Are You a Prisoner to Your Cell Phone?

I ask that question in leadership trainings on prioritizing use of precious time. Constantly checking your phone can be a distraction, reactively diminishing minutes (adding up to hours) that could be applied proactively to important tasks.   

I recommend, too, that businesses clarify expectations on reading and answering work emails during off-hours. People need a break from work to recharge their batteries, avoid burnout, and maintain high levels of productivity!

COVID and evolving home and hybrid working environments have complicated the game. It is great to have the flexibility, if your boss agrees, to have daytime down time to pick up the kids from school and then make it up in the evening. Today’s businesses need to have some boundaries, but also be flexible to work around people’s lives and give them some degree of control.

This necessitates a paradigm shift, requiring employers to better know their employees and, to the extent possible, adapt work to their individual needs. Some employees still prefer the traditional 9 to 5 approach, so figuring out the best ways to get people together when needed creates its own challenges.

We each have an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, including our own. Don’t underestimate your impact! 

You can read more in my recent column in the New Hampshire Business Review. https://read.nhbr.com/nh-business-review#2022/06/17/?article=3986354