but never accomplish anything? Well…
Join the Lunch Bunch for Improved Productivity
When was the last time you ate lunch during the workday? Not a protein bar, not something from a grab’n’go station that you wolfed down at your desk while staring at your computer screen. But an actual lunch that you enjoyed without a screen in front of you.
True Confessions of the Productivity Obsessed
As of August 25, 2026, I have 19 continuous years sober from alcohol. (My “belly-button” birthday is August 23, and my chronological age is a tad north of 19.)
Why Do You Refuse to Recharge?
You make sure your laptop and phone get plugged in when the battery gets too low… so why don’t you recharge when your battery is low?
Dive In One Book At A Time
Now you know that reading is a fun and enjoyable way to help you recover your ability to focus for longer than a goldfish can (see article here), you’re looking for good places to get books.
Is Your FOMO Misdirected?
The other week I went to northern California for a writer’s conference near San Francisco, and I took a couple of extra days to explore before the conference. I’d actually never seen the redwoods in person before, so I decided to hike a bit in the Muir Woods monument.
One Simple Trick To Help Improve Your Leadership Skills
But it’s not impossible to increase your ability to focus. In fact, even if you know your attention span has decreased, you can retrain your brain for more focus. And the best part is you can do it in an entertaining way, and it doesn’t have to be just another item on your to-do list that you don’t get around to.
What IS this magic potion?
Screw Efficiency, Let’s Be Productive Instead
When I was looking for images to go with this piece, I looked up productivity images on Unsplash. One photo had a computer screen that read “Do More”. Is that what productivity is? Absolutely fucking not.
Occasionally when I talk about what I do, someone will ask me if I make people more efficient.
My answer is no. Efficiency is not productivity.
What If It Could Be Simpler?
Is your life simple and easy, as a business owner?
Pride and Productivity
One of my favorite experiences took place in San Francisco in the ‘90s where I was attending a conference. I was at a club or a bar, I can’t remember which, having a blast after the conference ended for the day.
At one point I had to go to the bathroom. When I finished my business and was washing my hands, I realized I was the only cisgender woman in the bathroom. So I did the only thing I could think to do.
Diversify Your Life, Not Just Your Investments
Do you genuinely love the business you’re running? If so, you might think that you’ll never retire.
However, unless you die at a relatively young age, you will reach a point where you will no longer be able, either physically or mentally, to work full-time. If you are in a knowledge job, that age likely isn’t 65. You probably still have another decade or so to work. Unfortunately, quite a few people will be forced to retire earlier than planned earlier due to illness or a layoff.
The good news is…
Summer Solstice for Business Owners
In case you haven’t noticed, keyboards and screens are not your friends. I mean that both literally and figuratively.
June 21 this year is the summer solstice (at least here in the northern hemisphere), which means it’s the longest day of sunlight in the entire year. When was the last time you celebrated the solstice?
Communicate Effectively for Enhanced Effectiveness
I was talking to a client about keeping her focus time free of distractions, and she told me that every time she tried to focus at home, her wife kept interrupting her during the time she’d set aside.
A Curmudgeonly Contrarian’s Guide to Creativity – For Business Owners
Creativity! you say. Damn it, Jim, I’m an entrepreneur, not an artist.
But if you want to stand out in a world getting more and more ensloppified by tech giants whose key leaders actively hate humanity, you’re going to need some creativity.
Time Is Precious, Money is Not
All my life I thought I would live to be at least 100. Mainly because my mother’s family was long-lived; her Aunt Jenny lived to be 103.
Use It or Lose It
The first time I found out about the use-it-or-lose-it properties of the human brain came when I was discussing my upcoming LASIK appointment with my surgeon.