Kay Green, Author at She Owns It

What We Can Learn from These Innovative Women by @DrRKayGreen

September 20, 2019 by Kay Green Leave a Comment

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

Women in business have a lot to learn from each other. That is why companies like Inc. Magazine compile lists like the Female Founders 100. This list celebrates the female entrepreneurs that have made strides in their respective industries.

And while a lot of what they have learned is specific to their industry, there is always a universal lesson that we can take away. Here are just five:

Lesson 1: Always be expanding.

Polina Veksler, Universal Standard

Veksler started strong with Universal Standard, setting up shop with a friend in 2015 to create one-of-a-kind fashion for plus-sized bodies. But she did not stop there. In fact, she has been able to grow Universal Standard at a rate of 200 percent, all while growing her family and herself.

Her story is one that all business owners can take a lesson from. Your business can always be bigger, and you can always take the “next step” to grow, both professionally and personally. A growth mindset will always be more beneficial than a fixed mindset.

Lesson 2: There is never a perfect time.

Nichole Mustard, Credit Karma

Anyone who wants to start a business but is waiting for the right time should take note of Nichole Mustard’s journey. In the early days of Credit Karma, she spent more than a third of the year on the road. This was despite having a child already. And she did not slow down in her desire to have a family, either—she went on to have three more children.

“We didn’t want to slow down the family and we didn’t want to slow down with the work,” she recalls. “There’s never a perfect time, right?”

As you begin to grow your business, there will be a million reasons to quit. And you should not neglect what is important to you, whether that be your family, your relationship, or something else. But if you work hard, you can have it all. Make sure that you are not using obligations as an excuse to avoid chasing your dreams.

Lesson 3: Do not be afraid to say no.

Brené Brown, Brené Brown Education and Research Group

Sometimes, the lessons that we can take from someone are the lessons that they are still trying to learn.

This is the case in what we can learn from Brené Brown, who is focusing her attention on saying no and being more selective with her time. “When I first started, I didn’t say no to anything, because I wanted to prove I could do it,” she says. Now she is ready to “say no to a lot of things, and get really clear on who I want to be.”

Lesson 4: Stand out.

Jessica O. Matthews, Uncharted Power

From the time she was 22 and founding her own business, Matthews has been dedicated to making a splash. Whether it is her advanced energy-producing technology or her impressive achievements — raising $7 million in financing, for example — she has never been afraid to push the boundary of what it means to be in business, particularly as a black woman business founder.

Women in business can learn a lot from Matthews. So often, we are afraid of taking a risk, or failing, or looking foolish. But if we dare to stand out, we will be remembered.

Lesson 5: Take the first step.

Katonya Breaux, Unsun Cosmetics

Anyone can have an idea. But it takes a real visionary to put it into action. Katonya Breaux is one of those visionaries. Her idea came when she realized that most of the safer sunscreens she came across only came in one color: white. As a black woman, Breaux thought this was not ideal. Most people would have simply left the thought at that, but Breaux took it a step further.

“I learned something by happenstance that affected my beauty and, I learned, that also affected my health,” says Breaux. “So I said, why not me?” So she created the cosmetics line that now caters to people of all skin tones.

“Why not me” is a powerful thought for anyone in business. Every day, business ventures die without ever being verbalized, simply because the person with the initial thought is not bold enough to act on it. If you want to succeed in business, especially as a woman, Breaux’s boldness is something you should strive to emulate.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

Dr. R. Kay Green is the CEO/President of RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. With over 190,000+ Twitter followers, 35,000+ Facebook Likes, and the Top 1% LinkedIn profile designation, Dr. Kay, a self-motivated trailblazer, is the Quintessential “New-Age” Professional Woman, and PhD Marketing Pro. She earned a Doctorate of Business Administration in Marketing, and has completed PhD coursework in Leadership and Organization Change. She also holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing and Management, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, and an Associate of Arts in Marketing Management.

She is affiliated with several prestigious universities and has instructed over 350 courses online. A popular speaker on Marketing and Business topics, Dr. Green is currently featured on Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, Black News, The Network Journal, Business Review USA, Digital Journal, College View, Business New Hampshire Magazine, Bay State Banner, Reader’s Circle, North Dallas Gazette, Harlem News, Top News Today, One News Page, NE Informer, Women in Business PR News, Consumer News Today, Women PR News, San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Daily Herald, The Miami Herald, and Book News Articles.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com

How to Make Employees Excited About Training by @DrRKayGreen

August 5, 2019 by Kay Green Leave a Comment

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

You probably understand the value of training. Perhaps your employees even understand the value as well. But understanding the value of something is not the same as being excited for it. You can see the value of, say, mopping your floor, but that does not necessarily mean that you are excited to do it.

And this becomes a problem when it comes to training. Because if your employees are viewing these classes as an obligation or a chore, they’re already at least partially “checked out.” They are not paying a lot of attention, which means that they are not getting the most out of the class. This, in turn, means that you are not getting the return on investment that you put into the class.

So, how can you create a culture of excitement and engagement around training?

Offer incentives.

Incentives are a great way to get employees engaged in business in general, and training is no different. It is much easier to get excited about something if you know that there is a reward at the end, and it can be as simple of an investment as a small gift card.

Incentives make employees excited to participate, but it also shows that you are taking their work seriously. You recognize the effort that they are putting into becoming better at their jobs, and they will appreciate that, in turn working even harder.

Make it a competition.

People like a little friendly competition. They like to earn “points,” and see how they rank agains their peers. You can easily use this to your advantage when you offer training. Offer prizes to people with the best grades, or people who complete a certain number of classes. Or, if your company’s culture allows it, create a “leaderboard” for employees to track their own and each other’s progress.

This is a great way to engage employees, giving them a tangible way to track how far they have come. It will also make classes feel less like a chore and more like a game for them to “beat.” This will make it far more enjoyable for them, which will make them pay attention more.

Spread things out.

Do not put classes back to back. You run the risk of your employee burning out if you do this; in addition, they will start to resent all of the extra time spent on classes when they could be doing other things. Instead, spread your classes out so that they only have to take a few classes at a time.

This will help to make sure that employees do not feel stifled or overwhelmed by classes. It also shows a respect for your employees’ time. It shows that you do understand their need for down time, and that you do not expect them to sacrifice their free time for an extended period.

Make courses online.

In-person classes are often inconvenient. They require a commute, a shuffling of obligations, and frequently they require babysitting for those employees with families. All of this can make your employee resent the class before they even walk in the door, which is not conducive at all to an excited, engaged classroom.

This is why more and more businesses are turning to elearning solutions.

Online courses allow employees to take their education into their own hands. By allowing them to pick the time and place that the class occurs, it gives them a sense of ownership. This is probably the best thing you can do to make sure that employees are excited and engaged.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com

Teaching on Their Time: Elearning for Employees by @DrRKayGreen

July 1, 2019 by Kay Green Leave a Comment

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

The fact is simple: your employees have lives outside of their jobs. They have families to take care of, friends to keep in touch with, errands to run, hobbies to pursue.

Think about your typical nine-to-five job. Accounting for things like traffic, the time it takes to do things like cook and eat dinner, and general exhaustion after a hard day’s work, this leaves your employees with precious little time to pursue things that they want to pursue. They have a few hours during the day and their weekends, but this is about it.

You can understand, then, why some employees might be hesitant or even resentful of employee training.

Classes take time to complete. There is simply no way around this fact. Even if you pay for the classes, and even if you go as far as paying your employees for going, no amount of money can really make up for time taken from things that they would rather be doing.

And when classes are in-person and mandatory, that can be even more frustrating. Because the time is so rigid, you might very well be cutting into another obligation. You might be causing them to miss a child’s graduation, or a date night, or a beloved activity.

No matter how much someone loves their job, you can still run the risk of them resenting a class if it comes at a time that is inconvenient.

So what is the solution? How can you make it so that employees enjoy going to class — or at least make sure that they do not actively resent it, which will likely lead to them not learning anything.

The answer is simple: you do not make them “go” to a class at all. You make the class go to them.

Elearning has seen growth in the education market, and other businesses are seeing the benefits of this kind of technology, as well. When it comes to employee training, it can often be easier to let them learn on their own schedule, in the comfort of their own homes. Not only does this take away any sort of pressure that a traditional learning environment might put on them — it is also more convenient.

For this reason, among many others, businesses are focusing on elearning. By giving employees an online learning platform, you can make sure that they are learning at a time that is actually convenient for them. It puts your employees back in control of their schedule outside of their nine-to-five job.

And make no mistake — your employees should be allowed to take control of their schedule. This allows them to feel more in charge of their own learning, which will make them more independent and inclined to actually listen to the lessons being told. And by offering them an elearning platform, you allow them to learn important things without sacrificing the time dedicated to things they care about.

A strong elearning platform shows just how much you value your employees time. It shows respect for their needs — and this, in turn, will lead to a happier, more productive workforce.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com

Why Training is not “One Size Fits All” by @DrRKayGreen

June 19, 2019 by Kay Green Leave a Comment

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

Do you think investing in training is important?

I am willing to bet that many business owners would say “yes” (even if they have not gotten around to actually investing yet). But for those few who say no, it is probably because they invested in training but did not get the results that they wanted.

What is the difference between a successful training program and an unsuccessful one? The answer to that is simple: a successful business training program is one that actually takes its employees into account.

Learning is not “one size fits all,” in any sense of the word. For one thing, not every business will benefit from every training, so you need to research carefully to make sure that the class that you are thinking about implementing will actually have information that is actionable and relevant to your employees.

If you simply send your employees off to the first class that seems relevant, they may come back with nothing that they can actually apply to their day-to-day operations. Or if the information is all stuff that they already know, you will find the class does not affect their work performance at all.

Your business is unique, and you need to find training that fits your unique needs.

For training to be successful, the information needs to be actionable and applicable to your employees’ every-day operations. And it needs to be introduced in a way that they are actually able to retain the information.

And this can be difficult, especially if your team has many different personality types. Just as your business is unique and different from every other business, your employees are all unique and slightly different from each other.

Some of your employees thrive in a classroom setting. Some do not. Some work better in groups. Some work better on their own.

This is a much harder problem to tackle than the first one. How can you make sure that you are giving them training that meets all of their needs, even when those needs are wildly different from each other?

The answer that many businesses have found is elearning.

When done correctly, elearning is a highly customizable platform that allows businesses to create a learning experience specific to them. It also allows employees to learn at their own pace, using the methods that suit them best.

If you do want to invest in training, consider elearning instead of sending employees to the traditional classroom.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com

The Secret to Successful Entrepreneurship: Learning by @DrRKayGreen

June 3, 2019 by Kay Green Leave a Comment

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

Many people ask successful entrepreneurs, “What is your secret?” And they will cite things like dedication, passion, or even strong networking skills. But here is something to consider: If you were to ask “On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you know,” I would be willing to bet that not a single entrepreneur would answer this with a 10.

That is because successful entrepreneurs recognize that they are lifelong students.

Learning is the secret weapon that many entrepreneurs do not mention, not because they are ashamed, but because it is so natural to them that they do not even think about it. Most industries are complex, and there is always more to learn about them.

Even if you could learn everything about a certain industry, that industry is bound to evolve or change. If you are still operating in the exact same way you did ten or even just five years ago, you are likely missing out on some of the new and exciting updates.

This is why learning is so important. Entrepreneurs have their “finger on the pulse” of their industry, so when there are any new and exciting updates, they are one of the first to learn about it.

But, of course, the learning does not stop there. Once they learn that people are doing something new, they learn why, and how, and who it benefits. They make it a point to become an expert, even though that is a long and time-consuming process, because they want to be able to give their clients the best service possible. And the best service possible comes from knowledge.

Successful entrepreneurs love it when they realize that they do not know something, because they treat it as a chance to learn. They do not dig their heels in and insist that their way is better — they take the time to learn why things are being done, and if they make the choice to go against the status quo, they know why they are doing it.

These entrepreneurs have a deep understanding of their industry that comes from constantly being open to new information. And they recognize that there is always more that can be learned.

Successful entrepreneurs do not just accept new knowledge when it is presented to them, either. They actively seek it out, enrolling in classes and researching new learning platforms. They take advantage of exciting new opportunities, like elearning platforms.

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, accept this mindset. Wearing the label of a “lifelong learner” proudly moves you from a fixed mindset to a growth one. And as you grow your knowledge, you will see your business follow suit, as you become more familiar with what the industry wants.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com

Engage and Retain Employees through Elearning by @DrRKayGreen

May 23, 2019 by Kay Green Leave a Comment

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

Employee retainment is a real struggle for businesses. High turnover rates are plaguing corporate offices, with many not knowing how to solve the issue.

A big part of the problem, I believe, comes from a lack of engagement. Employees do not feel invested in what they are doing. They go through the motions, but they do not feel ownership of what they do. They continue on autopilot and do not care about their job past getting a paycheck.

So, how can business owners solve this problem?

Some turn to incentive programs or competitive benefits. And while these are all wonderful things to have, there is one powerful tool that many businesses overlook: elearning.

Many people think of elearning as “a good thing to have.” And they can probably list a few reasons why someone might want to invest in it. But when it comes to the benefits of elearning, employee engagement and retention is probably not at the top of people’s minds. That said, it makes perfect sense that investing in this sort of platform would yield results.

Elearning helps employees think about their jobs in a new light. This will keep them from going on autopilot, as they are thinking critically about how they are working and what they are doing. Days will stop being routine as they begin implementing what they learn.

Employees should not just act and follow instructions. They should know why those instructions and policies are there in the first place. This will help them behave mindfully, and use critical thinking skills in situations where the rules do not have an easy answer. Elearning can help achieve this by teaching them why they are doing things and getting them to consider what they would do in certain situations.

Elearning also encourages employees to be independent and to take action in their careers. If done well, it can get them thinking about their future with the company.

Knowing that they have room to grow and expand with your business will greatly improve your retention rate. They will not go looking for a “better” position somewhere else if they know that they have room to grow with you.

Elearning prepares employees for future hardships. Instead of making them learn in a “trial by fire” setting, it lets them anticipate problems in a safe space. This will improve retention, as it will decrease the chances of an employee leaving when they encounter hardship.

Finally, investing in elearning shows employees that you care about their futures. It shows that you want them to learn and succeed, and this can mean more to many employees than anything else you could do for them.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com

The Future of Women in Business and Politics by @DrRKayGreen

May 8, 2019 by Kay Green Leave a Comment

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

When it comes to women leaders, be they business owners or politicians, we still have a lot of work to do.

Certainly, we have made strides in recent years. A recent study shows that 40 percent of businesses are owned by women, a large leap from 29 percent in 2007. There are 25 women serving on the U.S. Senate, a historic high for America, and 102 women serve as voting members of the House of Representatives currently in the 116th Congress.

But for all the work we have done when it comes to getting equality, more is still needed. Glass ceilings and pay gaps still very much exist, and more work is needed for women in business and politics to truly be seen as equals.

For example, the study on women-owned businesses noted that while the number of businesses are growing, revenue is not growing at the same rate. In other words, women are making significantly less than their male counterparts.

How will we solve this?

Obviously, real change has to happen at a societal level. But there are things that women can do when they are in leadership positions, particularly when running businesses, to help set a good example and move progress along.

The first and most obvious step is to charge what you are worth. Do not let anyone haggle you down or make you feel like your work is worth less because of who you are. Do not be afraid to ask your colleagues how much they charge, so that you can make sure that you are charging the industry standard.

Talking about money is often seen as taboo, but it is these sort of systems that allow things like the pay gap to continue. By being open and honest with friends about how much you make, you can ensure that you are not charging too much or not enough.

Beyond money, we need to support each other. Do not tear other women down for how they look or dress. This only perpetuates the system that values us based on looks alone.

Be a mentor for and seek mentorship from women around you. By connecting with each other, we can empower and be empowered, and make sure that the next generation of women know that they are worth just as much as their male counterparts. They will be treated better because they will know that they deserve it.

Finally, learn to value yourself. This ties into charging what you are worth and not feeling the need to cut down other women, but it can mean so much more than that. Because when we value ourselves, we are able to recognize when things are unfair, and we are able to speak out about it because we know that we deserve better.

Women do not need to apologize for taking up space or existing. We have just as much of a right to live, and to lead, as anyone.

There is a future for women in business and politics where we are treated equal. But it is not the kind of future that can happen overnight. Examine yourself and your biases, and do not be afraid to ask the people around you to do the same. Surround yourself by people who support you, and lead by example.

No matter what you do, whether you are running your own business or running for office, be bold, be brave, and be unapologetically you.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com

10 Reasons Why Your Business Should Be Investing In Elearning by @DrRKayGreen

April 23, 2019 by Kay Green Leave a Comment

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

Training is an important part of a successful workforce. From onboarding new employees to teaching current ones new and important skills, education can help them grow and an active role in their future. But many employees resent, do not thrive in, or otherwise dislike or avoid traditional classrooms and seminars. For some, these conjure up unpleasant memories of school days, and others simply do not have the time to fit it into their schedules.

Luckily, in today’s technology-driven world, this is not the only option. More and more businesses are investing in elearning, which allows employees to become more educated than ever. Here are ten reasons that elearning is the right investment for your business.

1. Flexible

Employees are busy with more than work. Some of them have families and other obligations, and this makes adding a class with a rigid schedule and a set time difficult. Luckily, elearning reduces these barriers. Employees can take the classes whenever they want, wherever they can fit them into their schedules.

2. Employees can learn in their own way

Not every employee works well in a classroom environment. Some struggle to keep up with lectures, and others work better when they are able to review information in privacy, or pause and rewind things. Elearning makes all of this possible. Employees are able to learn on their own terms, and not just in the style that the teacher demands.

3. Faster Learning

Just as elearning can benefit people who want to take their time on assignments, it is also perfect for those who would get bored or impatient waiting for the next lecture. For people who prefer to get an entire class out of the way in one day instead of spreading it out over weeks, this is the perfect option.

4. Encourages independence

When employees are educated, they are able to make decisions with confidence. Instead of turning to a manager to ask a question, they can know what they need to do and do it. They can feel ownership of their decisions, which in turn will lead to a higher job satisfaction and an overall more productive workforce.

5. Cost-effective

Classes can be costly. And the added cost of transportation and time may not seem worth it to employees, who may begrudge any sort of mandatory learning for this reason. But elearning is more cost effective for both your employee and your business, which makes it a far more attractive option.

6. Resources are always there

Once a class is over, it is over. If you are not taking good notes and if your professor does not email it to you, you will not be able to look back on a presentation or replay a lecture. But with elearning, these things will always be there. Employees can revisit them when they are unsure or when they want to double-check something.

7. Real-Time Feedback

Instead of waiting for a professor to grade things, which can take weeks, elearning allows students to see their results immediately. They can learn from their mistakes sooner, which allows them to perform better. It also takes away some of the anxiety that can come from waiting for a test result, which may be the cause of bad school memories.

8. Interactive

When elearning, there is no “back of the class.” Students can not simply sit and coast by as more energetic students speak. This requires interaction, and each student has to take control of their own education. This can be incredibly empowering, and it also helps them learn.

9. Collaboration Encouraged

When employees are taking online courses together, they will often reach out to each other for help. This encourages a spirit of teamwork that might not yet be present in your team. If you are looking to encourage an office culture of collaboration, giving them all a class can be a great way to do so.

10. Modern and easy to interact with

Most importantly, elearning is easy for students. Everyone is used to getting information from technology these days—we get news from our phones, social feeds, and more. It makes sense that learning from technology would feel natural and easy. And this is why so many employees love it when their business invests in it.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com

Nature or Nurture? What it takes to be an entrepreneur By @DrRKayGreen

February 11, 2019 by Kay Green 2 Comments

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

Are entrepreneurs born, or made? Ask twenty professionals, and you are highly likely to get twenty different answers.

Some believe that anyone can become an entrepreneur, if you just take the right classes and learn the right skills. Others believe that the ability to be a entrepreneur is something innate, and if you do not have that, you are better off not even trying. And still others believe that a lot of the traits of a good entrepreneur are something that you are born with, but that does not mean that you are going to succeed right away, and you should always be trying to grow and learn skills.

There is something to be said for learning. I would like to argue that there are a lot of things that can be learned that people assume are innate. You can learn how to be comfortable talking in front of a crowd even if that is something that you are generally afraid of. You can learn how to network even if you are not naturally extroverted. You can learn to be organized even if you are more cluttered by nature.

However, some things simply cannot be learned. And the biggest thing that marks the difference between a successful entrepreneur and an unsuccessful one is motivation.

This is not to say that you cannot become a more motivated person, if you find yourself procrastinating and putting things now. But ask yourself this: why do you want to become more motivated? You cannot do it because your boss thinks that you should, or your friends, or your family. Instead, motivation begins with you, because you want to grow, change, and succeed.

And it is not something you can learn in a class. While you can learn tactics to decrease procrastination and learn how to manage time more effectively, at the end of the day those lessons will not do you much good if you do not have the motivation to put them into practice.

Phrasing it like that makes it sound easy, but anyone who has gone down that path knows that it is anything but. Growing a business and becoming a better professional is difficult, and requires sacrifice. You might not have as much time to watch TV, or you might have to turn down last-minute invitations from friends. You are responsible for your own schedule, and for setting your own goals.

This is simply not possible for people who do not want to do it. If you do not have the drive to succeed, you will find excuses to put it off.

But if you are driven and motivated, anything is possible. You can become the best version of yourself through hard work and careful planning. You can maximize your strengths, and keep your weaknesses from taking over and becoming a problem.

Every entrepreneur is different. Some are more people-oriented, while some are results-oriented. Some are introverts, and some are extroverts. Some thrive when they are the center of attention, in front of a large crowd, and others work better behind the scenes. And some are a mix of these traits, or somewhere in the middle of these traits.

But all of them have the drive and the passion to succeed. And that is something that cannot be taught.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com

The Importance of “Unplugging” By @DrRKayGreen

January 28, 2019 by Kay Green 2 Comments

by Dr. R. Kay Green | Featured Contributor

In today’s society, there is a pressure to always be “on” that simply did not exist when most of us started business.

The rise of social media and remote work has been incredibly beneficial in a lot of ways. It has given entrepreneurs a chance to be heard and found by people who would not have heard of their services otherwise. It has leveled the playing field, in a sense, so that people have a chance of being heard regardless of how much they have to invest in that. It also helps to reach clients that are in other states or even other countries.

But there are also drawbacks. While before, most clients could only reach you during office hours, now there is more of a pressure to be available at all hours of the day. Especially if you have international clients that are not in the same time zone as you, you might be compelled to answer your phone no matter what hour of the day it is. And, yes, they can reach you no matter where you are, because chances are that they have your cell number.

It can be tempting to constantly check your email all the time. For many of us, it is probably the first thing we do when we wake up and the last thing we do before going to bed. It is easy to do, because after all, we love our jobs and our clients and want to be the best at it. That requires a certain degree of dedication.

But too much of a good thing can turn bad, and focusing too much on work can be incredibly detrimental. It can lead to us neglecting both our mental and physical health. It can take us away from our family and friends. It can burn us out entirely, so we cannot even do the job that we are sacrificing all of this for.

Finally, it can ruin our ability to engage with the world on a meaningful level.

Consider this: when was the last time you felt truly present in the moment? The last time that you focused on something without having the back of your mind focused on emails or social media notifications? Maybe you do not have this problem, and you have found the perfect work-life balance. But I am willing to state that for most of us, these moments of peace and quiet and connection are few and far between.

And that simply is not healthy. It is admirable to be so dedicated to your work, but that does not mean that it should be the only thing in your life. You can and should take time for family, and friends, and even just to spend some time by yourself.

But in today’s interconnected world, how can you do that? There are a few options.

Enforcing regular office hours is a great way to make sure that you will not be too tempted to check work email after hours. If your clients know that they can only reach you from nine to five, there is less pressure to answer that email right away. Of course, sometimes work or extenuating circumstances will demand that you work later, but at least you can have some days where you do not answer.

Try to have at least one day a week where you do not look at your inbox at all. Saturdays or Sundays are good options for this.

After that, take it even further. On that weekend, try to turn off your phone for an hour or avoid looking at screens. Let yourself forget about twitter notifications and emails. Instead, go take a walk, or meet a friend for coffee. And instead of constantly looking to your device, just be in the moment.

You will be surprised by how much healthier you feel — and how much renewed focus you have when you are actually at work.

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Dr. R. Kay Green – Marketing Expert from RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. from Atlanta, GA.

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Kay Green

http://www.drkaygreen.com