Sometimes half the work is figuring out what needs to be done. Recently I heard an incredible tip—delegate it. Ask your team to create a list of what you should be worried about or doing. Give junior folks a chance to up-level themselves and show their thinking. Ask your nanny (if you have one) to create a list of all the kid and house stuff you should be worrying about, too. Yes, you’ll have to edit these, but let some give you a head start. #productivity #mentalload #delega

Those that know me well will laugh that I’m writing this, as I am chronically late. But, I recently heard the quote, “all the good things in my life I can attribute to being early.” I wanted to test the impact being early could have on my life. I showed up 30-minutes early for a 10-minute interview, and the interviewer and I were able to chat about my business for 10-minutes before, doubling my time. Getting to a party right when it started meant that I was able to spend qual

As I was setting up the food spread for my NYE party, I remembered thinking last year post-party that I wanted to serve half the volume of food. Folks in DC just ate less at parties than ones in NYC. Not the most useful timing for remembering. So this year, I scheduled an email to go out to me two weeks before NYE with the appropriate sized menu for the night. Recently, I suggested writing emails to yourself as a reflective process, but these emails can also be incredibly pra

So often, an idea pops into my mind, and 20 minutes later I find myself down a rabbit hole of random tasks. A simple hack helps: I add filters to my todo list. I keep my Asana board filtered on “today,” so when I add a task for the future, it disappears. As I watch this happen, I feel my mental load decreasing because I know the task is documented. At the same time, I’m not overwhelmed by a mile-long list of things that need to be done. Each morning I look at my list and move

After giving to everyone else all day, it’s so tempting to push bedtime later. We want to push bedtime later. Watch an extra show. Read one more article. Have another glass of wine.  When you think of sleep as the end of the day, it’s hard to let go at night. Instead, think of sleep as the start of the next day. Approach it with anticipation. You want to go to sleep to get a good night’s sleep and a jump on the next day. Think of all the exciting things that you have to look

Supposedly people misinterpret the tone and intent of emails half the time. Let that sink in. How many emails do you send a day? A few tips to make sure you fall in the right half: Don’t use sarcasm. Studies show that it’s incredibly hard to convey correctly, especially the more senior you are. If you do use it, explicitly call it out. Be more positive than feels natural. Emails tend to be read more negative than intended, so do a quick scan after writing to see how you can t

Society tells us that business travel hurts work-life balance. But does it have to? If you play your cards right, you can stack your business trips with all of your non-family activities, so that when you get back, you are more present and available for your kids. Do your errands. Sitting in the airport waiting for a flight is a great time to fill out camp forms or make doctor’s appointments. Check off your self-care needs. Get a haircut or the pedicure you desperately need

As a busy founder, I’m always looking for ways to stop myself from being the bottleneck. Enter 'Even Over' statements: simple heuristics to help guide your team’s decisions without you. These statements lay out the outcomes you want and what you are willing to give up for those. For example: User growth even over revenue growth Best in class customer service even over best in class product features Star teams even over star players To create yours, follow these steps: Brai

Starting a startup and being a mom of two young kids is no joke. Both can be all consuming, causing other parts of my life to suffer. I still don’t have a group of close friends in D.C. like I had in NYC. I’ve gained 15-pounds in the past 18-months. And, my fun home projects are all half-done. What should be positive influences in my life (community, health, and hobbies) were stressing me out instead of energizing me. Then it hit me. Right now, I only have time for three

I love services that help me be a better mom with little work or time. Recently, I’ve dug the app, Vroom, scientifically-based daily tips for boosting your kids learning that are easy to slip into your life. For example, here is today’s for Rowan (age 4): Next time you are stuck in a waiting room, pick up a magazine. Point out a face and have him copy it. Ask him what he thinks the person is feeling. Discuss with him when both of you might have felt this way, too. This ti

We are far more likely to go with whatever the default option is. For example, in countries where people are automatically opted-in to organ donation, 90% are organ donors, compared to 15% in the opt-out nations. So, today’s tip: shake up your defaults, especially around what you add to your plate. Try defaulting to a ‘no’ and then work on convincing yourself to a ‘yes’ versus the other way around. What does adding this little bit of friction do for you? #productivity

Name three things going right in your life right now. Here are my three: My new sales process seems to be working I discovered new healthy foods that I'm obsessed with My kids are incredibly confident and independent So often we focus on all the things going wrong in our lives that we don't give ourselves the chance to celebrate what is going right. This week, every time you brush your teeth, name three. Trust me; you will feel less stressed and more badass because you are

So often, our default when having a few minutes in between things is to jump on social media. It's too easy. Let's make doing other things just as easy. Today, I want you to make a list of things you can do instead (both productive and fun). Here's mine: Read a fiction book Write these newsletters Do my mini-todos for the kids (like respond to the class parent) Do a quick meditation Reach out to a friend I haven't talked to in a while Online grocery shop Journal Don't all

The number one thing moms want is more time. Here is my favorite analogy around time from Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. A professor shows a class a gallon-size glass jar. He brings out a platter of large, fist-sized rocks and dumps them into the pot until they reach the top. Is the jar full? The class replies, yes. Then he brings out pebbles and pours them into the jar. The pebbles settle in all the spaces between the big rocks. Is the

I'm continually optimizing our weekday mornings. My newest addition has been a game-changer: I set a timer and tell them that they have 4-minutes to get their shoes and socks on or I'm turning off our morning cartoons. After one morning of the TV going off with loads of tears, my kids now operate like clockwork. Before, I'd have to nag fourteen times to get my kids to put on their shoes. Now, they self-police, with Rowan telling Chloe she needs to hurry up, in fear of

I don't have time to read during my workday, which has left me with dozens of articles in my inbox that I promise myself that I will get to eventually. I'm embarrassed to say that the pile-up of these weighs on me. Enter Pocket. Now not only can I save articles across any device, but I can also turn any of them into audio content for my commutes, workouts and cleaning sessions. Finally, a way to make any article fit into my life. #productivity #productrecommendations

A key to success as a working mom is picking a good note taking system. As David Allen says, 'Your brain is for having ideas, not holding ideas.' The more ideas you are holding, the less capacity you have for what really counts—deep thinking at your job or being present outside it. Here are some of our favorite hacks to take your note-taking next level: Digitize your pen and paper notes by just snapping a pic and uploading to Evernote. That way you can search your handwri

I like to do things now but have learned the hard way that jumping on every good idea leads to overwhelming and burnout. That's why I love the idea of a 'One Day List'—a running list of all good ideas (at home and work) that you would like to do one day. Just because you are saying, 'no' to something now doesn't mean 'no' forever. Once you are finished with your current projects, you can turn to that list versus just reacting to whatever comes your way. For all you product

In this week's spending to save series, we've been showing how you can spend more money to save you time, buying you happiness. Today's tip is simple: Each time you open your wallet (or hover over the Buy Now button on Amazon), ask yourself, "Will this purchase change my use of time in positive ways?" Pause if not. Do you really need this? So often, when we buy something, there are so many hidden time costs—unpacking, storage, maintenance, and disposal. How would your life

As a mom of two and a founder of a busy start-up, I throw money at software that saves me time. Here are some of my faves: Docsend ($10/month): Simplifies document sharing. I can see who has visited and for how long. I can also update the document behind the link as I make changes in real-time. (Biggest insight, people spend very little time reading documents! Xtensio ($15/month): Beautiful predesigned document templates that prevent me from hiring a designer to layout