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I run two companies, lead a team of over 20 people, mentor women entrepreneurs, and juggle multiple side projects. As a result, my calendar is filled with calls, meetings, decisions, deadlines, and the constant ping of notifications. For years, I convinced myself that unpluggingeven for a daywould be reckless. What if something urgent came up? What if everything collapsed? Eventually, though, I did it. I turned off my phone for seven full days. No email, no WhatsApp, no Slack, no Instagram. Just silenceand, of course, a notebook. This digital detox had a deeper purpose than a conventional holiday. In todays world, being on vacation can mean keeping in touch, even if lightly: answering emails, reading news, scrolling through social media, and so on. We stay in the information bubble, which makes it difficult to tune out the noise. I didnt plan to turn this into a case study. I simply needed a break. What I didnt expect was how deeply restorative and surprisingly productive it would be. My fear was that it would slow me down, but instead, it recalibrated me. And if youre someone who thinks they cant afford to disconnect, thats exactly why you should. Heres a way to start. What the detox looked like Because it was the weekend, I didnt need to make a big announcement. Just four peoplemy mother, sister, business partner, and assistantknew how to reach me in case of an emergency. Everyone else was left in the quiet. It was all designed consciously. Part of the detox fell on the weekend, when I did not expect any urgent messages from clients or partners. Also, there were some public holidays, so in the end I only missed one day of work. At the same time, I put my full trust in my team. Our managers are the first point of contact for clients, while my business partner is the go-to touchpoint for employees. Everyone also has my assistants contact details, so if something truly pressing had come up, they would have easily found out why I wasnt responding. So, late on a Friday night, I shut my phone down, and didnt turn it back on until one hour before my next workday. This buffer gave me space to ease in without anxiety. In case youre wondering, there were no exceptions. The phone wasnt silenced or stashed in a drawer I could access when I needed comfort. It stayed off, completely out of reach. Heres a snapshot of how a day looked like during this period: Mornings started with movementpilates or a long runfollowed by a mindful, unhurried breakfast. Then: hours of reading real books. No articles, no headlines. I took two naps a day for the first 48 hours. It was as if my nervous system had been waiting for permission to rest. By day three, something shifted. I began writing. Not for deadlines, just to think. I filled pages and pagesincluding my goals for the year, updates to my life balance wheel, forgotten ideas, coaching reflections, and personal values I hadnt revisited in months. Creative clarity came fast, and because I opened the space for it, it stayed. Three lessons I took with me I walked away from my phoneless time with dozens of insights. Of those, three stayed with me, and theyve reshaped both how I work and how I lead. #1: Clients are mirrors Every client relationship reflects something back at you. When youre truly present, you start to notice what those reflections are teaching youwhere your boundaries are too loose, where your expertise can deepen, what energizes you, and what drains you. We also learn to listen more attentively. As a seasoned PR pro, I know what I need to do to achieve the best possible resultsthe biggest coverage, the boldest narrative, the most polished story. But over time, Ive realized that what I consider the best isnt always what the client actually needs. This shift in perspective changed the way I work, and helped me build deeper relationships with my clients. I can honestly tell Ive learned more about myself from client work than from many books or programs. Not because they teach me something directly, but because they hold up a mirror. When were receptive to it, that relationship becomes a shared process of growth. #2: Choose your energy before the day begins Before I made this shift, my mornings belonged to everyone else. Id wake up and immediately jump into the noiseemails, deadlines, and messages. I was reacting to the worlds demands before Id even taken a breath. But now, I begin each day with a decision: Who do I want to be today? I started setting a tone for the day, not with tasks, but with intention. Calm. Generous. Creative. Focused. That one quiet choice each morning changed how I navigated everything else. I wasnt reacting, I was leading from the inside out. And when you do that, the world starts meeting you differently. Now, the day feels like minenot something Im surviving, but something Im actively shaping. #3: Dont make decisions just to relieve pressure Many of us, especially high performers, can easily confuse urgency with clarity. We say yes, push forward, launch, commit. Not necessarily because were grounded, but because were tense. Stepping away helped me name that pattern. During this time, I realized how often I made choices to soothe discomfort rather than move from vision. Now, before anything, I pause and ask myselfIs this decision coming from a place of power, or from a place of pressure? Why more people should try a phone detox Your brain needs rest. Not scrolling, not content-switching. Real, deep rest. We dont hesitate to give our muscles recovery days after a grueling exercise session. Why cant we do the same with our minds? When we stop consuming content, our brain starts producing it. Ideas resurface. Our vision returns. We reconnect to the version of ourselves that doesnt need noise to feel alive. Silence, as I learned, did not slow me down. It reintroduced me to what matters the most. We frequently imagine disconnection as a luxury. Its not. From this new vantage point, I can say it is a leadership practice. It is how we step back into our lives with discernment, energy, and purpose. Nothing burned down while I was gone. The world kept spinning. And I came back steadier, sharper, and more attuned to those things I hold dearly. If youre still thinking along the lines of, I could never take a week off, thats exactly your sign. There is clarity waiting for you, patiently, on the other side of silence.
Category:
E-Commerce
The AI landscape is evolving rapidly and its important to keep up. No one can afford to stay out of the loop on AI, so here are five new books to fill you in on the latest updates, concerns, and uses of this world-changing technology. AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand By Adam Brotman & Andy Sack In AI First, youll hear from a whos who of tech visionaries who spoke with the authors, including Sam Altman himself, Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman, sharing how theyre thinking of the transition to the new reality. Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by authors Adam Brotman and Andy Sack, or view on Amazon. The AI Con: How to Fight Big Techs Hype and Create the Future We Want By Emily Bender & Alex Hanna A smart, incisive look at the technologies sold as artificial intelligence, the drawbacks and pitfalls of technology sold under this banner, and why its crucial to recognize the many ways in which AI hype covers for a small set of power-hungry actors at work and in the world. Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by authors Emily Bender and Alex Hanna, or view on Amazon. More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valleys Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity By Adam Becker How Silicon Valleys heartless, baseless, and foolish obsessionswith escaping death, emergent AI tyrants, and limitless growthpervert public discourse and distract us from real social problems. Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by author Adam Becker, or view on Amazon. AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence By Gary Rivlin A veteran Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist shadows the top thinkers in the field of Artificial Intelligence, introducing the breakthroughs and developments that will change the way we live and work. Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by author Gary Rivlin, or view on Amazon. More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead By Rasmus Hougaard & Jacqueline Carter AI has the potential to transform leadership and the human experience of workor to lead us into an automated and uninspiring work reality. Which one will it be? Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by coauthor Rasmus Hougaard, or view on Amazon. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
Category:
E-Commerce
Employees are in a burnout crisis. A 2023 Mercer report found that 82% of workers were at risk of burnout. Overworked employees say they need time off, work-life balance, and flexibility. But the same report noted only 32% of leaders thought reducing employee burnout was important. Still, some companies are getting wildly innovative with their well-being perks. Last week, Deloitte made headlines for a new approach: offering its staffers $1,000 to purchase Legos and puzzles. While some employees might argue they’d prefer time off, or a raise, Deloitte isn’t the only company to try a quirky new approach to improving employee well-being. Here are five offbeat benefits companies are offering. 1. Pawternity leave Bringing home a new human is a whirlwind of joy, excitement, and pure exhaustion, and companies are well-versed in granting leave (paid and unpaid) to employees who have had a baby. On the other hand, providing time off for bringing home a new pet is pretty atypical. Still, some companies, who clearly value pets, have offered time off for adopting a new fur baby. New York-based data company mParticle offers PTO to employees who adopt a rescue dog. It also allows employees to bring their pups to work. Likewise, Minneapolis marketing firm Collective Measures allows pet owners to work from home for the first week after bringing home a new cat or dog. While pawternity leave might be new, many companies have become more pet-friendly, including Amazon. The company’s Seattle headquarters allows dogs and caters to pups with an entire floor designed for them. The workplace also built a dog park (open to the public) on company grounds. 2. All-expenses-paid vacations Burned-out employees say they could use more time off. How about having a vacation paid in full by your company? If you work for Airbnb, this desirable benefit can be yours. The vacation rental platform helps staff take vacations by giving them travel stipends. And those stipends aren’t piddly either. Airbnb employees receive $2,000 per year ($500 per quarter) to spend on travel bookings. “Our benefits are centered around our Live and Work Anywhere policy, prioritizing flexibility to meet individual needs,” Airbnb’s career page reads. “Employees receive quarterly travel credits, an annual educational stipend, and a quarterly Live and Work Anywhere allowance, empowering them to enhance their lives professionally and personally as desired.” BambooHR, a human resources company, offers the same perk with its “Paid Paid Vacation” policy. Employees receive $2,000 that can be used to pay for hotels and airfare. 3. Home-cleaning services Keeping your home clean takes time and energy. And if you spend a lot of time at the office (or on work-related tasks), housecleaning can easily fall by the wayside. But California-based staffing company Akraya offers a perk designed to help keep employees’ homes spotless, and the stress at bay. Akraya offers professional housecleaning services to all employeesand not just once in a while. Every two weeks we have a cleaning service that goes to our employees homes. . . . I dont know of any other company that has [that benefit], cofounder and CEO Amar Panchal told Staffing Industry Analysts. Panchal got the idea after talking with an employee who was tired from spending the weekend keeping up with housework. 4. Snow(boarding) days Many of us enjoyed snow days as school-age children. But most companies don’t provide time off when the white stuff comes down. Burlington, Vermont-based Burton isnt most companies. The snowboard maker offers “snow days” for its employeeswith one rule: They have to hit the slopes. Per Entrepreneur, whenever there’s a big storm, Burtons offices close and employees are encouraged to get out and snowboard, which is, after all, what the brand is all about. In addition to snow days, employees get majorly discounted lift tickets, season passes, demo gear, and more. 5. Unlimited ice cream Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont-based ice cream company known for its lovable flavors and outspoken founders, is a pretty sweet place to work. Not only is the atmosphere casual, dog-friendly, and seemingly full of joy, it also offers employees virtually unlimited ice cream. Employees say they’re allowed to take home three pints each and every day, though when new flavors roll in, they have to hustle. “Even though we get three pints a day as a sweet work perk, its always a mad rush to the freezers when a new flavor comes in,” the company website reads. “And camping out overnight to be first in line is, well, frowned upon.” With all the ice cream offerings, it’s no wonder Ben & Jerry’s was ranked Vermont’s Most Coveted Employer this year.
Category:
E-Commerce
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