Pesach (Passover) is a time for family and larger than usual gatherings. However, the preparations and responsibilities that come with hosting or attending gatherings can often lead to stress and anxiety. From cleaning every nook and cranny of the house to planning and serving elaborate meals, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But fear not! With some mindfulness and planning, you can navigate through Pesach with ease, enjoying quality time with your loved ones without the stress.
Read MoreHere are some strategies that can help individuals cope with distressing news while still focusing on work:
Acknowledge Your Emotions: Recognize and accept your emotions rather than suppressing them. It's okay to feel upset or distressed about such events.
Set Realistic Expectations: Understand that during times of distress, your productivity might not be at its peak. Setting achievable goals for the day can help manage expectations.
Create a Supportive Environment: Surround yourself with supportive colleagues or friends who can provide a sense of community and comfort during difficult times.
Read MoreProlonged holiday seasons, like those just concluded in the Hebrew month of Tishrei, present similar challenges.
Even with a schedule like this year, with much if the most stringent holidays occurring on weekends, observers found their workflows and routines greatly disrupted.
Since R+R is often associated with a weekend’s gift of “rest and relaxation,” let’s use R+S to connote our “return and success.”
Here are some “R+ S” tips to rebuild your routine and start getting things done.
Read More1.5 liters of water 💧, a moderate workout 🏋, and 2 protein shakes 🥤.
That’s how I started my day (at 4:45).
Why? Read on! 👇
It’s hard to get back to work on an empty stomach.
But that’s what’s happening for many of my coreligionists today who are fasting.
From the moment we wake up each day, we’re faced with a continuous flow of choices. Many are minor and some are major. Even things that don’t seem so important, like what to take along for lunch or which task to complete first, can become bigger deals when we start to consider how aligned they are (or aren’t) with our goals and strategic priorities.
When we’re confronted with too many options, we tend to feel overwhelmed, anxious, stressed or otherwise out of sorts. This is known as decision fatigue, a state of mental overload that can impede our ability to make additional decisions. When our minds are fatigued, we tend to make worse decisions and exercise less self-control.
Read MoreWe rely heavily on our brains to help us get more done. According to research, we do it way too much. We rely on our brains constantly to remember a litany of tasks on our mental to-do lists and to help us prioritize the list so we can and take the right action.
The problem is that our brains burn through much energy and attention trying to hold on to ideas, tasks, etc. that it doesn’t want to forget. It’s called the Zeigarnik effect. Think of it as a reminder system built into our minds that keeps pinging us when we know that there are things that we need to do and can’t forget about.
Read MoreTime batching is a time management technique in which you group similar tasks together for focused work. During the allocated time, you work to complete all the tasks. If you want to get more done, with less distraction, consider batching your work.
How is this helpful?
For starters, by batching work you can do a lot of tasks that require similar processes all in one sequence. Things like responding to emails, completing forms, and doing research. The advantage is that you can get “in the zone,” build momentum, and knock off a bunch of things in short order.
If, on the other hand, you do a little of this and some of that, there is no flow, and each activity tends to take more time. This is, in part, because your brain needs to constantly reorient and focus on something new.
Read MoreA parable is told about a pencil-maker who was preparing to put an important pencil in a box. Before doing so, though, he took the pencil aside. “There are five things you need to know,” he said. “If you can remember these five things, you will become the best pencil you can be.”
You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to in someone else’s hand.
This parable shares powerful lessons for every leader.
Read MoreIt is critical that you go all in on specific tasks and avoid multitasking like the plague. Multitasking has become popular with those who see it as a way to kill multiple birds simultaneously. For example, we try to return calls or listen to messages while reviewing and editing reports. Research has clearly shown that not only do you get less done than you might think, the divergence of mental focus will often lead to poorer job performance and a feeling from others that you’re not sufficiently focused.
To help my clients address this important issue, I have divided the path to increased productivity into 5 steps:
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