I’m notorious for leaving meetings that run over time. In my opinion, anything that is important should be discussed within the agreed upon timeframe. We spend far too much time, scheduling, being in, and following up meetings. It’s not just me, there are a lot of us who share the same train of thought – many of us who are not a fan of settings that should have been an email.

Here are some interesting statistics for you from booqed.com:

• The majority (around 83%) of employees will spend up to 33% of their workweek in meetings!
• There are around 55 million meetings held each week in the United States. That’s at least 11 million per day and over 1 billion per year.
• The average employee spends at least 3 hours a week in meetings. 30% of workers report that they spend over 5 hours per week in meetings.
• Time spent in meetings has been rising by 8% to 10% every year since 2000.
• Organizations spend around 15% of their time in meetings. Surveys show that 71% of those meetings are unproductive.
• Unproductive meetings cause around $37 billion to be lost per year.

If those statistics don’t force you to think twice about scheduling yet another meeting, I don’t know what would. However, don’t throw in the towel and completely do away with ALL meetings just yet. Meetings are important. They make sure that you and your team are all on the same page and accountable for your part in the bigger task or project. You can make sure that meetings are useful and productive for all parties involved if you follow these three rules:

1. Quality Over Quantity
What points in the task or project are extremely critical to you and your team? If you said the beginning or the end, then you are correct. These points in a task or project lifecycle are usually the points when meeting with the team are important. Other milestones or decision points also make it worth getting together. The rest, you can probably send as an email.

2. Flexibility
Canceling, postponing or moving up a meeting should all be options to keep in mind as the task or project evolves. Meetings are important because you all want to get from point A to point B and be as aligned as you can along the way. However, the frequency of your meetings should not be carved in stone. If you can keep updates via a project board, chat thread, email, or internal wiki – then by all means, do that.

3. Compromise
The most important aspect to teamwork is compromise. With regard to meetings, distributed and remote teams have it harder than in-house teams. Asynchronous global organizations spend much time trying to figure out a convenient time to talk. This is part of the digital, flexible, work from anywhere reality. So there will always be a part of the team that has to compromise – and it can’t be the same group each time.

What are some of your hard and fast meeting rules? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

It’s Mental Health Month and our timelines are filled with tips on how to take care of our mental health. For some, good mental health is equal to happiness. However, that isn’t always the case. We keep running after happiness like it’s a destination and not the journey. The thinking “I’ll be happy when…” does more harm than good. Still being happy most of the time wouldn’t hurt. Wouldn’t it be so easy if we all knew the secret to happiness and did just that? But what if we already knew the secret to happiness but just didn’t practice it enough?

A 75-year old Harvard study advises the secret to happiness and we find that it is actually no secret: “Personal connection creates mental and emotional stimulation, which are automatic mood boosters, while isolation is a mood buster.” In short, good relationships keep us happier and healthier.

Good mental health is not a spectator sport. It takes a lot of hard work, perseverance, and positivity in order for us to thrive. It also involves having a great group to guide you along the way. These people who are as invested in your well-being as you are known as your ‘thrive tribe.’ They will help you with any inquiry, help you define goals, and offer assistance, advice, and support along the way, and can make your journey to thriving an easier and richer experience.

To build a thrive tribe, find people who:

1. Want to see you succeed
As the saying goes: “our circle should want you to win. Your circle should clap the loudest when you have good news. If they don’t, get a new circle.” They must want to level-up and wish for you to do the same. They inspire you to become better than you were yesterday, and you inspire them to do the same.

2. Share your values
Nurture relationships with people who share your values. Shared values are instant connectors. Make sure they see as important those things you also hold dear. Conflict can arise from differences in opinions, but that’s not always a deal breaker. Differences in opinions can lead to healthier relationships and a wider perspective. However, a difference in values takes longer to get over and can result in cracks in the relationship overtime.

3. Value respect
Your thrive tribe must have respect for one another, for you, and more importantly, for themselves. They see you as someone worthy of respect and you see them as someone worthy of respect. Healthy relationships put a premium on respect for one another.

4. Appreciate differences
You share the same values but have different talents, backgrounds and opinions – does that still make you a thrive tribe? Yes. Your differences make you unique. Uniqueness is healthy and differences in perspectives are healthy. Diversity means you have more talents, perspectives, passions, and strengths. These round out your weaknesses.

5. Give and receive love
Make sure your thrive tribe is a circle of people who are comfortable giving and receiving love. At times, people find themselves not worthy of receiving love, and it will be up to you to remind them that they are worthy just as you are worthy. No one lasts in relationships that are one-sided. There always has to be a healthy balance of getting and giving.

What is your happiness tip? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Today, October 10, is World Mental Health Day. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries. The theme of 2022’s World Mental Health Day, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is ‘Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority.

Last week, we talked about why it is important to have hobbies in order to thrive and have good mental health. On World Mental Health Day, let’s talk about how we can look after our mental health.

1. Do something you’re good at:
There are certain activities that get us “in the zone” or what positive psychology calls “state of flow.” Why is ‘doing something you’re good at’ essential for good mental health?
a.) It involves some aspect of mastery (knowledge or skill in the subject) and purpose (a reason, intention, or objective). If you do something you’re good at, it probably is a self-esteem booster.
b.) It helps you beat stress. Doing something you’re good at helps you stay focused and committed to seeing the end result.
c.) It livens up your mood. Nobody has a hobby they hate, right? You do it because you love it, like gardening or solving puzzles. It makes you happy. It’s a surefire way to boost your mood.

2. Be active and eat well:
Being active releases chemicals in our brain that boost our mood and help increase cognitive functions. It is no wonder regular exercise gives us more energy, helps us sleep better, and feel better. Eating well does the same thing to our brain. Plus, good food fortifies us with nutrients that are not only essential for mood boosting and increasing cognitive functions, but also essential for facilitating bodily processes, preventing chronic diseases, and boosting our immunity.

3. Connect and engage:
Having a ‘thrive tribe’ or a circle of friends and family that are as invested in your wellbeing as you are, not only helps you combat depression and anxiety but also has a huge impact on your mental health. The quality of your relationships is the most significant determinant of your level of happiness. The stronger your connections, the happier you are. So engage and connect. Work on the relationships you truly value and make you feel valued and loved.

4. Care for others:
One of the best ways to improve your mental health is to do something nice for others. If you feel like your mood is dipping or if you’re starting to feel depressed or anxious – do something good for someone else. Send your friends a carefully curated care package. Ask your elderly neighbor if he needs help with gardening. Call your mother.

5. Ask for help:
We’re human and can’t be perfect. We get tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed. If things are getting too much for you and you feel you can’t cope, ask for help. You don’t even have to wait for things to go awry before asking for help. Prevention is key.

What are your best mental health tips? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

October is Mental Health Awareness Month. Let’s start the month right by prioritizing our mental health.

Experts suggest that, in order to thrive and not just survive, we have to participate in work or any activity that is meaningful to us and that we do well. Mastery and purpose are important factors in creating a thriving life. This is why having a hobby is important to our well-being. Hobbies give us the opportunity to learn and master something. It also helps to keep us connected to our purpose and a great way to get to a state of “flow.”

Flow – in positive psychology (also known colloquially as being in the zone) is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. Now don’t we all need to be able to do something we are fully involved in that we lose track of time, we feel energizes us, and we fully enjoy?

Here are three examples of low-stress hobbies or activities that we can try:

1. Learn Brush Lettering or Calligraphy
Buy a calligraphy kit. They don’t cost that much and will give you hours of enjoyment. The kits already have templates to follow that’ll teach you how to do the strokes and lettering techniques to create beautiful brush lettering. It’ll also teach you how to use the pens and suggest what pens to use for each kind of lettering. Creating beautiful, swirly letters is therapeutic. Give it a go!

2. Hiking
If you’ve been cooped up too long in your house, the best way to combat cabin fever is to get out from time to time. Try hiking. You’re already ensured of two benefits:
1.) You are sure to get some exercise
2.) You get to appreciate the beauty of nature.

You don’t have to live near the mountains or the woods to reap the benefits of hiking. You just need to find a pretty park or a trail near you. You can even take your dogs with you. If you don’t have a park or trail near you, you can take a walk around the dog park. Going to the dog park is always a good way to get out of the house and meet like minded pet-lovers.

3. Crafts
DIY home decors have been the rage during the pandemic. Why not channel your inner artist into macrame, painting, decoupage, or mosaic making? Craft stores sell beginner-friendly kits that have all you need to get started on your chosen craft. They don’t cost that much and you’re guaranteed hours of fun in making them. You can even give your creations as hand-made personalized gifts.

Be curious. Try something new this month. Even if it seems hard to start, hold yourself accountable to trying new things. What do you plan to try this Mental Health Month? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Mental Health Month is coming up in October. On October 10 – we celebrate World Mental Health Day. According to AU Mental Health: “Good mental health is when we can cope with the stressors of our daily lives, participate in loving relationships, contribute to our community, and work towards our goals. Everyone has mental health. And we can all benefit from looking after our own mental health and the mental health of our communities.”

Chronic workplace stress – otherwise known as burnout – is prevalent, especially as we gear towards the holiday season. Not everyone can separate themselves completely from the stress of the workplace. A lot of workers don’t have the option to give up a couple of days or weeks to take time off. Examples of these are healthcare workers or gig workers. So, how can we avoid burnout or workplace stress?

1. Boundaries:

Set boundaries for yourself around life and work, including defining your non-negotiables. To define your boundaries, ask yourself the following questions:

• What am I prepared to NOT compromise on?
• Where do I need extra support?
• What areas am I willing to be flexible?

Once you have the answers, you can clearly define your best work environment scenario and clearly define your non-negotiables.

2. Priorities:

There is a concept in Positive Psychology called “time affluence” defined as the sense that one has ample time available on a daily basis. It is the idea that you have enough time to do the things you want to do. Having an abundance of time for the things you need and desire to do is one of the most important factors of happiness. The inverse, which is the state of being “time poor” can lead to unhappiness. This means that we have to prioritize tasks so that work, chores, and other responsibilities don’t eat up all of our time. Learn how to prioritize. We’ve written about that here and here. Use the Eisenhower matrix to help you identify which tasks are to be prioritized and which ones to manage, delegate, limit, or avoid.

3. Social life: 

The first thing we drop when we’re stressed is socializing with other people. We turn inwardly and keep to ourselves. However, evidence of a 75 -year Harvard study suggests that building and maintaining strong relationships is the best indicator of happiness. The strength of our relationships determine our level of happiness. So call a friend, visit family, and don’t isolate yourself.

4. Me-time and Mindset 

Experts always suggest taking a break and spending some time on self-care in order to mitigate the effects of workplace stress or burnout. That works for some time, but the effects wear off as soon as you get back to work. What should change is your mindset about work. If you see it as a boring place or a terrible place, no amount of vacation time or self-care time will make you want to go to work. Make some tweaks and changes to your thinking. Focus on what’s strong instead of what’s wrong. What’s going well for you? What brings you happiness? Where do you want to be in 3 mos, 6mos, or 1 year? Celebrate your wins, all of them big and small.

What are your tips to avoid burnout? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp