By Andrea Wicks Bowles
Last week I had the opportunity to be with my family on vacation. My colleagues managed the work while I was away, and when I returned, were excited by my stories of fun in the sun. How many of you reading this blog have taken time off to do something “offline” and fun? What’s keeping you from doing it?
Believe me, I do not take for granted my supportive workplace culture one bit. And work hard every day to support what’s happening at work. But it would be interesting to hear from others… Taking some time off is so good for your overall health and well-being.
By Susan Brenner
These days we’re very deliberate about removing risk from playgrounds, but if you’re of a certain age you might remember the fun of seesaws. Two parts fun and one part scientific experiment. If you and your friend were the same weight, you could balance perfectly, then push each other up and down for an enjoyable ride. If one of you weighed a bit more than the other, some adjustments were needed; exquisite movements closer or farther away from the fulcrum. If a big brother jumped on the other end, you had to enlist one of your friends to accomplish the balance.
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By Danroy "Dan" T. Henry
Not too long ago, stopping at service stations to check voicemail was common and using hardbound encyclopedias instead of the limitless Internet to conduct topical research was normal. Our car radios didn’t connect to satellites and none of us had mobile e-mail. Flash forward a scant few years and it is standard to own PDA’s, participate actively within social networks and tweet our every move. In the past 20 years, the speed of technological innovation, portability, and obsolescence seems to have increased to keep pace or perhaps to create an insatiable appetite for newer, smaller, and even faster technology designed to blend the line between productivity and play. (more…)
By Susan Brenner
I did a double-take. The title of the article was “Why an iPhone Could Actually Be Good for Your 3-Year-Old.” I really had to look again.
In the Boston Globe Magazine this past weekend, Neil Swidey made a case for why these little tots should have the device as well as the “apps” that go with it:
- They are naturally attracted to the iPhone or most other gadgets that have interesting buttons.
- They can figure out how to use it almost intuitively
- It can be a great distractor in those restless moments that every parent knows.
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By Amaris Surmacz
My 13-year-old son played in a tennis tournament in Arizona a few weekends ago and WON it! With great respect to my colleague Susan Brenner’s recent blog post, HE WON, HE WON, HE WON. 6-1, 7-5 to be exact!
He had been struggling to close matches recently, and I asked him what made the difference this time. His answer was “I didn’t look at the draw and I didn’t want to know about my opponent. I just played my game.” (more…)
By Danroy "Dan" T. Henry
My daily commute has been averaging an hour and 45 minutes with many longer days in the 2+ hour range each way. Yuck! Most days I can manage my car time fairly well, although recently it has become much, much more difficult. This is partly due to a choice I have made about not emailing/texting while driving, and with limited red lights, I can’t utilize my time as effectively as I used to in that way. (more…)
By Andrea Wicks Bowles
Have you seen the recently released Shriver Report: A Women’s Nation Changes Everything? It explores women’s contribution in the workplace and the lagging societal response. The report has a collection of chapters written by thought leaders in the field of work/life, women’s health, immigration, education, spirituality, the media, and economics to name a few. The topics focus on women’s issues and are written to bring to light the current status of women in a nation (the Federal government and society in general) that has not kept pace with the dramatic changes of women in the workplace. (more…)
By Susan Brenner
I love seeing people happy at work. You see it in all kinds of places. Watch some of the chefs on television. It’s so clear they are doing something they love and teaching others to do it too.
Then there’s my cousin the lawyer. He reached retirement age roughly two decades ago, but he loves the law and has never tired of it in over 50 years of practice.
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By Andrea Wicks Bowles
Working for an organization that’s made Working Mother magazine’s 100 Best Companies list has considerable cache with senior management. First of all, the positive publicity and family-friendly branding that comes with this recognition supports external recruitment and positioning as well as builds internal morale of employees. Have you ever attended the gala affair recognizing the 100 Best Companies? Well it is fancy and festive, and you’ll see a number of C-suite executives dressed up and joining in the recognition of their company. (more…)
By Amaris Surmacz
Thank you to those of you who posted some ideas and tips on scheduling some “think” time. I appreciate the feedback and have tried to implement some already. Please note: I am writing this on the plane and using my willpower to NOT connect to the available in-flight Internet.
Instead, I find myself envying those passengers with the fancy noise canceling headphones. It’s a luxury, I know, but how nice to ignore the in-flight message about exit doors, smoke detectors, and inflatable life vests! (There is no major body of water on this trip from Atlanta to Las Vegas.) How nice to shut the noise out. (more…)
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