happiness is a skill
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… Continue reading Book Recommendation: Burnout
"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,… Continue reading Pickles, Santa Moments and Sticking it to 2020
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… Continue reading My 2020 Struggles will be my 2021 Strengths
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… Continue reading The ZOOM where it happens…
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… Continue reading Questions of the Week
I've turned to this bit of Glennon Doyle's writing from Love Warrior almost every day during the last 6 weeks: Crisis means to sift. Let it all fall away and you'll be left with what matters. Every day, I take stock and consider what is essential right now. What feels essential every day changes. June… Continue reading My June Swoon
My friend, Chelsea, is keeping lists on her fridge throughout this crazy, shifting crisis to reminder her what she is looking forward to and what she wants to take away from her family's experience. It's such a smart idea that I'm a) doing it myself, b) adding a third list and c) sharing the idea… Continue reading Chelsea’s Three Lists
Two things happened in the last week that resulted in a gift for you: A wise friend wrote an article this week on "How to Make the Most Uncomfortable Comfortable." One of her tips is to celebrate small wins. I am 110% onboard with that recommendation! A virtual happy hour with friends included a discussion… Continue reading Celebrating the smaller wins: Merit Badges
Nick Craig dropped that quote during a Leading from Purpose virtual town hall via Zoom. Nick is President of the Core Leadership Institute and author of Leading from Purpose. As alums of Nick's Leading from Purpose program, we each shared how we are working to live our purpose in our current realities. As others shared… Continue reading “True Leaders Are Story Writers, Not Storytellers”
I've gotten a few "how's your planning going now?" and "what are you doing with your planner these days?" messages from well-meaning friends with gentle attempts to be poke fun at my commitment to having a plan. The joke may be on them, since more than ever, I'm leaning in to my planning rituals as… Continue reading I’m still planning*
