How To Work Less But Accomplish More | Guild Education CEO Rachel Carlson’s Plan For The Downturn | Remembering Annie Glenn

Plus: Lenovo’s board highlights the gender gap in Chinese tech

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and as part of this, there’s a #HowAreYouReallyChallenge circulating the internet. It’s a daunting question to answer publicly, but I’ll take a stab: I’m really, really over digital communication. Not just Zoom, but all the apps: Slack, Outlook, Gmail, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Whatsapp… (I mean, I’m grateful to these necessary evils, but man, they’ve been making my head spin recently. Anyone else??)

Thank goodness for do not disturb mode, hard copies of books, and articles like this one, which talks about how to recover from the psychological effects of lockdown. From it, I learned something new: HALT.

“When worry and stress take hold, stop and ask yourself if you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired,” writes Forbes careers contributor Bryan Robinson. “If one or a combination of the four states is present, slow down, take a few breaths and chill. If you’re hungry, take the time to eat. If you’re angry, address it in a healthy manner. If you’re lonely, reach out to someone you trust. And if you’re tired, rest.”

The ads have said it so much that it’s become a cliche, but these are challenging times, and if you’ve been having a rougher time than you’d like, you’re not alone. There are resources here that can help, too.

Take care of yourselves,
Maggie

P.S.: Because I’m (re)reading a book by psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb—in which she talks about embracing the “and” versus “or”—my favorite advice on the site this week is: avoid ‘either-or’ mentalities. In times of uncertainty, it can feel tempting to succumb to black-and-white thinking. But sometimes, the answer isn’t “or,” it’s “and.” Accepting dualities is one way you can lead when there’s no real plan for how to move ahead.

ICYMI: Stories From The Week

Luckin Coffee, which grew from one shop in Beijing to the largest coffee chain (by store count) in China in just over two years, is cleaning house. Last week, the Nasdaq-listed company announced that it fired its CEO and founder, Jenny Zhiya Qian, amid an ongoing internal investigation into fabricated sales figures.

Danske Commodities CEO Helle Østergaard Kristiansen became the world’s first female chief executive in the energy trading sector last year. She recently spoke to Forbes energy contributor Rebecca Ponton about her approach to setting inclusive maternity leave policies, managing a company amid Covid, and how she’s strategizing around Denmark’s return to work.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern continues to earn recognition for her leadership through the pandemic: on Tuesday, the country reported it had no new Covid-19 cases, and a new poll named Ardern New Zealand’s most popular leader in 100 years thanks to her capable handling of the crisis.

New research shows that the coronavirus recession is disproportionately affecting black working mothers. For example, since California’s stay at home orders went into effect on March 19, black women in that state have spent nearly 120 hours more on child care than their white counterparts.

29 years ago, Ramona Hood was a single mother searching for a consistent day job to support herself and her six-week-old daughter, while simultaneously taking night classes. Now, she’s the first ever African-American CEO of FedEx Custom Critical, a major FedEx subsidiary.

Crusader for speech pathology, Annie Glenn, the widow of the late astronaut and senator John Glenn, has died at the age of 100, due to complications of Covid-19.

Tiler Peck, principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, shares her power through her newly published children’s book, Katarina Ballerina, and her wildly popular Instagram Live ballet classes.

Check List

#1: Ask yourself five simple questions. Working less can mean working better. Achieve this by asking yourself, “am I doing maintenance work or progress work?” and these four other questions to really maximize your time.

#2: Talk to your gynecologist. Probably not advice you expected to see in a business newsletter, but you can’t do your job if you’re not healthy! And staying healthy means keeping up with regular ob-gyn screenings, even during the pandemic.

#3: Make a power move. This will look different for everyone, but even something as simple as setting a boundary will help you feel more in control of your career, your life, and your happiness.