Bust work-life balance myths to find what works for you

Female athletes, such as 22-year-old Caitlin Clark, the star of the Iowa Hawkeye's women's basketball, have boosted fan engagement for the sport and turned many players into brand ambassadors, something business leaders should notice, writes Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Mehta notes a study showing 94% of female C-suite executives played sports, something that has made them even more engaged in their work.

Put it into practice: Just as investing in women's sports has boosted its popularity and influence, investing in the women in your organization can produce the same results. Laura Correnti, CEO of Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment, says leaders should be encouraging young women to play sports as a way to develop their resilience, teamwork and leadership skills.

Some of the myths we believe about finding work-life balance is that work and leisure time should always be separate and there's a one-size-fits-all solution, writes coach and accountant Sandeep Gupta, who offers 11 tips on finding your passion, identifying priorities and crafting your own sense of balance. "Leading a balanced life requires courage, as it often means parting ways with societal norms and forging our path," writes Gupta.

Put it into practice: Find balance by identifying your priorities (knowing they could change with new circumstances), and schedule time to work on them while remaining flexible and open to new opportunities, Gupta suggests. "In the end, it comes down to one thing: do you want to live your life or someone else's life?"

To command people's attention, especially when you're in front of a group that may be chatting, make a short, declarative statement or say nothing at all, says Matt Abrahams, a communication consultant and organizational behavior lecturer at Stanford University. "Just exerting that control, either by asking a question, standing in silence or making some kind of declarative sentence that's provocative, will help people [listen]," Abrahams says.

Put it into practice: Matt Abrahams discovered the tactic of saying something thought-provoking to quiet down a room when he used it as his students chatted in class. Abrahams says he had to repeat the line a time or two, but it worked to quiet the room so he could resume teaching.

Focus on accomplishing what truly matters to you by starting with a five-year scope and narrowing it down to the most important thing that needs to happen each day, then work out a process to make it happen, writes Alex Mathers, a coach, writer and illustrator. Mathers maps out how he tackles daily writing projects along with other hacks that help, including meditation, exercise and studying the work of other experts in the field.

Song lyrics have become simpler and portrayed more anger, sadness and disgust in the decades between 1980 and 2020, according to a study in Scientific Reports of more than 12,000 country, pop, rap and R&B songs in English. The research has found more repetition, fewer complicated words and fewer words about positive, joyful emotions, as well as more instances of words such as "me" or "mine."

Caitlin Clark fans were sorely disappointed this weekend as Iowa fell to LSU, missing her team's chance to compete in the Final Four for the national women's college basketball title. Clark, though, set a new NCAA record for tournament points with 191, surpassing the 177 that Sheryl Swoopes scored in 1993.

Stephanie Mehta makes the point that participating in team sports, such as basketball, can be an excellent way for women, especially, to build skills in leadership, teamwork and collaboration -- not to mention resilience and tenacity.

Whether you're into sports or not, working with teams can provide valuable skill-building, especially for leaders who want to motivate and engage their teams.

If this newsletter helps you, please tell your colleagues, friends or anyone who can benefit. Forward them this email, or send this link.

What topics do you see in your daily work that I should know about? Do you have praise? Criticism? Drop me a note. And don't forget to send me photos of your pets, your office and where you spend your time off.