Communicate your needs

When you start noticing yourself getting tense, try to focus on breathing (on feeling the air coming in and out of your lungs).

This will take your attention off the physical signs of panic and keep you centered.

Sitting still when you’re having a difficult conversation can make the emotions build up rather than dissipate. 

Standing up and walking around helps to activate the thinking part of your brain.

It is difficult to discuss some sensitive subjects, and we are tempted to avoid them. Other times we simply expect our partners to know what we are doing, thinking or what we want.

It is much better to get things out in the open regularly rather than waiting to have big rows that might damage your relationship.

Be curious about your partner’s point of view rather than trying to anticipate every situation. Active listening involves:

• Paying attention to your partner.
• Tolerating your silence.
• Paying attention to your partner’s nonverbal communication.
• Reflecting and paraphrasing what your partner is saying: I hear you say you feel angry when I ….. Is that what you are saying?

You need to take care of your body if you want it to run efficiently. 

Physical self-care includes your eating, exercising and sleeping habits and how well you're caring for your physical needs. Attending appointments, taking medication as prescribed, and managing your health are all part of good physical self-care.

Socialization and close connections are key to your well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain close relationships is to put time and energy into building your relationships with others.

Everyone has slightly different social needs. The key is to figure out what your social needs are and to build enough time in your schedule to create an optimal social life.

Negative like “I can’t”  or “I won’t” distance you from teammates and give the impression that you’re in opposition to someone or something.

Try to propose an alternative or at least soften your phrasing.

Speak in terms of common objectives.

People who are good at making others want to work with them tend to continuously reemphasize the goals and outcomes they share with their team.

The best way to talk to strangers is to ask for their opinion on a matter. People love expressing their views. We can then focus our attention on what they say and use it to discover further what they think.

Asking open-ended questions is the key to developing this type of communication.

The more challenging we find it to talk to strangers, the more we will grow in that area when we take action, and the easier it will become.

When we challenge ourselves and move out of our comfort zone, we experience personal growth.

Pick a place for your office away from distraction.
Boundaries also apply to other people who may be sharing the same space. Children can work alongside you as if they were coming to the office.

You won't have the same cues as you do from your workplace to remind you to get up or get lunch. When you lose the pace of your day, everything can start to blend together.

Treat your exercise, meals and stretch breaks as you would any other meeting. Put it on your calendar, at least to start.

It helps to complain as soon as you know you have a problem. The more recent your experience, the greater the weight your complaint will carry. Also, memories fade, records get buried, and work staff gets replaced.

Employees' health and well-being should come first. There may be a perceived choice between productivity and well-being. But, engagement is a natural by-product of well-being.

People are worried about health, job security, their kids' education, life on the other side of the crisis. Micro-managing will not create focus. Tactics like time-tracking software will only compound the problem. Instead, focus on easing their fears. The more distractions we as leaders can clear away, the more effective our people will be.

• Part of the response is to hold performance and growth check-ins to acknowledge the contribution each employee is making and help them manage their longer-term professional goals.
• Err on the side of overcommunicating. Create a communication plan and be consistent. E.g., a daily email from the heads of each unit, or video messages from the CEO. Share even the bad news, to prevent employees from inventing their own stories to fill the void.
• Keep a tight feedback loop. Know how your employees are coping, how their work is affected, and how they think leadership can help.
• Be mindful of the resources you're consuming. Don't consume additional masks, disinfectants, and other supplies that hospitals need.

1. Intense concentration on the task at hand.
2. A merging of action and awareness - “being and doing become one”.
3. A loss of reflective self-consciousness.
4. A sense of personal control over the situation.
5. A distortion of the perception of time.
6. Autotelic experience: the activity itself is intrinsically rewarding, rather than the expected outcome.

• It’s not easy. Flow is not just a state where we love the work so much it just pours out. Flow is a state where hard work meets joy and meaning. 
• It’s not for beginners. The act of learning how to do something won’t always allow us to get into the flow. Getting into the zone in a specific discipline is something that needs to be learned and practiced.

It is much easier for us to make decisions that feel good right now (“quick-fixes”) than it is to have the discipline to make decisions that may suck now but feel really great later.

Self-care can be really hard because it’s a long-term play. But your well-being is worth the trouble. 

• Self-indulgence is the “excessive or unrestrained gratification of one’s own appetites, desires, or whims. Self-indulgent behaviors alter our mood or provide us with a means of temporary escape.
• Self-care yields you long-term benefits without causing harm. And in a way, it’s a selfless act as it will make you a more engaged and impassioned person.