Sustainable Ambition Forum - 04.21.22

Working with flex is great. And it can be challenging.

I love how my guest Annie Auerbach, author of FLEX: reinventing work for a smarter, happier life, in episode #49 of the podcast shared how what people often get wrong about flexibility is that they think it is soft and pliable, when it actually requires hard edges and setting boundaries.

This was helpful for me to hear, as it aligned with my own experience. One of the reasons I started to work for myself was my desire for flexibility. And yet, as I learned in my first year of running my business pre-pandemic, having too much flex and working from home everyday didn’t work for me. I didn’t feel like I was operating at my best. It was hard to focus. I felt stale and a bit bored. I soon found myself getting a co-working space, so that I could get out of the house at least 2-3 times a week and put more structure into my days.

Now after 2 years of the pandemic and working from home, I’m experiencing the same, a bit of cabin fever. In addition, in an effort to do the variety of activities I like to do, I’ve allowed my schedule to become too porous, and in some respects, as Annie says, I’ve not set strong boundaries around my time and how I work, while also being too rigid in staying at home and not varying my environment.

What I’ve learned over the last four years is that not managing one’s flexibility can turn it from a benefit into a detriment. It requires self-discipline.

While there’s a chorus for flex, and I’m singing the tune, I also think we need to be more realistic about what flex looks like to have it work for us.

I encourage you to listen to the podcast episode (link below), check out Annie’s book (featured below), and also offer up these tips that brings forward ideas shared from several of the guests on the podcast over the last year to make flex work for you:

Set boundaries and structures around your time and how you manage your days, weeks, and months.
Get attuned to your energy and how and when you like to work.
Bring flex into multiple areas of your life. (Annie’s book offers a wonderful perspective around this.)
Be flexible with flex. Recognize that you can’t always have it your way, and that flex doesn’t mean you never have to work hard.

Here’s to making flex work for us, not against us.

Warmly,
Kathy
Founder of Sustainable Ambition

P.S. Have flex tips you’d like to share that work for you? Send me a quick note. If I hear back, I’ll follow-up with a round-up to share back with all of you. Thanks, in advance!

The Sustainable Ambition 12-Month Workbook+Planner: Your Life+Work Resilience Rx

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Photo credit: Photo by Nathan J Shaulis/Porter Loves

The Round-Up

Why do we work the way we do? Why 5-days, 8-hours? And what new ways of working are taking shape? Watch to learn more >

Get control of burnout. Burnout can hit us all, including those of us who are ambitious and are committed to our work. Get practical tips here.

Release imposter syndrome shame. The majority of us suffer from it, especially high achievers.

Smart productivity tips. This is a great list of science-backed smart ways to work from Steve Magness. In short (but worth the review to get the details to integrate into your own practices): 1. Stress + Rest = Growth - Manage your energy & effort 2. Modulate your physiological arousal. Turn up or down the dial to focus attention or recover 3. Make sure your environment is working with you, not against.

Create a seasonal fun list. A way to slow down time (you know I’m a fan of that!) and bring moments of joy into your days, weeks, and months.

Read about all the ways to flex. In the podcast episode featured below, my guest is Annie Auerbach, author of FLEX: reinventing work for a smarter, happier life. Annie is an expert in cultural trends and co-founder of Starling, an agency which keeps brands relevant through understanding cultural change. The book came out pre-pandemic and continues to be relevant today as we rethink our world and how we live today. Is it any wonder that Annie was on top of this trend? It wasn’t just because she tracks cultural trends; it’s also that she has been living, modeling, and championing a “flex” life for 20 years.

The book is a wonderful read and offers practical tips. One of the things I love about Annie’s approach is that it is multi-faceted; flex is not one thing and not just about work. Rather, Annie shares how flex applies also to home, mind, body, and future and is really a holistic philosophy: “It should be about a more progressive way of living and a more progressive way of society working.”

Redesigning the workplace to work for women. Listen to Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and author of the new book, Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work and Why It’s Different Than You Think, in conversation with Katie Couric on why we’re at a critical juncture to redesign work to make it work better for women.

Take a break! Type to sound.

The Sustainable Ambition Podcast - Episode 49

Join me for conversations with experts, authors, and friends on
what it means to live with Sustainable Ambition.

In this episode, Annie Auerbach shares how living flexibly is ambitious and that now is the time to reimagine how we live our lives more flexibly to make it all more sustainable. Listen in to learn more. So good!

Find it on Apple Podcast here
Or, listen on our website her e

You can also find the podcast, subscribe, and listen on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Overcast.

Re-organize Your To Do List

From writer Jenée Desmond-Harris on how to divide your to-do list:

“I started dividing my to-do list into: 1) things I have to do, 2) things I want to do, and 3) things other people want me to do. Life changing! I often don’t get to #3 and I finally realized... this is what it means to have boundaries.”

The Monthly Progress Practice: April

At the beginning of each year, we share our Monthly Progress Practice. Progress is made through small, consistent action. Practice makes progress. We offer a monthly guidance on small actions or inquiries to inspire positive change this year.

Our guidance for April: Permission granted! What do you want to give yourself permission to do or be?

“Flex is not just about work, part-time work, or working from home—all of these shortcuts that we’ve developed in our heads. It should be about a more progressive way of living and a more progressive way of society working.”

— Annie Auerbach

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