Two weeks, 1,300 people, and one manager who called herself out.
The last two weeks were full ones.
I had the privilege of working with Delta Air Lines for the fourth time. (Bring on the Biscoff cookies!) The topic was Reclaim Your Workday, and one moment stood out.
A manager realized mid-session that she was the problem for her direct reports. Interrupting them, going to their desk, stealing their focus. She said it out loud. In front of her direct report. I applauded her for it. Recognizing yourself as the bottleneck takes more courage than most people give it credit for.
Are there times you might be the distraction stealing someone's focus?
I also spoke to over 700 accountants and bookkeepers on Working Well Remotely. Pro tip: keep a running record of your smartest decisions, big wins, and lessons earned throughout the year. If you don't, you won't remember them when your performance review arrives in December.
Another session of almost 600 people on email management focused on optimization. The real time saver is prioritization, combined with a project management system where status updates are visible without anyone sending a "Hey, what's the word on this?" message. Fewer emails. Fewer interruptions. Faster everything.
One client I'm working with right now, a 100-person nonprofit, will start using Microsoft Planner for exactly this reason. The CFO is living in her inbox, chasing updates. That pressure changes when the updates are already visible.
One of my favorite things to do with a new client is take a video training transcript and ask AI to turn it into an SOP. It works beautifully. The person simply edits instead of starting from scratch. I've done this multiple times using Loom recordings. If you're not doing this yet, try it.
Speaking of AI, a quick pro tip, regardless of which tool you use: block time each week for training and set a timer. You can get pulled down a rabbit hole fast. A specific, protected block keeps you learning without losing the afternoon.
I also participated in the virtual launch of Justin Jones-Fosu's new book, Stop Chasing, Start Creating. It's a new take on the tortoise and the hare fable, and I saw myself in more of it than I expected, especially in my earlier years in my career and later my business, when I was chasing more than I was creating. Easy read, big impact. Highly recommend.
When you get this, I'll be having coffee with a creative I'm helping to prepare a high-stakes talk on human vs artificial intelligence. And this weekend I'm taking the stage in a different way, as a backup singer for my husband and RaderCo Marketing Specialist Lisa.
On with the Weekender!
Notifications are not on to help you...
They're on to get you to use that tool more.
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In this clip: how to audit your alerts, what to do about badges, and how to set up focus zones that run automatically.
One thing you can do now: Open your phone settings and turn off notifications for one app that has nothing to do with your work.
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Achieve More and Stress Less: Cultivating Success Habits for Work-Life Balance
If you've been treating productivity as a discipline problem, this is worth your time.
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On The Brainy Business podcast, we talked about the behaviors underneath productivity, not the tools on top of it. Why small, specific changes stick when big overhauls don't. How to break goals into pieces you can actually track. And why movement is not a reward for finishing your work.
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A quick reset for any point in the day when you feel the pull to scroll.
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RaderCo Screen-Time Specialist Rijul Arora created a free meditation on Insight Timer. No app download required; you can listen in your browser.
Break the Dopamine Loop is a guided digital detox meditation using breath awareness, urge surfing, and mindfulness techniques. The practice teaches you to notice the impulse to check your phone without acting on it. Helpful for excessive screen time, social media overwhelm, mental clutter, and digital fatigue.
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P.S. Registration for the Reclaim Your Workday Action Club begins next week. If you've been waiting for a structured way to reclaim your workday, be on the lookout. Seats are capped at 30.