Many leaders compensate for feeling overwhelmed and over-busy by working even more hours. But neglecting self-care puts us on a downward spiral that leads to lower productivity and, ultimately, burnout. In this episode, Michael and Megan share the secret weapon for boosting productivity—a hobby!
Archive for Leadership
Hobbies for Perfectionists
Learning to Embrace a Hobbyist’s Mediocrity
The Wharton-educated bank executive quits weekend bird-watching excursions after missing a prothonotary warbler (rare orange and yellow-headed songbird) sighting. The tenured physics professor storms out of the kitchen because her batch of gazpacho soup turned out a tad too peppery. First-world problems, to be sure. But they’re also the type of increasingly common complaints hyper-accomplished professionals […]
The Science of Play
Where Win-Win Comes From
As a kid who wasn’t allowed to watch television, the focus of my childhood was play. The games are too many to count. There was, for example, a little girl who lived in mirrorland and would possess me if I accidentally touched that shiny, reflective surface at night. She scared the heck out of my […]
Churchill’s Finest Hobby
Painting Helped Him Beat Depression, and Nazi Germany
Winston Churchill once wrote that “The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance”. He knew this well. Even as he warned the world about the threat of totalitarian regimes and led Britain during the Second World War, the statesman crafted many of his more than 500 […]
Stop Busywork Now!
Now's the Time to Stop Wasting Time
You already know that busywork does nothing more than create the perception that people are working harder than they really are. In fact, 65 percent of your colleagues surveyed by Havas Worldwide felt that people were simply pretending to be busy. Nor does busywork make you or your company more productive. What you get instead […]
Meetings Gone Wildly Wrong
How to Recognize and Prevent Fake Meetings
Timothy Wiedman was once a top regional manager for a national retail photofinishing company. He worked hard. Thanks to the company’s “use it or lose it” vacation policy, he made sure to play hard as well. Wiedman’s only requirements before jetting off to some faraway locale? Delegate critical tasks to subordinates, make his boss aware […]