Return to… what, exactly?

My employer invited employees back to the office* last week. I've been back in a shared workspace more in the last two weeks than in the last two months combined. And this time, with many more coworkers. It feels a bit like returning to school after summer vacation... fun for a few days, but don't…

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you’re on mute…again.

Meeting facilitation is a skill... and if we've all learned something in the workplace over the past year, it's that virtual meeting facilitation is a rare and underdeveloped skill set for many of us. With offices talking about return-to-work plans, hybrid work arrangements may make working together while apart even more complex. Now's the time…

Putting Down Heavy Things

It's almost been a year. You know what I'm talking about - this time last year, the panic, fear and "oh my this is real" awareness was just starting to set in. Quarantine, mask orders, flatten the curve... all terms which are now part of my daily conversations were new and strange just 12 months…

Impact over Activity

Just this week, someone told me they feel guilty for being away from their email for more than 10 minutes during the workday. When I asked what she considered her "workday", she paused for a minute and said "well, any time I'm awake, really." I hope you're having the same reaction I had, which was:…

Making Working From Home … Work

I've been coaching friends and family on how to make working from home actually work. I recently hosted a 20-minute tune-up: a very short webinar with the top 10 advice snippets I've given out frequently. There isn't an end in sight to working remotely for most of us. Even if there were a clear end-date,…

Book Recommendation: Burnout

The book I recommended most in 2020 was Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, by Emily Nagoski, PhD and Amelia Nagoski. To start, the sisters Nagoski break down exactly what burnout is. Hint: it's not just needing a nap or wanting a glass of wine. They go further in explaining in why women…

Pickles, Santa Moments and Sticking it to 2020

"2020 Strikes Again" is not a good email. That's the email last week that let me know that a friend, living overseas, is having a rougher-than-the-rest-of-us time. I wanted to DO something to help her. If she were closer, this would be when I'd make her dinner and drop it off on the doorstep. Instead,…

My 2020 Struggles will be my 2021 Strengths

The 12 Days of Christmas are my favorite time of year. Those last six days of the old year and first six days of the new year always feel like the ideal balance of reflection and intention. In past years, I've taken myself off to a coffee shop with my planner in hand, to evaluate…

The ZOOM where it happens…

Over the past the past 5 months, I've been keeping notes on how work is getting done: at home, in split shifts, in conference rooms with masks, with scheduled yet informal check-ins, with earlier start and end-times to the work day... I am energized by thinking about how work works, and how to make it…

Questions of the Week

I celebrate each hump day with "Wendy's Wednesday Challenge" questions. I text family and close friends silly what-if questions as way to say hello and check-in without having to ask the dreaded "how are you doing?" I've learned a bit from these QOTW texts: some friends think a solar-powered tiny house is "one thing" they…