Busy body

Leah Eichler recently tackled a most interesting topic in her column in The Globe and Mail, asking the question Is being super busy so bad?

As one industrious career gal, who Eichler interviewed for the article, remarked, “I’m happiest when I’m teetering on the edge of chaos, when I’m pushing hard on several fronts at once.” The same person goes on to say, “It’s when I’m most productive, and I get a real adrenalin rush from making it all work.”

How about you? Do you feel most productive when chaos ensues, and you have to make sense of it all?

Click here to read the entire article or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/life-at-work/is-being-super-busy-so-bad/article4527138/

Fit Physique, Fat Paycheque

On the SmartMoney.com blog, a recent entry Want a 9% Raise? Hit the Gym by Jack Hough reports on a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Labor Research, in which the findings were that, on average, workers who exercise regularly earn a higher pay than those who don’t.

What do you think? Have you noticed a correlation between sweating it out and salary increases among the workers in your office?

Click here to read the entire blog post or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://blogs.smartmoney.com/advice/2012/06/06/want-a-9-raise-hit-the-gym/?link=SM_hp_ls4e

5 Ideas for Tackling Job Burnout

Feeling drained from your work responsibilities? In Beat Job Burnout by Shelly Field, you'll find a quick self-assessment questionnaire that gauges your level of burnout. More importantly, if you are experiencing persistent mental and physical fatigue due to your work, there are five suggestions on how to make your job more enjoyable and less stressful.

Click here to read the entire article or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://career-advice.monster.ca/in-the-workplace/work-life-balance/beat-job-burnout-ca/article.aspx

Redefining "Having it All"

In Having it all depends on what ‘all’ means, Leah Eichler suggests there is room to broaden the definition of "all", a word that is equated to being successful. Eichler suggests a big key to success ("having it all") lies in reconciling your inner goals with the external markers of success. So, for some, a six-figure salary and a lofty job title may be the epitome of success while for others success may include such factors as a happy family life, giving back to society, and working in a job they truly enjoy.

The bottom line is that each woman needs to come up with her own definition of success so that yes, indeed we can "have it all".

Click here to read the entire article or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/leah-eichler/having-it-all-depends-on-what-all-means/article2349261/

Tune in to You

Probably the hardest part about being a career gal is balancing work, family, friends and time for yourself. Many of us actually put ourselves on the backburner as we tend to all the other demands in our lives. It’s easy to get lost and forget about who we are at the core, which is why Spirit Junkie: A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles by Gabrielle Bernstein caught our attention. In the book, Bernstein openly shares her journey from being an NYC party-hard PR girl with a drug addiction to shedding the vices and learning to genuinely love herself—all while providing practical advice on how to create self-love in your life. She is now a widely sought motivational speaker and spiritual guide, and has been featured in ELLE, The New York Times, Huffington Post and more. Spirit Junkie is just the self-love-fest we so rightly need and deserve.

$25.95 at randomhouse.ca

Sh*t Girls Say

Seeing that this video is nearing 10 million views on YouTube, we're a little late to the party, but we just had to post it anyway:

Give Yourself a 30 Day Challenge

Feel like your stuck in a rut? Try implementing a 30 day challenge. Turns out that 30 days is just the right amount of time to add a (good) habit or subtract a (bad) one.


Matt Cutts, who works for the Search Quality group at Google, specializing in search engine optimization issues, gave a TED talk in which he describes how these short-term challenges have such benefits as time becoming more memorable and increased self-confidence.


Watch Cutts' talk here and then go ahead and write that novel, practise yoga, floss your teeth, or commit to any other challenge, big or small, for the next month!

The Key to Work Productivity

So it seems the key to productivity is not so difficult to achieve. In How to get more time off without losing productivity by Harvey Schachter (originally published in The Globe and Mail), we read about a formula for success as prescribed by Dan Sullivan, who operates The Strategic Coach, a consultancy business for entrepreneurs. Sullivan advises his clients to divide their work lives into "focus days, when they focus solely on the activities that bring in the money; free days, when they do nothing business-related and just rejuvenate; and buffer days, when they deal with the rest of business life." A simple plan that gets us working smarter, not harder? Sign us up!

Click here to read the entire article or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/morning-manager/how-to-get-more-time-off-without-losing-productivity/article2151330/

Mid-Summer Gardening Tips

Are you a career gal who gets satisfaction digging up weeds in the backyard and planting seeds that bloom into a beautiful garden of floral and fauna? Or perhaps you're a fan of growing your own fruits and veggies. If gardening is your thing, be sure to check out this video for 10 great tips on tending to your garden in the month of August, half way through summer and nearing the cooler, fall temperatures.

Hey green thumbs! Check out 8 Simple Garden Maintenance Tips for more great advice, as well as for some essential finds to keep your garden healthy and bountiful.

Career Spouses Need to Work Together

A working mom's life ain't easy, and we need support from our working spouses to keep the household running so that we can perform at the top of our game at the office and at home. The benefits for both women and the corporate world are numerous.

Take it from someone who knows. Check out the video below of Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010., held in Davos, Switzerland in January 2010. Sandberg reflects on her experiences as a mother and a businesswoman, and emphasizes the importance of working moms getting help from working dads.

10 Ideas for Getting Rid of Work Stress

Had a rough week at the office? Jennifer Villamere, Senior Web Editor at Canadian Living, has some great ideas in her article 10 ways to de-stress from a hectic work week on how to put your job troubles aside. And we say, why even wait until Friday to employ some of these strategies? All of Villamere's tips for unwinding are handy on any day of the week.

Click here to read the entire article or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:
http://www.canadianliving.com/health/mind_and_spirit/10_ways_to_de_stress_from_a_hectic_work_week.php

A Huge Payoff You Deserve

For anyone who's ever struggled with self-doubt in their personal or professional life (and really, which one of us CCGs hasn't felt uncertainty at some point in our lives?), check out Want a Huge Payoff? Value Yourself, an enlightening post by Susan Biali, M.D. from her Psychology Today blog Prescriptions for Life.

Biali's key message when it comes to relationships, your physical appearance, or your life path is to stand up for yourself and value yourself in spite of what anyone else says. You'll be amazed by the success this way of thinking will bring you.

Click here to read the entire article or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prescriptions-life/201007/want-huge-payoff-value-yourself

National Work From Home Day

Check out the video below to find out more about an initiative from Workopolis asking Parliament to recognize an annual Work From Home Day.

Would you support a government-mandated work from home day? Share your thoughts with us in the Comments section of this post.

Tea(m) Time

Okay, we talk a lot about being passionate about what we do, but what if for some of us, all we're looking for is a pleasant work experience? Check out The ticket to happiness at work? Tea time by Sarah Hampson, where the author suggests that perhaps some workers just want a boss who listens, to have time to enjoy their lunch and coffee breaks, and leave the office at a normal hour after having put in a solid day's work. Doesn't sound so bad, does it?

Click here to read the entire article or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/news-and-views/sarah-hampson/the-ticket-to-happiness-at-work-tea-time/article2013167/

Balancing career and family

As women, we will always be faced with the challenge of balancing our professional goals with our family commitments. Check out this video where author and advertising executive Nina DiSesa discusses this constant juggling act:

Over-doing it with overtime

If you tend to work a lot of extra hours, here's some food for thought for you: check out Is overtime worth it? by Sarah Deveau to help you re-evaluate your reasons for spending so much time at the office and perhaps take a moment to consider the personal sacrifices you may be making.

Click here to read the article or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:
http://www.canadianliving.com/life/work/is_overtime_worth_it.php

How to re-enter the workforce

Are you a CCG-turned-SAHM (stay-at-home mom) who's now looking to head back into the working world? Check out this video for some great advice on how to do just that from career coach Maggie Mistal who also hosts national weekly radio show "Making a Living with Maggie" on Martha Stewart Radio:

Philosophizing about work life

Here's an interesting take from Alain de Botton about why we have HR departments as well as other commentaries on wasting time and workaholism.

Want to hear more of de Botton's views on office life today? Check out his book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, which is a witty and insightful exploration of why people work the jobs they do, and wind up either feeling fulfilled or completely deflated. A worthwhile read for anyone who has ever had to make an honest living by working at a job.

$32.99 (hardcover) at amazon.ca

Work/life balance is in your control

When stress is the only state of mind you're in, it's a telltale sign that you're being overworked. How to solve the problem? Look within yourself to find balance. Check out Balance--you have it in you (originally published on September 26, 2003 in Canadian Business Online) to find out what Canadians attribute their ability to have proper work/life balance to.

Click here to read the article or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/entrepreneur/personal_development/article.jsp?content=20030926_161302_5132

Business travel ease

In Eight business travel tips for smart women by Marybeth Bond, the travel expert and author offers practical advice such as "sleep smart" and "pack lightly". These time-tested tips are sure to come in handy for any career gal with a job that requires her to travel.

Click here to read Bond's five other travel tips or copy and paste this link into your web browser:
http://www.ivillage.co.uk/travel/essentials/health/articles/0,,563212_565967,00.html

We're definitely advocates of sleeping smart while travelling, which is why we're never without our EcoTools Bamboo Sleep Mask. Made of super soft bamboo fibres, we place the earth-friendly mask over our lids to ensure we get the proper amount of shut-eye while thousand of feet in the air. And even when we're in a hotel room or in our bed at home, this trusty eye mask is just what's needed for a good night's sleep.

$3.99 USD; To find a retailer, visit parispresents.com