How do you know what works for your business?

And once you have something that’s working, how do you maintain your confidence in the face of outside influence?

How do you objectively weigh new information without denying your own knowledge & experience?

These questions fascinate me.

As do questions like:

• How do I know whether my body is telling me to eat because it wants fuel or pleasure… or simply because I’m bored? (And do I really need to know the difference?)
• How do I know whether I really need a rest day or whether I don’t want to run because it’s cold outside? …

What if we defined “being productive” beyond “doing more work?”

• Being productive could be crafting more satisfaction.
• Being productive could be creating more time for rest.
• Being productive could be making a bigger impact.
• Being productive could be nurturing the depth of our relationships.
• Being productive could be caring for the details.
• Being productive could be forging a new level of effectiveness.

I’m curious what else we could create “more” of if we organized our time and systems around something more meaningful than “doing more work.”

Of course, “more” isn’t always the answer. “Less” is important too. So is deeper. So is simply being.

But where “more” is concerned, there are more interesting things to optimize for than more work.

I’m returning to my regular rhythm and routine tomorrow. Maybe you are, too.

If you’re like me, it’s easy to get swept up in the energy of starting #allthethings and #doingitall at once. But my intention for this new year is to pace myself, to give things the time and space they need to grow and blossom.

The longer I’ve been in business, the more apparent it is to me just how slow things actually move.

While everything might feel urgent and high priority right now, the truth is that the vast majority of things will take their good, sweet time to come to fruition no matter how much anxious energy I put into them.

I think that one…

As you make your New Year’s resolutions, intentions, commitments, vision boards, or goals, a gentle reminder:

Your goals do not define you or your worth.

The other day, I was thinking about my “origin story.” It’s the story of why I started a business in the first place. I’ve told that story at least a hundred times over the last decade but that day it hit differently.

Once upon a time, I was 9 months pregnant and had recently finished interviewing for a promotion that I’d been training for over the previous year. …

If you’re competitive like I am, you’re probably familiar with the feeling that, if you’re not going all out, you’re not really going at all.

And if you’re not competitive? Well, just know that the other half of us are racing you as we walk down the sidewalk.

Going all out all the time means is a good way to get hurt or burn out…

…whether we’re talking yoga, running, weightlifting, poker, playing piano, or — of course — business. Most days, we need to regulate and enjoy a smooth 60% burn instead of constantly going for 100% effort.

And some days, we go a step further. We make a modification.

We recognize that doing something well is more important than going all out.

We recognize that taking the big…

2020 has been a year of reacting.

We’ve reacted to the shock to our economies.

We’ve reacted to injustice.

We’ve reacted to the fear of getting sick (or spreading sickness to others).

We’ve reacted to lost contracts and unexpected surges in demand.

We’ve reacted to others’ emotions, needs, and fears.

We’ve reacted to our own grief and fear.

“Reacting” has been a very understandable response to the world around us this year — there is no shame in how we reacted. But, always reacting is not sustainable. It’s also not an effective way to build a strong business.

I propose we make 2021 a year of proactivity.

It’s time to hit the reset button so we…

We have just about made it to the final month of 2020.

Which is the perfect time to look back on what you’ve created, what didn’t work out, and what you learned. And, it’s understandable if maybe that annual ritual is something you’re thinking about skipping this year.

How do you review a year like 2020?

It might be especially challenging to review the year if you suffered a big disappointment or set back. It might also be challenging to review it if some stupendous happened and you’re exhausted from trying to keep up.

Plus, so much of what happened was out of your control that you might think it’s futile to even check in with yourself.

But I’d like…

Online events offer a way to get what we just can’t have right now…

…in-person happy hours, team meetings, retreats, conferences, and even coffee dates.

Luckily, we have the technology to recreate these experiences online, but as anyone who stopped through a never-ending online meeting knows there’s more to it than firing up a digital conference room,

It is possible to engineer meaningful and valuable events online but you have to have a plan and a strategy.

Whether you’re looking to recreate an in-person conference experience in a digital environment or get creative with ways to bring people together for the first time, this article will guide you through creating the purpose, structure, schedule…