By “good enough” we mean absolutely, definitely, not our very best, not perfect. We are actively encouraging you to perform occasionally below standard. Go on, you have our permission. In fact we suggest a trial period where you make a conscious habit of NOT doing things as well as you usually do—and even then we […]

Somewhere buried deep in a woman’s DNA is an insidious gene that makes us believe we are responsible for everything. Since our brains are wired to see and predict every possible scenario— every possible thing that could go wrong or could be better— it makes sense that we are driven in this direction. But this […]

here’s no question that in the world of Womenomics, time is the critical new commodity. And to amass a meaningful amount of it, you’re going to have to attempt more than just the starter steps we outlined in chapter 5. Think of it this way: as is the case with any other commodity, the less […]

438 million. No, that’s not the number of stars in the universe or sand dunes in the Sahara. 438 million is the estimated number of vacation days Americans failed to take in 2007. We were speechless, horrified, depressed just to learn it. How hard do we have to beg—TAKE A HOLIDAY! Every year the travel […]

If you are going to work and have a family and have a life, then something has to give in every area of your existence, not just at work. It doesn’t make sense to cut back your work to 60 percent and still try to manage your home life at 100 percent. The whole point […]

Technology truly is the leading enabler of today’s increasingly flexible lifestyle. We professional women all know that without it, any flexibility we have would be almost impossible. Conference calling from home means you don’t have to be in the office at the crack of dawn to speak to London or stay there late at night […]

For every busy woman, the conference call is a thing of beauty. Instead of allowing rogue minutes to escape as you travel to work, get to the meeting room, go through the chitchat rigma­role, and hang around for the postmeeting meeting, you can simply dial in from wherever you are and get going. Best of […]

Sometimes you do just have to get people together in one place. When that is the case, try to take control of the meeting sched­ule. You be the one to announce the start time—and the stop time. If it’s in a conference room that needs booking, you make the reservation and then keep the time […]

First and foremost, if it’s not essential, don’t go. Most of the time, you’ll find, meetings will fall into that 80 percent category. They are useless. It’s amazing how many meetings you can miss without it making any difference to how you do your job. It’s equally amazing how quickly people get used to you […]

Even once you’ve followed our advice and set your own priorities clearly, every day at the office, or even every day working at home, is a time-trap minefield. We all waste far too much time. So here are strategies that will keep you in full work-smarter mode. You might get the impression that we are […]