Michael Levitt's Blog, page 134

How To Make Great Coffee At Home, Creating A Financial Boundary To Avoid Financial Burnout

One of the boundaries I implemented years ago was making my own coffee at home. It’s a financial boundary, saving me tons of money on expensive coffees from Sixbucks or other coffee establishments. I will buy coffee from those stores from time to time, but my first coffee of the day is most often brewed at home.

Now we know that great Espresso coffee made in the coffee establishments is the quintessential coffee, the way that exalts the taste and aromas to the maximum. The preparation of Espresso coffee is a true art.

If you want to know more information about coffee you can check out my friends at Coffeelifious.

 To get an excellent result also at home it is advisable to follow these rules:

         

1) Water quality: Use natural mineral water instead of tap water. Concentration of limescale can prevent perfect machine operation and influence coffee quality. Every two months it is advisable to use an anti-limescale for domestic espresso machines.

         

2) The right dose: For each cup use 7 grams of coffee for your espresso machine . For your guidance, be aware that the size that comes with the machine equals approximately 7 grams.

 

3) A professional hand : once the filter holder is filled, lightly tap the table or the palm of the hand to evenly distribute the coffee powder. Tighten the coffee firmly using the press that comes with the machine: a flat surface is critical to getting a good Espresso coffee.

         

4) The right time : the coffee should leave the canal forming a continuous and homogeneous thread. Pay attention to the extraction time: if the coffee comes out very fast, try to press it harder; On the contrary, if the output is too slow, review the pressure in the opposite direction.

         

5) Careful maintenance : When making a coffee, remove the residue from the previous filter to avoid unwanted flavors. Once in a while, let the water run into the empty filter, as if you were making coffee. Before making another, wait 2/3 minutes, making sure there is no water residue inside the filter holder. Proceed in the same way every time you wash the filter holder with tap water.

 

Little trick: it can happen that the coffee in the cup is not hot enough. Try to let the water flow through the filter holder as shown above. Then, without removing the filter holder from the machine, operate the steam until the light comes on. It is a simple and fast way to increase the water temperature.

 

6 tips to prepare a quality coffee

 

Several criteria come into play in the preparation of a quality coffee. They are not mandatory but if you want to increase the quality of your cup try to be attentive to these 6 criteria.

 

1. Quality coffee

 

It may seem obvious but the quality of coffee is paramount. Always choose quality beans and properly roasted .

 

2. Freshly roasted coffee

 

Once roasted the coffee is degraded very quickly. It is therefore necessary to always buy your coffee in small quantities as close to roasting.

 

3. Grind just before preparation

 

Ground coffee is degraded even faster (in just a few hours). It is therefore best to buy your coffee beans and grind it just before you prepare your coffee.

 

4. Good grind for the right method

 

The thickness of the grind (medium, coarse, fine ...) depends on the method of preparation. If the coffee stays in contact with the water for a long time (piston coffee machine), use a coarse grind, this will reduce the surface of contact between the coffee and the water and thus avoid obtaining bitter coffee. For the methods of pour-over or espresso, the water "crosses" the coffee, the time of contact between the 2 is weaker. You must therefore use a finer grind.

 

5. Water at +/- 90/95 ° C

 

Avoid using boiling water. Your coffee would be bitter. Use water at 90/95 ° C just before the boiling point.

 

6. Filtered water

 

A cup of coffee is 99% water. Its quality is therefore paramount. The ideal is to use filtered water (with a carafe Brita for example).

 

 Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Schedule a 20 minute chat to discuss your stress and/or burnout with me.

How To Vacation Without Burning Out

ComicCon is a marathon

I’m just returning from the 50th San Diego ComicCon.

I know that I have feeling in my lower extremities, because my legs and feet are telling me that I walked several miles over the past few days. Toss in long flights, and a drive back to Toronto and that makes for a long trip.

I’ve attempted to get passes to the comic book version of Mecca for several years, and am still in a bit of shock that I was able to attend the event with my brother and two oldest kids.

In the 3-day vacation, we walked all over downtown San Diego, attended a concert, went to the convention itself, went to the ComicCon Museum for the Batman 80th anniversary event, went to a big outdoor mall, and navigated the airport to and from San Diego.

It was a jam packed trip. I’m physically tired but not mentally tired.

Why?

Did I have a packed agenda that had checkboxes?

No.

Did we list all those things mentioned above, that we had on our schedule? Nope.

On the agenda was the following:

Go to the ComicCon Museum on Thursday.

Go to a concert on Thursday night.

Go to ComicCon on Friday.

That’s it.

Everything else was a go with the flow moment. We wandered around, stopped in a pub (or 6), ate when we were hungry, looked at shops. Went to Petco Park (Padres were out of town, boooooo).

I find when you pack your agenda too full, you create increased stress and contribute to burning out.

We had 3 things planned. 1-2 things per day. Everything else was go with the flow.

Was your last trip like that? Or did you have a printed out agenda with 36 things to do in 2 days?

Vacations are meant to refresh, explore, renew. Too many of us try to pack in too many things in too short of a time, which has us returning to work worn out, instead of refreshed and renewed.

For your next vacation, I suggest only doing 1 activity per day. 2 max. You can always go back to that destination.

Create slack (aka no plans) time so you can sit by the pool, go for a walk, have brunch, have a drink, etc.

Get to and from the airport early. Bypass the long line stress and people watch. Humanity at its finest when they’re stressed about missing a flight.

Happy vacationing!

Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Schedule a 20 minute chat to discuss your stress and/or burnout with me.

Understanding Pregnancy and Dealing With Burnout

 Guest post by Patrick Bailey.

The duration of pregnancy can be a complicated game of math, especially if this is your first rodeo. Faulty expectations can increase the likelihood of burning out. 

Even though the common belief indicates that pregnancy lasts for nine months, 

The answer to “how many months is a pregnancy” depends on whether you know the actual conception date or must rely upon the gestational age, which is calculated from the first day of your last menstrual period. 

Using the gestational age, pregnancy is calculated as much as three to four weeks before conception. In other words, while a full-term pregnancy can total up to about nine months or 37 to 38 weeks after conception, it's 40 weeks or about 10 months going by your menstrual period.

Figuring out the exact time of your last menstrual period can be tricky, too, if you weren't keeping track. If you want or need to know the gestational age in the early stages of your pregnancy, an ultrasound is a sensible option. 

During the first two weeks of your pregnancy (as calculated by gestational age), a process called ovulation is set to take place wherein the most mature egg is discharged from your ovary. Ovulation can occur earlier or later, depending upon the duration of your menstrual cycle.

Once the egg is fertilized, it subsequently moves down to your fallopian tube, its cells dividing and developing during the third or fourth week. The cells then shape a ball that glides around in your uterus for approximately two to three days to kick-start the pregnancy.

Start of Pregnancy

Pregnancy officially starts when a group of cells attaches to the lining of your uterus in a process called implantation. Usually, implantation begins about six days after conception and takes roughly three to four days to complete. (Pregnancy does not always result even if a sperm fertilizes the egg since your uterus sheds more than half of the fertilized eggs when you are on your period.)

Since pregnancy isn't always immediately obvious, you must watch for the common signs of pregnancy. These vary depending on duration, intensity, and frequency. Not having your period is among the top indications of pregnancy.

 After you’ve missed your period, a pregnancy test should tell you if you are actually pregnant. 

Other signs include: 

Feeling fatigued and tired. Early in your pregnancy, the levels of the hormone progesterone reach an all-time high and can put you to sleep. Progesterone can also lower your blood pressure and sugar levels.

Mood swings. 

Tender or swollen breasts

Slight bleeding or cramping. 

Nausea

Food cravings. 

Headaches. 

Constipation. 

Feeling bloated. 

Although not everyone will experience all of these symptoms, if you are pregnant it is likely you will have at least one of them. If you do, see a gynecologist for an ultrasound to ensure that there are no problems with your organs, tissues, and vessels.

During your first trimester, expect hormonal changes that may sap your energy, especially if you are working. Your body will start producing extra blood to distribute nutrients to your growing baby. This can cause mild anemia but preexisting anemia and thyroid disease can also make you feel tired and fatigued. This is why you need to see a doctor or midwife for prenatal blood work. If you are worn out, you may need to take an iron supplement to keep their pregnancy as healthy as possible.

How Burnout Can Affect Your Pregnancy?

Burnout may occur during pregnancy, leaving you feeling empty, exhausted, and unable to keep up with the demands of your working life, but it is not inevitable. Even a stressful working environment need not lead to burnout if you manage your stress well, may not cause any ill-effects to your pregnancy.

Tips to Avoid Burnout During Pregnancy

While fatigue and tiredness tend to disappear during the second trimester, it will usually return in the third and final trimester, increasing the chances of a possible burnout. 

Here are some easy tips to cope with fatigue and avoid burnout during your pregnancy.

Take An Extra Rest. 

This seems elementary but most of us tend to forget it. When you feel fatigued, take a nap if you can manage it. 

As much as you might like to, even just to break up the boredom, you can't do it all anymore. Ask for and accept help. Overworking may harm the baby.

At night, avoid fluids, especially caffeinated ones, a few hours before bedtime to minimize the number of times you have to get up at night to go to the bathroom.

You should aim for at least eight hours of sleep every night, but the quality as well as the quantity can influence how you feel and will maximize the blood flow to your baby.

Exercise Daily. 

Daily exercise is essential in bolstering your energy levels and keeping your muscles flexible during pregnancy. You can choose to do some stretches or even take a short walk during the day to ease back and joint pain, release tension, and, more importantly, increase your heart rate so that you can sleep better at night.

Exercising can spell the difference between an excruciating pregnancy and a smooth one, but it's a bad idea to start a vigorous workout program during pregnancy. To find out the best and safest exercise program for you, speak with your doctor about joining a prenatal fitness class. 

Watch Your Diet. 

What you eat during your pregnancy can make a significant difference in how you feel. Discuss your diet with a medical professional. A few tweaks might be better for you and baby, maybe even confine your weight gain during pregnancy to a minimum.

You do need more calories—no less than 300 extra calories every day unless you are overweight and over-eating already—but don't depend on snack foods and carbohydrates for rapid bursts of energy; they are followed by corresponding crashes. Also, stay hydrated and make sure to get the right amount of protein.

 Adjust Your Schedule. 

It is advisable to temporarily recalibrate your schedule during pregnancy so your current activities or commitments don't prove too much to handle. This may include asking your family and friends to run errands for you or assist you with household tasks. Also, if possible, trim down your hours at work to minimize the risk of complications during pregnancy.

Prioritize Important Tasks. 

You can minimize work stress by making a daily to-do list so that you can prioritize your tasks. 

Relax. It is also optimal if you can practice relaxation techniques and share your frustrations with a friend, a supportive co-worker or a loved one instead of keeping everything to yourself.

Author Bio: Patrick Bailey is a professional writer mainly in the fields of mental health, addiction, and living in recovery. He attempts to stay on top of the latest news in the addiction and the mental health world and enjoy writing about these topics to break the stigma associated with them. Patrick is currently a writer for Mountain Springs Recovery as well as on his own blog.

Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Register here for my next webinar on going from burnout to your ideal life.

How The Death Of My Aunt Reminded Me How To Live

A couple of weekends ago, my family said goodbye to one of my aunts. At the funeral, there were countless stories of how my aunt and uncle helped friends and family over the years. So many stories that were new to many of us, but they all had a common theme. Give to love.

My aunt’s backstory had some ups and downs, but it was a full life of laughter and fun.

She lived her life to the fullest, and I truly mean full. The stories, the photos, the experiences of dozens of guests that shared life adventures they had with my aunt and uncle painted a mosaic of living life all out.

My uncle had passed away about a year ago, so losing my aunt the next year made it feel like we just left that funeral home.

In the past year, my aunt really cranked up living. She bought a convertible, went on vacations with friends, saw Bob Seger in a concert in New York (she traveled from Florida to go, so that’s a definition of a true fan.)

So many of us sit on the sidelines, playing victim to what happens in life. Guess what?  Life will have sucky moments. Life will have grand moments. Life will have ok moments.

The key is to live EVERY moment, because you could go into a hospital on a Saturday and pass away 4 days later. Life is splendid and brief.

Hearing all the stories reminded me that as time flies by (1st 6 months of 2019 are gone) I need to be more present on living daily.

Go out there. Go to that concert. Book that trip. Save money for that thing or experience you want. Focus on your life and your health (both physical, spiritual and mental!)

Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Register here for my next webinar on going from burnout to your ideal life.

2019 Mid Year Review

2019 is officially at the halfway point. If you’re like me, you’re wondering where the heck March went, much less the rest of the months.

I went through my written journals for 2019, and was amazed about how much I had forgotten about. Either podcast interviews, work-related matters, or to-do list items that never went beyond those lists.

In the past, I would’ve beaten myself up for not doing the to-do list items. However, based on how busy and productive this year has been, I remind myself (and remind you) that we simply cannot accomplish everything we want to do, especially if we are driven types that want to accomplish so much.

I’ve stared using a CRM tool to do a (hopefully) better job of keeping me on task with my to-dos and follow-ups. I’ll write about that CRM in a future post, but for now I definitely recommend using some sort of system to help you keep on top of things.

One of the the main reasons I journal is to keep a record of my personal and professional growth. When you look back at 6 months of work (or longer) you’ll be amazed how much you’ve done in that time. There were things that I did that I know now didn’t move things forward as much as I would hope, but a good quote that Steve Olsher shares is that failure is success with an unexpected outcome.

What are you going to do the next 6 months? Maybe dust off those New Years resolutions and see what you’ve accomplished, and what you would still like to do before 2019 comes to a conclusion. There’s still time.

Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Register here for my next webinar on going from burnout to your ideal life.

How The End Of The NBA and NHL Seasons Helps Reduce Burnout

WeTheNorth

Within the last week or so, the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup, and the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA championship.

The build up and excitement in St. Louis and Toronto was rabid, and having friends and loved ones in both cities, I was able to celebrate those championships with them.

So much goes into sports seasons. So many hours of practice, travel, games, injuries, front-office moves, press conferences, etc. The schedule is long and grueling. We as novices often forget how incredibly talented these professional sport athletes are, and the amount of personal time and effort they put into their sport.

Yes, many are paid very well. That truly doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care if you make $50,000 or $50 million, if you’re constantly trying to improve your skills, I honor you and your gifts and contributions.

Now that the NHL and NBA seasons have ended, the major league that has pretty much our attention over the next month or two is Major League Baseball.

Baseball has been my favorite sport since I was 8. It created my desire to enter into accounting when I was 14, and has provided me decades of joy.

The high pace, high drama, stakes are highest months of April - June for the NBA and NHL are now over, and now we can sit back and watch a sport that doesn’t completely have a time clock (other than pitchers needing to get on with it and not walk off the mound every time.)

High energy, long hours, to sitting around, relaxing, having an adult beverage, bbq’s, baseball game on the radio. Summer breezes, friends, relaxation.

It’s a different pace in the summer, as it should be. Your work loads should be reduced (but guessing in some organizations that’s not the case.) Vacation time should be taken and embraced.

When was the last time you went on vacation? If the word “year” is mentioned, you’re waiting too long.

There are many people that only have a couple weeks vacation, so I know that’s tough. But many have 3-4-5-6 or even more weeks vacation, and they bank them, and never use them.

Burnout is a choice.

If you haven’t booked your summer vacation time off yet, what are you waiting for? Even if you bank it around a holiday weekend, please take some time off. Catch a baseball game, go to a BBQ. Go to the beach or a park. Unwind with a physical book.

Enjoy a slower pace. You can thank me later.

Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Register here for my next webinar on going from burnout to your ideal life.

Leadership Lessons From The Toronto Raptors Winning The NBA Title

We The North

The team that had those purple jerseys, that have had a history of all-star talent (McGrady, Oakley, Isiah, Vinsanity, Stoudamire, CB4, etc), that started playing in a Baseball stadium, to #WeTheNorth, firing their coach of the year, trading away a fan favorite, to beating the best team in the league for the past 1/2 decade, there are many stories with the Raptors and their championship.

The one that jumps out is the moves the team made a year ago, when they let go Dwane Casey, the 2018 NBA Coach of the Year, and traded DeMar DeRozan, who most would say was their best player.

Wow did fans lose their shit over those moves. What were they thinking? This will blow up.

And it did. Masai Ujiri (GM of Toronto) didn’t hide behind the moves. The press questioned his motives, fans were upset, as I’m sure some of the players were as well.

By blowing up, it meant tens of thousands of championship starved fans filling the streets of Toronto, celebrating the NBA’s new champions.

Toronto is a HUGE city. It’s almost 3x the size of Boston (that city that wins all the championships, well other than losing to the Blues this year. Happy for St. Louis, and for Boston, you’ll have to wait a few months for your next parade. Deal with it ;)

The leadership lesson is that often times leaders make decisions that are not popular. They’re not easy moves, but for the best of the organization it’s the right move to make.

A classic example is when the Detroit Pistons during their “Bad Boys” reign traded away NBA/ABA all-time great Adrian Dantley for Mark Aguirre. Similar reaction in the press and with fans.

Bad Boys

The Pistons won back-to-back titles, before Michael Jordan decided he wanted to win 6 rings in 8 years.

Leadership moves can be unpopular, and quite frankly cause some team members to leave (either by self-selection, or they get de-hired.) However, leaders have a job to do: Lead. They set the vision, they determine the destination of the organization. Ujiri, MLSE, and the Raptors bought into the vision, and now they are champions of the game that Dr. James Naismith invented in 1891.

Strong organizations believe in their leadership, and let them make the moves that are necessary to win.

Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Register here for my next webinar on going from burnout to your ideal life.

Why Channelling Your Inner Weekend Daily Will Help Prevent Burnout

Is it the weekend yet?

I’m writing this post on a laptop, sitting outside on a partly sunny day. Listening to Sammy Hagar’s No Worries which should be all of our life goals.

Yet, I see way too many people up to their eyebrows in stress, worries, angst, pain, etc.

Instagram has no shortage of TGIF and FriYAY posts. We’re all racing to the weekend. Two days of trying to jam in fun, to-dos, etc.

Ever wonder why your significant other gets bent about errands taking too long? It’s because they want to relax to unwind from the work-week. Shopping for clothes, fishing gear, etc is not how they had planned on spending their Saturdays.

If you can negotiate how you spend your weekends with your significant other, you can gain more of that “relaxation” time that you have been craving all week.

What if you had relaxation time built into your whole week instead?

Impossible you say?

Let’s imagine you did something you enjoy every day. Do you think that would make your day a tiny bit better?

If you said yes, then there’s an exercise that will help. I’ll get back to you in a minute.

If you said no, that doing something you enjoy on a daily basis wouldn’t make your days better, then you may be burned out. You should reach out to me directly to further discuss this.

No matter if you said yes or no, there’s a free resource I offer to help you figure out what you enjoy.

At BreakfastLeadership.com/bucket There’s a worksheet to download, that will help you list out all of the things you enjoy.

On the left side of that worksheet, list out all the things you enjoy doing. Be as robust as possible. These are things/activities that bring you happiness, peace, joy.

On the right side of those listed items, write down the last time you partook in those activities. (insert collective moans here.)

People wait to the weekend to enjoy their lives. This HAS to stop. You need to enjoy EVERY DAY.

Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Register here for my next webinar on going from burnout to your ideal life.

Why The World Health Organization Has Added Burnout To The ICD

Below are some codes that for most won’t mean anything:

QD85 Burn-out

ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics

(Version : 04 / 2019)

ICD-11 stands for International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision. It’s from the World Health Organization (WHO) that is the world recognized authority on health.

Burnout has been recognized by WHO as an occupational phenomenon that stems directly from our collective crisis of workplace stress.

Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three key factors: “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.” (Thanks to Arianna Huffington and Thrive Global for some of this content!)

Burnout is real, friends. When WHO puts it in their 11th revision of their classification of diseases, you know it’s catching on.

In my dozen years working in healthcare, I would guess (conservative) that 75% of all patient visits had stress as part of the reason for the visit.

Smartphones, constant connectivity, no shutting down, spending too much on shit we don’t need, (anti) social media and the constant comparison of our lives is taking a toll on every generation.

We talk about lack of sleep, disengagement, drastic increases in Diabetes, heart attacks under age 40, etc, and we are on a collision course with disaster.

I can’t believe so many people are flirting with their own 369 Days.

What do we need to address burnout?

BOUNDARIES

We have to say no more. We need to take care of ourselves first, we have to get past the fear of what people will think or say (because spoiler alert: most people aren’t thinking what you think they’re thinking.)

We need to spend more time experiencing our bucket list instead of our to-do lists. Read my post on that.

We need to quit living in homes that are too big for us, with garages full of crap we do not use. You know you’re paying more rent/taxes/utilities/etc to store stuff YOU DON’T USE, RIGHT?

Just like Smokey Bear says only you can prevent forest fires, only YOU can prevent your burnout.

World Health Organization (WHO)

Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Register here for my next webinar on going from burnout to your ideal life.

Why I'm Thankful For My Year of Worst-Case Scenarios

369 Days: How To Survive A Year of Worst-Case Scenarios

On May 22, 2019 I celebrated the 10 year anniversary of my heart attack.

Why in the world would someone want to celebrate such a scary event?

Because I’m thankful for that cardiac event. I’m thankful that I’m still alive, and survived that health scare. Statistics indicate that I shouldn’t have survived. So you could say that I should be dead instead of alive.

Well, thankfully I’m not dead.

Those familiar with my story knows what transpired after that heart attack:

17 weeks after my heart attack, I lost my job during the economic recession

6 months after the job loss, the bank repossessed our family vehicle

1 month later, the bank foreclosed our home

So heart attack, job loss, car repossession, home foreclosure. All in a year.

I’d call that a crappy year.

I’m thankful that all of those things happened.

WHAT?

Yes, I’m thankful that I went through all of those situations. They were lessons that I needed to learn.

I was on a highway to death, based on how I was living.

I didn’t have boundaries around my working hours, answering and sending emails at all hours of the day, night, and weekend.

I was eating fast food for my meals.

I was not exercising at all.

My sleep was crap.

I no longer enjoyed the things of life that used to be an absolute joy to experience.

I was completely burned out.

So, sometimes the only way to learn is to go through tragedies and challenges, to entice you to make some adjustments.

My hope is that NO ONE ever experiences the year I had a decade ago, but if that’s the only way for you to make the necessary tweaks to your life, and have you focus on taking care of yourself FIRST, then so be it.

A decade later, I talk about boundaries and burnout. I see way too many people stressed to the max, burned out, working too many hours, spending hours and days on their iBinky, and completely missing out on what REALLY matters. You have a choice: Boundaries in your life, or a burned out life.

Choose wisely.

Follow me on Twitter @bfastleadership, Facebook Breakfast Leadership, and on Instagram @bfastleadership. 

I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives.  Register here for my next webinar on going from burnout to your ideal life.