Use this strategy to right-size your workforce

Make performance reviews more effective and less stressful by focusing on a team member's strengths and asking them what's working well, where they're struggling, what they're learning and what do they want to try next, writes workplace well-being teacher Michelle McQuaid. "While providing feedback people may find hard to hear can feel uncomfortable, there is nothing kind about robbing people of the opportunities they need for learning and growth," writes McQuaid.

Put it into practice: Researchers found that three factors create high-performing teams: being inspired by the company's mission, having a chance to use their talents and feeling committed to doing quality work, McQuaid writes. By focusing more on what's going well and less on what's not, employees can see how their skills are contributing to the big picture.

Being strategic about headcount management can help companies control costs, streamline operations and avoid overstaffing and layoffs, writes Tushar Makhija, the founder and CEO of TeamOhana. "It provides headlights that allow the company to look forward rather than make difficult decisions in the face of economic challenges," Makhija notes.

Put it into practice: There are four components to strategic headcount management, writes Makhija, including an audit of existing employees, tracking hiring to create forecasts and scenario planning. "The crucial element here is that scenarios become a year-round planning exercise that helps leadership accelerate decision-making as the company grows or as the market changes."

Bonnie Hammer, vice chairman of NBCUniversal, says her career has been one long lesson in dispelling the myth that women must stay in their lanes and avoid mixing work with play to succeed, which she includes in her new book, "15 Lies Women Are Told At Work ... and the Truth We Need To Succeed." Other female leaders lay waste to such lies as "You can't have it all as a working parent" and "You can't be emotional if you want to be taken seriously."

Put it into practice: Don't believe that advocating for yourself is shameless self-promotion, warns Monica Xuereb, chief commercial officer for Loews Hotels & Co. And never buy into the idea that it's OK to settle for less. Whether it's your salary, your responsibilities or your position, "[e]very time you settle for something less than you deserve, it colors your identity and self-worth in a negative way," says Franchesca Van Buren, founder and CEO of Insight Therapy Solutions.

An analysis of self-reported sleep data from 200,000 people showed that nearly 4 in 10 adults over age 50 were not getting adequate sleep to function during the day, investigators reported in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. Researchers noted that factors may include smartphone use, changes in caregiving responsibilities and work-related and socioeconomic uncertainty.

When you check in for the night at the Deep Sleep hotel in Snowdonia, Wales, you're given boots, a hard hat, a headlamp and a guide to take you 1,400 feet below the surface -- a trip that will take about four hours and includes dark caverns, a zip line and some tight spaces. When you arrive, you'll find a climate-controlled cabin equipped with Wi-Fi, a bathroom and meals served from a pouch. Oh, and each night will set you back about $500.

Last weekend, our family took a drive up to Blowing Rock, N.C., to enjoy the final ski weekend of the season at Appalachian Ski Mountain. Most people were skiing in short sleeves on the manufactured snow as Spring climbed up the mountainside. This photo is one of the scenic overlooks in Blowing Rock.

Have you been somewhere beautiful lately? Send me a photo to share!

Getting some sleep must be on my mind, as today's brief reveals. As someone who is (cough, cough) over 50, I can attest that getting some solid z's can be tough these days due to many factors, including those listed in the article.

While I find the Deep Sleep Hotel fascinating, I don't have the guts to make the four-hour trek to bed. I'm also a bit claustrophobic and don't think I could handle being 1,400 feet below the surface. Give me sunshine atop a mountain any day!

Wherever you find yourself this weekend, I hope you get a chance to sleep in!

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