Becky Robinson's Blog, page 70

What Really Matters

Amy, a long-time Weaving Influence team member, lost her mother, Carolyn, last week.

In the week or so before her mother’s death, she took off some time to plan music and gather photos for her mother’s memorial service.

She said, wisely, “I don’t get a do-over on this.”

As I sat in the back row at her mother’s service, witness to and observer of the friends and family who gathered to remember and reminisce, I remembered Amy’s words and felt grateful that she did what mattered most at exactly the right time.

We don’t get do-overs in this life.

We can do what matters most, in the moments we have, or those moments are gone.

What’s needed is to have clarity about what really matters and to be decisive to take action, moment by moment, to pursue what’s most meaningful and important to us.

Though I didn’t know Amy’s mother, the stories her friends and family shared brought her to life for me. In each story, the themes of what mattered in her life resonated loudly.

Here’s what I heard:

Family matters. After many miscarriages and a deep desire to have a child, Carolyn became pregnant and gave birth to Amy at age 40. Her nieces and nephews, whom Carolyn invested in over the years as if they were her own children,  recounted her joy and anticipation of Amy’s birth and her dedication to her daughter. Carolyn cherished Amy because family, especially those closest to us, matter.

Friends matter. Carolyn’s friends described her house as a home where they were always welcome and where laughter, fun, and homemade pie always topped the menu.

Faith matters. Amy narrowed from 49 of her mother’s favorite hymns to 5 for the service. Friends remembered Bible studies and Carolyn’s love of a cappella songs at church.

Pets matter. Amy’s mom loved boxer dogs, especially her dog Kip. Our furry friends are a big part of our lives and happiness.

Hard work matters. Friends recounted the two jobs Carolyn worked to provide for Amy, particularly after her husband’s death. Work is an important and meaningful part of our lives and the reason we work, as much as the actual work that we do, brings meaning to the sacrifices work sometimes requires.

What was missing from the conversation at Carolyn’s memorial: no one mentioned the cars she drove, how much money she made, what clothes she wore, or places she traveled. No one mentioned a list of possessions or even awards/accomplishments.

Instead, everyone focused on what really matters, the things that loss brings into focus for us.

For today, I am reminding myself, I don’t get a do-over. Moment by moment, I want to choose what matters. Thanks, Amy. Thanks, Carolyn.

Featured on Friday: #Sprinkles Author @ChipRBell

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful it’s Friday. It’s been a long week with lots of late nights and the occasional feeling that my eyes might just pop out of my head if I look at a computer screen for one more minute.

However, whenever I have found myself working on something for the upcoming launch of Sprinkles, I couldn’t help but smile.

Writing about Chip and his newest book seems like the perfect way to kick off – what I hope will be – a relaxing weekend.

Meet Chip Bell (Again!)

Chip is a senior  partner  with the Chip Bell Group  and manages their office near Atlanta. A renowned keynote speaker, he has served as consultant,  trainer, and speaker  to such  major  organizations as GE, Microsoft, Nationwide,  Marriott,  Lockheed-Martin,  Cadillac,  KeyBank, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, United Technologies, Caterpillar, Eli Lilly, Verizon Wireless, USAA, Merrill Lynch, Hertz,  Accenture, Cornell University, Harley-Davidson, and Victoria’s Secret. [Impressive, isn’t it?]

Prior to starting  a consulting  firm in the early 1980s, he was director  of Management and  Organization Development  for NCNB (now Bank of America). In 2014, The Chip Bell Group  was ranked  number six in North America among mid-sized consulting  firms for leadership development.  Additionally, Dr. Bell [he has a Ph.D. in addition to his other achievements!] was a highly  decorated  infantry  unit commander in Vietnam with the elite 82nd Airborne. [And we thank you for your service, Chip!]

In his “spare” time, Chip is also the author or co-author of 21 books, including several award-winners like Wired and Dangerous (with John Patterson) and Managers as Mentors (with Marshall Goldsmith). In August 2013 he released The 9 1/2 Principles of Innovative Service - and if you enjoyed that book, you’ll love Sprinkles (launching on February 10)!

Connect with Chip Online:

Visit the Sprinkles book site, learn more about his consulting group, follow him on Twitter, and connect on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Let’s Talk About Sprinkles

My favorite line about Chip’s newest book is this one: “If Cirque du Soleil wrote a book on customer service, it would probably sound like Sprinkles.” Having attended my first Cirque du Soleil show last summer, that paints a vivid picture in my mind of what I can expect from Chip’s book. Just as sprinkles make a good cupcake special, this amazing book provides the perfect recipe for elevating the loyalty of today’s picky, fickle, and vocal customers. And as Flo from Progressive likes to say, “Sprinkles are for winners.“

Sprinkles is scheduled for launch on February 10 – the same day as our FREE 1 hour webinar with Chip, hosted by Becky Robinson (registration link below).

If you’d like to learn more about Sprinkles (or find resources to share with your online communities), I invite you to visit the book’s website where you can download a sample chapter, order in bulk, and see what others are saying about Chip’s latest addition to the innovative service library.

Visit the website | Pre-order the book | Register for the FREE webinar

You Tell Me: If you could send a copy of Sprinkles to any company leader, which company would it be? 

Featured on Friday: #HiddenLeaders Authors @ScottKEdinger and Laurie Sain

I’ve defined myself as “a reader” since I was five years old, and am a sucker for Jane Austen (Mansfield Park is my favorite), Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express), and C.S. Lewis (The Four Loves). When my husband found out I would be working with a company that provided free books, he knew I had found my dream job.

As an individual with natural introverted tendencies I would never have defined myself as a leader, but after years of working in environments where leadership was non-existent I started looking for resources to share with others. Long before I met Becky on Twitter or had the opportunity through Weaving Influence to work with so many wonderful people in the leadership realm, I was gaining a passion for books on leadership.

With (literally) millions of books on Amazon, it’s easy to see how readers like me wouldn’t know where to start – there are so many good (and not-so-good) books in the world; I hope that when you see a book promoted by Weaving Influence, you find your starting point, place and order, and begin reading.

Last week we shared about one of our first book launches of 2015. Well get ready, because I’m about to tell you about the second one – and it’s authors – taking place the same week!

Meet Scott Edinger and Laurie Sain

Scott and Laurie co-authored The Hidden Leader: Discover and Develop Greatness Within Your Company (AMACOM, 2015). Their Weaving Influence launch is February 2 – 6, with the book officially debuting on February 4. 

Scott Edinger is recognized as an expert in helping organizations achieve top and bottom line growth.

He’s a regular contributor to Forbes and the Harvard Business Review, and co-authored The Inspiring Leader (McGraw- Hill) and the Harvard Business Review article Making Yourself Indispensable, called by HBR a “classic in the making”.

As founder of Edinger Consulting Group, Scott has worked with leaders in nearly every industry sector, helping them formulate and implement growth strategies, increase revenue and profit, develop leadership capacity, drive employee engagement, and attract and retain talent.

Laurie Sain is a professional writer and consultant, whose clients span virtually every major industry and include Fortune 1000 companies such as Apple, IBM, Union Pacific, Weyerhauser, and Charles Schwab Corporation.

She leads clients through strategic planning at the conceptual level, and then develops realistic executive and front-line solutions that enable each company’s vision to thrive. Laurie was formerly the director of content for Ninth House Network.

Laurie lives in Lander, Wyoming.

About The Hidden Leader

From Amazon: Think you can spot the leaders in your company? Don’t assume that you can identify them by their positions. What about those employees who consistently step up: the field agent who solves a previously intractable problem; the service rep who thinks outside the box and creates unshakeable customer loyalty. These are more than “good employees”…these are “hidden leaders”…and they are critical to an organization’s long-term success.

Managers today need to make the most of all their resources – and The Hidden Leader shows them how to recognize and cultivate these talented but under utilized employees, who: demonstrate integrity; lead through authentic relationships; focus on results; work from clear customer purpose; and, fulfill the value promise of the company.

Pre-Order on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | 800ceoread 

Find Scott & Laurie Online

You can connect with both Scott and Laurie on LinkedIn, and Scott is also on Twitter, so make sure you say hello.

To learn more about their new book together, or find resources to share during the launch week, visit their book page at thehiddenleader.com.

Excited about their book (great for all those managers AND “hidden leaders” out there!)? Send this Tweet Now!

Do you have #HiddenLeaders on your team? @ScottKEdinger & Laurie Sain have written a book for you! http://bit.ly/hiddenldr {Click to Tweet}

Want to find more tweets to share? Check out the The Hidden Leader on Aha Amplifier – 140 Ahas to share on Twitter!

You Tell Me! What’s the best leadership book you’ve EVER read?

Featured on Friday: #RefireBook by @KenBlanchard and @DrMHShaevitz

Readers and Book Reviewers, Team Buzz Builders and Casual Promoters – GET READY! February 2nd starts our busy spring book launch season, and our team is in full swing working to get everything ready for an exciting line up of authors and books covering a variety of topics. 

Due to the number of books we launch, it can become problematic for me to have direct contact with each author, which is why most of the time I choose to work through the project manager to communicate questions and gain approval of our work. We’ve found that it simplifies things for me, as well as for the client.

However, there have been a few instances when I have stepped back into the role of project manager, adding “Client Communication” to the hats that I wear. In the case of Refire! Don’t Retire by Ken Blanchard and Morton Shaevitz, I have had that opportunity to work directly with Dr. Shaevitz and various members of Ken’s team, and I am so excited to tell you about these great authors and their newest book – launching February 2 – 6.

Meet Ken and Morton

Ken Blanchard, one of the most influential leadership experts in the world, is the co-author of the iconic bestseller, The One Minute Manager, and 60 other books whose combined sales total more than 21 million copies. His groundbreaking works have been translated into more than 27 languages and in 2005 he was inducted into Amazon’s Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time.

Ken is also the co-founder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Margie Blanchard, began in 1979 in San Diego, California.

When he’s not writing or speaking, Ken also spends time teaching students in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership Program at the University of San Diego.

For more than three decades, Dr. Morton Shaevitz has been helping individuals and organizations to grow and change through his work as a clinician, author, consultant, and speaker. Much of his early career focused on gender issues at home and in the workplace. He and his wife Marjorie wrote Making It Together As A Two Career Couple, the first US book published in this area.

As a member of the Internal Medicine division at Scripps Clinic, he developed a number of behavioral health programs and his interest turned toward medical and geriatric psychology. He is currently the chair of the section of Geriatric Psychology for the California Psychological Association.

He has served as a member of the Leadership Advisory Council of the Stein Institute for Research on Aging and is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.

Find Ken and Morton Online

If you’re not already doing so, I highly recommend you follow, like, and in any way possible connect online with both Ken and Morton. You will find yourself encouraged and challenged in your thinking on a daily basis – and that’s a good thing!

Ken: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+

Morton: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

About the Book

Refire! Don’t Retire asks readers the all-important question: As you approach the remainder of your life, what are you going to do to make it joyful and meaningful? Ken Blanchard and Morton Shaevitz point out that too many people see their later years as a time to endure rather than as an exciting opportunity.

Both research and common sense confirm that people who embrace these years with gusto – rather than withdrawing or waiting for things to happen – consistently make the rest of their lives the best of their lives.

The authors tell the compelling story of Larry and Janice Sparks, who discover how to see each day as an opportunity to enhance their relationships, stimulate their minds, revitalize their bodies, and grow spiritually. Readers will find humor, practical information, and profound wisdom in Refire! Don’t Retire.

Who is this book for? Those facing retirement, adult children with older parents, anyone looking for a plan to help them make the latter half of their life as exciting – or more so – than the early years. You don’t need to wait until you’re of retirement age to start putting the lessons from Refire! into practice. Pre-order your copy on Amazon today!

How to Be Involved in the Launch

There are several ways to be involved in the launch of Refire! Don’t Retire.

The easiest way is to visit the book’s website where you can find resources to share (tweets to send, graphics to include in blog posts, and links to buy the book).
You are also invited to join Ken and Morton as they sit down (virtually) with Becky Robinson on Monday, February 2nd. It’s free to attend the webinar, but you’ll need to sign up in order to join in the conversation.
Pre-order Refire! Don’t Retire from one of the online retailers, like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. It’s also available as an Audible book, for those who would prefer to listen.
Once you’ve read the book, go back to Amazon and leave a review! If you’re on Goodreads, make sure you put it on your bookshelf (and leave a review there when you’re done).
Ready to promote now? Click HERE to send this tweet now: I’m excited about the new book from @KenBlanchard & @DrMHShaevitz, coming Feb. 2: http://bit.ly/MBrefire #RefireBook

Featured on Friday: Meet TBB Member @JenniferVMiller

One of the things that I love about doing book launches is the opportunity to get to know people like Andy, Jane, Chantal, and John. As I’ve said before, without the faithful members of Team Buzz Builder, we could not be as successful in our launches.

While some members may think, “I’m just sending a few tweets” or “It’s only a short review”, I see it as fantastic promotional material for our amazing authors and will retweet and share everything I can find. One person talking about a book turns into five people, then 25, then 1,000.

The power of social media is  that one tweet can be amplified to thousands, and that’s just one of the reasons I like turning the spotlight on some of our most faithful Buzz Builders. It’s a small way for us to say “thank you” for being part of our social megaphone.

Meet Jennifer Miller

Jennifer V. Miller is a leadership development consultant whose writing and digital training materials help business professionals better lead themselves and others towards greater career success. Follow Jennifer on LinkedIn or Twitter. You should also sign up for her free tip sheet: “Why is it So Hard to Shut Up? 18 Ways to THINK before you Speak” and read her award-winning blog The People Equation.

Why do you like being a part of Team Buzz Builder?

It’s wonderful being a part of a community that wants to put positive, upbeat messages out to the world for the business community and for business professionals. I’ve been a member of other book launch communities, but didn’t feel as “plugged in.” Because I know Team Buzz Builder’s founder personally, I have trust that the books selected are not only of the highest caliber, but the authors stand for integrity and positive messages as well.

What benefit do you think you receive from being a part of TBB?

I’m a learning junkie, so from a personal standpoint, I’m always learning something new from the TBB authors. From a professional standpoint it’s important to stay up to date on the latest trends in business management and leadership. I can count on the Buzz Building team to present me with books tailored to my interests. As a blogger, my readership counts on me to bring them fresh and current content, and there’s nothing like a being able to say, “I’ve got an advance copy of [name of famous author]’s book and here’s a tidbit that I can share with you.”

If someone asked you why they should join Team Buzz Builder, what would you tell them?

Join because today’s business world moves fast. Staying up to date is the only way to stay relevant, and reading business books is one way to do that.

Tell us more about your work/family/life/hobbies… the fun stuff!

It probably comes as no surprise that I’m an avid reader – historical fiction, chick lit, biographies, science fiction (in small doses) –  I love it all! I actually read cookbooks as a form of relaxation. My life is a kaleidoscope of of writing, running my consulting company, and chauffeuring my kids to and from their school and sporting events. My favorite hobby is vegetable gardening. Flowers are lovely, but there’s nothing like being able to eat the fruits (and veggies!) of ones labor.

I don’t know about you, but I learned something new about Jennifer while writing this (feel free to send me some of those home grown veggies, Jennifer!), and I hope you will connect with her online if you haven’t already done so.

Interested in joining Jennifer and the others as part of our Buzz Building team? Sign up today!

Facebook’s New Call-to-Action Button & How to Benefit from It

If there is one truth about Facebook, it’s that the social channel is always changing. Some changes turn out to be terrific.  Some are a huge challenge. (We’re talking about you, algorithm change that limited reach of branded pages!)  This latest change could have some real value for branded pages.

Facebook is rolling out a call-to-action button. Facebook says the button will “bring a business’s most important objective to the forefront of its Facebook presence.”

This is how it will work: the CTA button will have seven actions. You get to choose which one best fits your business objective. Here are the options:

Book Now
Contact us
Use App
Play Game
Shop Now
Sign Up
Watch Video

The button is editable, so you can direct fans anywhere you would like them to go: your website, Amazon page, YouTube, email subscriber list or a custom landing page. Weaving Influence clients might benefit from linking to a microsite. You can change the button or where it directs your fans at anytime, too.  Your imagination is the limit here.

The Dollar Shave Club helped test the feature. Over the trial run, Dollar Shave Club’s Director of Acquisition, Brian Kim, said the CTA button helped deliver 2.5x the conversion rate of other social placements designed to drive new users. For brands with tight budgets, the button could be an effective tool to drive sales or actions, with no additional spending necessary.

While the benefits are many, this isn’t a magic button. It’s new, so fans aren’t going to be familiar with it right away. It’s located beside the “Like” button on your Facebook page, so fans have to visit your page to find it. To make the CTA button work for you, you’re going to need to get creative. You might consider a giveaway of some type that brings fans to your page. You might encourage fans to check out your page via a post. A cover photo that highlights the button is another option.

You’ll have time to really consider how you would like to use the button and how it can best benefit your business, because the button will be rolled out incrementally. The CTA button will start popping up over the next few weeks in the United States and over the next year worldwide. Keep checking your page!

Thanks Facebook — this is one change we can get behind!

 

How do you plan to leverage the new call-to-action button?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving Into a New Year: Focus for 2015

One of my important habits of a leader is crafting a weekly email to my team, outlining upcoming events and setting the pace for the week ahead.

Since we’re a virtual company, it’s an important touch point and writing to the team is a habit I’m happy to have established. The email provides a chance for me to connect with the team, to show that I care about them, to be human, and to help everyone see how their work fits into the larger picture of our company.

As we begin the year, I also sent a note outlining our two focus areas for the year ahead.

To win in 2015, our team will focus on two main areas: creating capacity and refining processes.

Creating Capacity One of our company values is growth. This refers to growing/expanding as a company and to individual growth. In order for us to grow, we must create capacity for that growth, individually and corporately. If we are going to grow as a company, we must continually look for and add talented people to our team. (We’ve just posted an opening!) If we are going to grow individually, we need to be in a process of continually learning how we can personally increase our capacity.

Refining Processes We are working to refine processes, both processes involving delivery to clients and internal processes. We want to refine our processes for delivering to clients to increased clarity so that we can create the greatest possibility for fantastic results. Internally, we want to streamline and simplify processes to save time and eliminate overhead and unnecessary pre-work.

In order to provide greater focus, I am choosing specific subcategories of these two initiatives to hone in on each quarter. For the first quarter, I am working specifically on creating capacity on our project management team (thus, our recent posting), refining our hiring process, and refining our training/onboarding processes.

Tell me something! What are your focus areas as you move into the new year?

If you’re looking for additional inspiration as you move into 2015, check out the posts in the Leadership Development Carnival, which I’m hosting at leadchangegroup.com for 22 amazing posts with inspiration for the year ahead.

Another Great Year

It’s been another great and busy year at Weaving Influence, and we are preparing for an even bigger year in 2015.

Here Are A Few Highlights (in no particular order)

The Development Of Our Book Marketing Microsite – This year, we created a template/website to use for all our book launch efforts. The one page site is mobile responsive and incorporates all of our best practices, gathering all needed resources for book marketing in one place. We’ve been refining our process in creating microsites so we can complete them faster. It’s exciting to have a strong web offering at the center of our book launch offer. We have 5 microsites in process now, set to go live soon and we completed 15 this year. Curious? Check out an example.
Lead Change Group Acquisition – After providing behind the scenes support for LeadChangeGroup.com for several years, I agreed to take the torch from Mike Henry, Sr. who founded the group. We now own and administer the Lead Change Group site. We launched a new website on October 1st, and have been working to amplify the content to reach more readers and provide more value. We are grateful for the members, instigators, and Leading Voices who contribute original content to the site. We look forward to making an even bigger difference through the Lead Change Group in 2015.
New Partnerships To Help Us Creatively Differentiate Content – This year, we began collaborating with ThinkAha on the Aha Amplifier, with CredSpark on creating challenges based on our content, and with Actionable Books on book summaries. We are always looking for ways to help our clients extend the reach of their messages as creatively as possible.
Deepened Relationships With Media Partners – We are grateful for the journalists and editors on major digital sites online who have highlighted our authors this year. We truly view these media friends as important contributors to our work and success and to the success our authors are enjoying. I am so grateful for these relationships and look forward to developing more.
A Growing, Committed, Talented Team – We’ve added several team members this year and had some team members increase their time commitment to Weaving Influence projects. I’m grateful for the commitment, discipline, energy, and focus each individual on our team brings. I could not be more proud of my team and the community and culture we are building.
Improvements Behind The Scenes – We’ve worked hard this year to refine internal processes to set ourselves up for long-term stability and success. I’ve learned that small tweaks like changing pay schedules and invoicing practices have made a big difference. And big investments pay off big! We invested in an upgraded CRM (Infusionsoft) and have seen great results, especially in streamlining some of our book launch processes. While we have more room to improve and more changes planned in the year ahead, I am thankful for progress.
Amazing Clients – We are blessed to serve the most wonderful people. Each client we serve truly seeks to make a difference through their content and we are honored to support them. With each book we launch and each project we begin, I learn so much from the people with whom we are privileged to work.
A Giveaway – We had fun this year celebrating two years in business and giving away a signed book every week for most of the year. What’s more fun than giving great books away? Creating buzz for each other as a result of the giveaway!
Team Buzz Builder – Our network of bloggers are consistently supportive of our book launches and authors. Their enthusiasm and support is tremendous. I considered each blogger an important part of our Weaving Influence family.

A Few Person Highlights

Opportunities To Speak – I enjoyed the chance to present at the BK Author Co-Op Marketing Event this summer in San Francisco and an opportunity to do my first keynote speech.  I love speaking and I’d love to present at your event.
My First marathon  – I ran my first marathon in April of this year. Training for a marathon seemed like a crazy undertaking in the midst of running my growing business, but it worked. Discipline creates more discipline.
Meeting Clients & Team Members In Person – This November, I met our web developer, John Marcello, for the first time, after working together for nearly two years. I also met several other subcontractors and spent time with clients in person. This face-time is one of my biggest joys and I hope for more opportunities to meet with clients, team members, and collaborators/partners in 2015.

Though this road is never easy, I am beyond blessed and beyond grateful for this work and for all the people this work touches.

The Year in Review: Lessons from 2014 Books

Over the next few blog posts, I’m going to highlight some lessons, milestones, and progress this year from our business, so you can celebrate and learn with us.

Today’s post pulls in a few lessons from books we launched this year, with gratitude to the authors and the wisdom their books bring.

If it’s business, it’s personal. This lesson is pulled from Susan Fowler and her book Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work and What Does. The work we do is inherently personal. We work with and for people. It’s never “just business.” Even though our team works virtually, we spend much of our time collaborating and interacting, and we are each affected by our work and our work is affected by what happens outside of work. Every day, we deal with aging/ill family members, juggle our family commitments, enjoy hobbies, or find space for rest — and we seek to bring our best to our work. The more personal we are, the more effective our work is.

Opportunity begets opportunity. Bill Treasurer’s book, Leaders Open Doors, contains the helpful lesson that focus on opportunity is powerful! One of the greatest joys for me in this business is in creating opportunities for others to use their gifts and abilities while enjoying flexible work. When I find opportunities for our company, I create opportunities for others.

Values matter! This year, we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on our core values and how we express them through our work and culture. Chris Edmonds’ book, The Culture Engine provided helpful reinforcement and clarification about the importance of formalizing our purpose and values as we intentionally create an inspiring workplace. Read more about our journey in this post by Chris or in this series of posts by our team.

Great leaders serve. Mark Miller and Ken Blanchard’s book, The Secret, reminded our team of the importance of serving others. “A key question you must continually ask yourself is `Am I a self-serving leader or a serving leader?'” The powerful words of Miller and Blanchard’s classic book have fueled us to focus on how we can serve others.

Every day, we can choose. We’ve talked a lot about choice this year. Each day, we can choose: our perspective, attitude, and actions are something we each control. Frank Sonnenberg’s book, Follow Your Conscience, provided great thought-provoking inspiration that reminded us that we each choose and “each decision helps to define who we are.”

Check out more of the wonderful books we promoted this year and buy a few as holiday gifts. The leaders in your life will thank you!

Interval Training for Business (H/T @johnsonwhitney)

Prior to Thanksgiving, I felt the most extreme burnout that I’ve ever felt in my business.

As I considered how to move through the burnout to renewed energy to finish the year strong, I reached out to my friend Whitney Johnson.

I’d been contemplating going completely dark during the holiday weekend: shutting off my phone and disconnecting completely from work. But the more I thought about it, the more anxiety I felt about the mound of work that I would face at the end of the weekend.

Whitney turned from talk about work to one my favorite topics, running. “Do you interval train when you run?” she asked.

The truth is… no. I’ve done some speed work, which is a kind of interval training. Mostly, I run at the most difficult pace I can comfortably sustain, every time I go out.

Just like I work. All out, all the time.

Whitney encouraged me to consider altering my pace by giving myself freedom, especially over weekends and holidays, to adopt a slower pace by choosing to do whatever I want to in the moment. For example, I could choose to watch mindless TV for a period of time, and then later I could choose a work activity. Rather than pile myself with the guilt of have-tos and I-musts, I can choose, in every hour, what I most want to do.

Following her advice, after unplugging on Thanksgiving itself, I clocked 6 1/2 hours work over the weekend, which was more than enough time for me to enter the week prepared instead of overwhelmed.

I also took my kids shopping, played cards beside our Christmas tree, went to a movie and out to lunch with kids/friends, and took the girls roller skating. I read for-fun books, stayed in bed later than normal, and went running with a friend.

I created a weekend of intervals, going fast and slow, and started December with more energy than I’ve felt in a while.

The idea of interval training in my business has been in the forefront of my mind through this busy month and I have been mindfully choosing to pace myself, taking 45 minutes at the start of my workday on Wednesday to tidy my kitchen and put dinner in the crockpot — arriving at my desk at 9, when I would typically dive headlong and all-out into work at 7:30.

If you find yourself burned out or depleted, consider your pace: could you vary your pace to find renewed energy and purpose? How can you structure your life to create more freedom and enjoyment?

Tell me something! Have you tried interval training? What do you do to renew your energy when you feel depleted?